Vancouver's Daiya launches dairy-free cheese wedges

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      Daiya junkies rejoice: you can now have your vegan cheese sandwich and eat it too.

      Vegan and lactose-challenged people have been gushing about Vancouver-based Daiya Foods’ dairy- and soy-free shreds since they burst onto the culinary scene a few years ago. Daiya (pronounced day-ah) shreds, available in mozzarella, cheddar, and pepperjack flavours, melt and stretch like the animal product and have made delicious things like nachos and mac 'n' cheese a reality for dairy-avoiders.

      The only downside? The shreds really do taste better melted. Enter the next big thing in the vegan world: the Daiya wedge. Coming in three flavours, cheddar, jack, and jalapeno-garlic Havarti, the wedges can be eaten cold as a snack, on crackers, and in sandwiches. The wedges were recently launched at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California, where the shreds were first showcased in 2009. The jalapeno-garlic Havarti flavour took home a VegNews Best of Show award, making us even more excited to try it!

      Daiya dairy-free wedges are set to hit U.S. stores on April 1. Unfortunately, Canadians will have to wait until summer or early fall.

      Comments

      6 Comments

      Mark E. Mark

      Mar 22, 2012 at 1:10pm

      I really like their shreds melted, but they taste awful cold. I don't see how a solid block of it would change anything.

      DavidH

      Mar 22, 2012 at 2:07pm

      cheese: A product made from the pressed curds of milk.

      dairy-free wedges: Ummmm ... what?

      At the risk of offending just about everybody, shouldn't we insist that vegans stop calling this "cheese" when it isn't? And while we're at it, can't we stop them from saying that everything that isn't meat, tastes just like meat?

      If I hear Degeneres say, one more time, that her latest vegan turkey dinner takes "just like turkey", I'm gonna puke. If you don't want to eat turkey, that's great ... but stop trying to find things that taste like turkey!

      Find something that tastes like moulded, pre-formed vegetable protein.

      ColinC

      Mar 23, 2012 at 10:29am

      @DavidH - I hear you, but there are a ton of reasons why people decide not to eat cheese or turkey. If one loves the taste of cheese, but develops lactose intolerance, for example. How else would a lactose-intolerant person be able to discover Daiya without them advertising it as a cheese substitute?

      In cases like Ellen (and mine), there are many people that do enjoy the taste of meat, but not the side of moral quandary that comes along with it. Is there anything wrong with trying to have something that tastes similar but also meets your personal code of ethics?

      In cases where people aren't down with turkey's flavour (like my partner), however, your point is completely valid, but it's only a slice of the population of non-turkey eaters.

      Leslie-Anne Wall

      Apr 7, 2012 at 3:52pm

      The new wedges are based on a new formulation - it isn't the shred product in block format. It has a much better texture cold.

      Bridgette Lee

      Apr 12, 2012 at 12:57pm

      I wish that I loved Daiya as much as everyone else seems to, but I really don't at all. The melting is pretty spot-on, but the taste is awful. I don't miss cheese enough to try to learn to love it.

      CelesteV

      May 19, 2012 at 9:34am

      I like their products but find it sad that this local company launches in the US first and in Canada, including their own hometown, second. I love to see Vancouver companies thriving, but it sucks when they give the finger to their local consumers and make us wait while we read glowing reviews from customers elsewhere.