I have a thoughts this a lot since dietary restrictions became the new badge of courage. I’m from the olden days where we were embarrassed and shamed for our shortcomings… My least favorite is the person with a dietary restriction they aren’t even up to speed on. Damn my toxic masculinity! Thanks, Dad…
It was pretty tough working at a bakery stall at farmers markets when people were just starting to jump on the gluten free train. I'd have folks come up to me and start screaming at me that they needed spelt bread because of their celiac disease, and I was a heartless bitch for not having any. Explaining that spelt actually has more gluten than regular wheat was not a good idea, nor was explaining that to be safe for a person with celiac disease, bread would need to be 1) free of gluten containing grains, not just wheat and 2) baked in a facility where the air is not thick with wheat flour dust, depositing itself on every surface. "Give me my special bread! IT MAKES ME FEEL SPECIAL!!!"
Not according to the Italians. You'd be astonished at how unimportant they consider cheese as a topping. It's the bread and the sauce that matter. Everything else is a garnish.
I’d rather have pizza with no cheese than pizza with no red sauce but again, it’s like saying I’d rather have no green cones than no red cones in my eyes. Having both adds and extra dimension.
Cheese was the one thing that kept me from going fully vegan for some time. Don't care about meat, don't care about milk, but cheese, cheese is special.
Similar boat here. I've been vegetarian for 18+ years now, and my meals have been vegan most days lately, but I don't know if I'll ever fully cut out cheese.
Vegan cheeses have improved a lot. I've been vegan for almost 25 years, and the last few years have been the best for cheese alternatives. I don't know if you're in the US or if these are international brands, but Miyokos and Parmela Creamery both make some good stuff.
Fair enough point on its face, but if you haven't tried any new offerings lately, you should check in. I've made grilled cheese and quesadillas for vegetarians that couldn't tell the difference. Probably the more specialty or fancier cheeses don't have good substitutes yet. I hope they don't bother replicating feta ;)
Oh hey, I tried vegan feta in salads recently, and it was almost indistinguishable (to me), which was surprising! I didn't expect it to actually be good, lol
I feel like it varies quite wildly. Hard cheese seems to be pretty difficult to emulate well, while softer cheeses seem to be more doable (though there are some horrible ones). We have a local store that makes their own vegan replacements for stuff, and they have some soft cheeses that use the same mold as the originals, and they're pretty good.
