Vegan Alternatives to French Camembert Cheese
French cheese is some of the most popular in the world. But there are now many brands worldwide that offer plant-based versions of all your favourites, from Brie to Camembert to stinky blue cheese!
Honestly Tasty Shamembert is infused with truffle oil for rich earthy tones. Nice on crackers or dunk with bread!
Avoid blue cheese for pregnancy/nursing, children and low immunity. And keep vegan cheese away from pets. Recycle packaging at supermarket bag bins, if your kerbside doesn’t recycle.
La Fauxmagerie Camemvert (from a London vegan cheesemonger)
La Fauxmagerie Camemvert is made by a London cheesemonger. It contains vegan cultures and miso for a tangy taste, infused with truffle oil and enveloped in a white bloom rind. With a gooey texture ideal for spreading or baking.
Sojade Camm’vert (from an organic French yoghurt company)
Sojade Camm’vert is made by a French organic vegan yoghurt company, which runs on solar energy. This is organic with live cultures.
Jay & Joy (organic vegan camembert from France)
Jay & Joy vegan camembert is from a French company, so totally authentic. The makers are so in love with her, they have named this cheese Le Joséphine!
Violife Le Rond is not so artisan (it’s made with coconut oil), but this is the brand that you’ll find in most groceries
Types of French cheeses
France is the unofficial cheese capital of the world, producing over 1000 types, made usually from cow, goat or sheep milk, often having strict production laws by area. The main types are:
- Soft-ripened (bloomy rind) has white mould exteriors and creamy interiors. Examples are Brie and Camembert.
- Washed-rind is similar, but the brine is aged and washed with brine, wine or brandy, resulting in a pungeant aroma and orange rind.
- Pressed cheeses are less well-known, these are aged for months to develop nutty flavours. Examples are comté (cooked) and Cantal (uncooked)
- Blue cheese is pierced with needles to let mould grow inside, for a sharp salty taste. The best-known version is Roquefort (not even vegetarian, as it contains calf or sheep rennet).
- Goat (Chèvre) is not the same as feta Greek cheese. This is a soft spreadable log of cheese, again aged to create earthy tangy flavours.
Make your own vegan Camembert cheese
These are not for beginner’s, but worth having a go, if you are a chef!
Thomas is a French chef at Full of Plants, who runs (alongside his Vietnamese wife) a wonderful recipe blog. And he specialises in recreating authentic cheeses from his home country like this washed rind cheese.
These do require a few unusual ingredients, but he tells you where to find them. A few recipes for the chefs! Try his recipes for:
Vegan sun-dried tomato camembert has a cheesy garlic taste, with a white fluffy rind.
Vegan ash-ripened camembert uses activated charcoal to run a thin black line through the white mould, to resemble Morbier cheese.
