Vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture | for aged cheeses

This vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture will help you make aged vegan cheeses like Parmesan, Provolone, Romano, Swiss and Gruyere. It is vegan so it does not contain milk or lactose.

What is vegan cheese?

Vegan or vegetable cheese is not made from milk, but from another vegetable base product. Vegan cheese usually consists of nuts, nutritional yeast and oil. Cashew nuts are extremely popular among vegan cheeses, because of their soft taste and creamy texture. But almonds are also a popular ingredient to make vegan cheese.

Why a vegan cheese culture?

To get a good fermentation (acidification and flavor formation) you need a starter culture. However, most starter cultures available are not vegan. The vegan starter cultures of Startercultures.eu are. The use of vegan yogurt or vinegar as a starter culture, for example, also has disadvantages because these bacteria are not specifically intended for cheese. The vegan cheese starter cultures from startercultures.eu are actual cheese bacteria.

About this vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture

Cheese cultures, vegan as well as milk-based, can be sorted into two major categories: mesophilic cultures (best suited to work in moderate temperatures) enjoy lower temperatures and are used to make softer younger types of cheese. Generally, mesophilic cultures enjoy temperatures up to around 32 °C. Thermophilic cultures (cultures that are activated by high levels of heat), on the other hand, are used to make longer-aged cheeses and prefer temperatures up to 44 °C.

Thermophilic cultures are mostly used in semi-hard and hard Parmesan, Provolone, Romano, Swiss, Gruyere, and other (often Swiss or Italian-style) cheeses, which require higher temperature ranges. They are also used for stretched cheeses such as Mozzarella or pasta-filata.

If you want to make an aged vegan cheese, this culture is for you!

Also for regular cheese

The fact that our starters are vegan doesn’t mean that can only be used for vegan cheese. They are perfectly suitable for regular cheeses as well.

Content  vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture

• 3 grams vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture
• The starter is completely natural without preservatives, additives, artificial colors or flavors. It contains no GMO ingredients and it is both gluten-free and vegan.
• Recommended dosage: 1 g per kg of vegetable substrate
• Made in Spain
• Vegan
• Organic
• Allergens: none

Microbes in  this vegan thermophilic cheese starter culture

Streptococcus thermophilus produced in synthetic (non-dairy) media.

Storage instructions

< -18°C

In the fridge or freezer. Preferably use at once.

How do I make vegan cheese?

Do you want to learn how to make vegan cheese yourself? Our friends of fullofplants.com offer a great FREE ebook with recipes if you subscribe to their mailinglist.  Check out some books available on vegan cheese making here. There are also quite a few video’s online.

Online on demand workshop ‘how to make vegan cheese at home’ (subtitled)

During this English subtitled workshop you will learn the theory and practice of making vegan cheeses at home, with a focus on vegan camembert and vegan blue cheese . Foodwriter ‘Meneer Wateetons’, author of several books on fermentation and alternative food preparation techniques,  will teach you all about fermentation, curing salts, food safety, pH, starter cultures, molds and drying conditions. Click here for more info.