Today's review is a slight switch-up from the usual snacks - I'm reviewing cheese...vegan cheese to be precise! Yes, in honor of my vegan friends and #veganuary I thought I would see what a gluten free pizza tastes like with this Violife Original on it. This isn't any regular vegan cheese with soya added, it's made with a mixture of coconut oil and starch, making it suitable for legume allergy sufferers too. I found this in the chilled Free From section of Tesco costing £2.30 or so for a 200g block.
I also purchased some Tesco Free From Gluten & Dairy Dough Mix, to make my own vegan and gluten free pizza.
I tried some of the cheese by itself before melting it. It tastes okay; it's similar to the rubbery Dairylea style cheese slices used in burgers or sandwiches.
I hoped it would be much improved when melted on a pizza...I added tomato puree, as well as herbs and sweetcorn. A simple, classic but tasty combination! It turned out quite well...
The cheese tastes a lot better melted, it's slightly gooey with a mild cheesy flavour. I'm not sure where the flavour comes from, but the cheese does contain added vegan flavourings so it must be those. It made for a satisfying, cheese-free alternative that was very filling, and approved of by my vegan friends too!
Overall, it's a win for both Violife Vegan Cheese and Tesco's Free From Dough Mix. The Dough Mix costs a mere £1.30 which is great value, and is even stocked in some Tesco Express stores. This is definitely one I'll be using regularly from now on! And if you're vegan or dairy free but haven't tried Violife yet, give it a go; it might just surprise you. I've heard from others that it's the best vegan cheese available in the UK...
Violife Cheese: 8 out of 10.
Tesco Free From Dough Mix: 8.5 out of 10.
Violife Original ingredients: Water, coconut oil, modified starch, sea salt, vegan flavours, citric acid, sorbic acid, b-carotene.
Nutrition Information (per 100g): 285 Calories, 23g Fat, 20g Carbohydrates, 0g Sugar, 0g Protein.
Tesco Free From Dough Mix ingredients: Potato starch, rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, yeast, stabiliser, rice bran, ascorbic acid, salt.
Nutrition Information (per 100g made as instructed): 326 Calories, 7.9g Fat, 58.9g Carbohydrates, 2.4g Sugars, 4.1g Protein.