Big Picture Farm Caramels

Using fresh milk in caramel is a no-brainer, which is why it’s caught on at multiple creameries. Louisa Conrad and Lucas Farrell of Big Picture Farm in Vermont started producing goat’s milk caramels with cheeses as a way to stand out as a company 10 years ago.“It was kind of a daunting competitive landscape,” she says. “We wanted to do something a little different.” Now, she swears by the use of goat’s milk in the production of the candy, explaining that since the milk components have shorter fatty acid chains, the act of caramelization results in a velvety texture that’s less grainy that cow’s milk caramel. But when asked which dairy product Louisa prefers making, she can’t help herself. “Cheesemaking is so sexy, it’s such a beautiful pure product,” she says. “And so I think you can’t really compete with that.”

Follow Your Heart

Sara Klimek/Tasting Table

We were pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the vegan feta crumbles from Follow Your Heart. These crumbles have the same tangy signature as feta, but just with a little more crumbliness — which we liken to the texture of freshly fallen snow. We would have liked to see a little more squeaky texture, like dairy-based feta. Like other cheeses, the base of this cheese is coconut oil and besides being gluten-free, it is soy-free, too. One container was priced at $4.49 at our local supermarket, making it slightly more affordable than brands like Violife.

Follow Your Heart carries other vegan cheese products, like dairy-free parmesan, crumbled blue cheese, shreds, and blocked mozzarella. You can also find several options for veganaise (vegan mayonnaise), dairy-free mac and cheese, salad dressing, and dips. Based on our assessment of the feta, we would reckon to say that Follow Your Heart gets the flavor profile of dairy-free cheeses well but may have some work to do on the texture of its vegan cheese products.

Violife

Sara Klimek/Tasting Table

Violife is the kingpin of vegan cheeses — and for good reason. The brand manufactures numerous vegan cheese products including mozzarella, cheddar, and Mexican-style shreds, vegan cream cheese alternatives, mature cheddar cheese slices, cheese alternative dips, feta, and shaved parmesan. If we were running this review on variety alone, it's clear that Violife would take the prize. As for price, we found Violife was one of the more expensive brands on the vegan cheese market. Its cheddar shreds were listed at Walmart for $5.28.

We found Violife to be well worth its price. Both the cheddar shreds and the mature cheddar shreds were strongly flavored like cheddar, with savory notes that paired well with a vegan burger. The slices melted best when steamed in a pan, while the cheddar shreds easily melted after a few minutes in the microwave over a homemade burrito bowl. Although we didn't get the opportunity to try the more unconventional products like the feta and the parmesan wedge, we are thoroughly impressed with the flavor and melt-ability of this cheese. Just don't try to eat it out of the bag — it's waxy.

Babybel

Sara Klimek/Tasting Table

Yes, it's the same Babybel that manufactures the snacking cheeses in the little red wax discs — just vegan. The brand released its plant-based snacking cheese in early 2022. These small snacks, which come in bags of six, are made with modified food starch, coconut oil, and calcium citrate. Each bag is listed at Target for $4.49, or about

Moocho

Sara Klimek/Tasting Table

Moocho is a product from the Tofurky brand, which makes everything from tempeh to vegan Thanksgiving roasts. Its cheese line includes several different offerings, including the cheddar and fiesta blend, which we sampled, as well as a vegan shredded mozzarella. Moocho also makes vegan cream cheese in three different flavors: plain, garden vegetable, and strawberry.

The main issue we found with this cheese was its powdery texture and lack of flavor. When we sampled the shredded cheese straight from the package, we noticed that it left a cornstarch-like residue on our fingers. The cheese was almost buttery and did not have the same squeaky pull as a good cheddar cheese. Moreover, we were disappointed that there wasn't a clear difference in flavor between the cheddar and the fiesta blend that we sampled. Both cheeses melted in the microwave but turned into a bit of a stodgy mess that lacked the authentic cheese-pull factor.

The one good thing about this cheese was that it did, in fact, resemble the color and shape of a dairy-based cheese. There was also a subtle tang that was almost sour cream-like in flavor, but we didn't think it matched the right cheddar profile that the brand was going for. Moreover, we ranked this cheese low because it melted on our tongues rather than giving a pleasant chew. But it still wasn't as dry and bland as our lowest-ranked products.

.75 per piece.

Babybel snacking cheeses are limited in scope because the lineup only contains one product. And unlike other dairy-free cheeses, it's made for snacking rather than for melting. Peeling these tiny cheeses is like a little bit of euphoria from our childhood, and the inside of the cheese resembled almost the exact flavor of cream cheese. There was a subtle tangy aftertaste on the cheese that made it feel like we were eating a ball of mozzarella. The texture was a bit like biting into a piece of clay — which was equally as disturbing as it was cool. Overall, we wouldn't go out of our way to pack one of these cheeses in a lunchbox.