Development of cultured sustainable vegan cheese : a project report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Food Technology at Massey University. EMBARGOED until further notice.

Abstract

The demand for vegan cheese is increasing and the majority of plant-based cheese produced from cashew nuts. Cashew nut cultivation caused intense deforestation and is responsible for several environmental impacts due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides on farms. Literature review was done to gain a better understanding of the definition of premium cheese products and the consumers, consumer expectations, fermentation and cheese making processes, and potential ingredients for the product. The development of cultured vegan cheese products with sustainable main ingredients was carried out in a series of experiments.--Shortened abstract