Kite Hill Releases Two Flavors of Vegan Cream Cheese
Cream cheese is one area where vegan options aren’t as prolific—or, in most cases, as delicious—as their dairy alternatives. So far, there haven’t been a lot of choices that come close to the real thing.
Kite Hill is looking to change that, however, with its introduction of two new artisanal almond milk cream cheeses. The Northern California-based cheesemakers, with the help of chef and co-founder Tal Ronnen, have released two bagel-ready flavors: plain and chive.
The company’s mission is to provide consumers with the best tasting plant-based dairy. Eventually, they want to have a Kite Hill nut milk version of every item in the supermarket dairy aisle. Currently they offer nut cheeses and cream cheeses, but soon they’ll be branching out into artisan nut milks, yogurts, and prepared entrees and desserts.
Their products are made through the same culturing process as traditional cheeses. First they produce curd with freshly made almond milk, classic cultures and enzyme. The curds and whey are then separated, and each item goes through its own unique process. For the vegan cream cheeses, the curd is blended with natural ingredients to create the final product with its spreadable consistency.
Yesterday, the company held a vegan bagel brunch at the famous Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles, serving Kite Hill cream cheese and Tal Ronnen’s smoked carrot “lox” (which sounds totally intriguing).
In attendance was actress and vegan advocate Emily Deschanel, who had the following to say:
While we weren’t able to
attend the event (LVN’s headquarters are on the opposite coast), the company did send us some samples. The vegan cream cheeses have a texture similar to Philadelphia-style spreads, and offer a rich, creamy flavor profile.
Whether you’re a New Yorker in need of a schmear splurge or an average, everyday bagel lover, Kite Hill has just the stuff.
The vegan cream cheeses are available nationwide and are sold in 8-ounce packages for $5.99 at Whole Foods. The full Kite Hill line is sold nationally through WF and includes the four artisanal cheeses: Soft Fresh; Soft Fresh Truffle, Dill & Chive; Soft Ripened; Ricotta; and now two Cultured Cream Cheeses: Plain and Chive.
Follow Latest Vegan News on Facebook, on Twitter @LatestVeganNews, and Google+ .
Kindly let me know if there are stores in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada that we can purchase the Kite Hill Chive Cream Cheese? Please list them if so. Thank you.
Hello, to all,
Just wanted to mention for the sake of having fair information, that the products “kite hill” is advertising as dairy free, are not necessarily completely dairy free. For the coagulation of almond milk curds they most probably use an enzyme, called “transglutaminase”, as rennet would not work for almond milk. The enzyme itself can be an animal derivative, but it also can be made using microbiological technologies. The problem here lies not in the enzyme itself but in the fact that the available transglutaminase (such as “Ajinomoto” brand) contains sodium caseinate, which is definitely a VERY dairy product. For those who do not know, sodium caseinate is simply a scientific name of caseine. If above is true, and it is in all probability, “kite hill” products are not advisable for those who cannot consume dairy protein (as my wife, for example; she has a confirmed multiple sclerosis, but now (for about 15 years already) is able to live a normal life, with no symptoms returning whatsoever, just because she does not eat any dairy or gluten containing products). It is sad, but probably there has not yet been found a better method to coagulate almond milk (unless “kite hills” uses something “miraculous” and reveals it to us).
Actually, if you google for “transglutaminase multiple sclerosis”, you will see that this enzyme itself is reported to have been related to the inflammatory processes in MS patients. For example: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26133787
Hi Vytautas,
Kite Hill is vegan, enzymes included. As their website states: “Yes, our products are classified as vegan. We use nut milk and proprietary vegan enzymes and cultures to make all of our products.” http://www.kite-hill.com/about-us/faq/
I recommend reaching out to them if you have further questions. Thanks!
Yes, I wrote them asking if they can confirm they are not using transglutaminase. No answer yet. And of course, transglutaminase, as an enzyme is a dairy free product. No questions about that. The problem is whether it contains caseine. Kite hill has their patents on line where they explain using Ajinomoto transglutaminase for curdling almond milk. So, it is very probable, they are using it. And that is NOT dairy free.
By the way, using the detailed information in their patents, I wanted myself to try making cheese following those recipes. I was just stuck with this transglutaminase question. Keep in mind also, that there are many companies that advertise their products as dairy free, but in reality they use such substances as caseine. It is sad!
As a matter of fact, some transglutaminase from Ajinomoto are vegan such as the activa TI which is exactly the one mentioned in the patent.
I know the post is old but there are vegan transglutaminase from other sources. I am using a couple of different brands. Not all TG work on almonds though, I use the equivalent to Activa TI