They’re not quite available in Dallas stores yet, but the new craze in vegan cheese is soon coming – Daiya announced their latest offering – Daiya Wedges. We snuck a couple of samples out from the Texas VegFest last weekend and were eager to try them out!
The big knock on their original cheese shreds is the less-than-stellar experience when eaten raw out of the package (though I know some people that love it either way). The selling point for the wedges is that they are ready to eat, “no cooking or melting required.”
The wedges come in three flavors – Havarti, Cheddar, and Jack. Served in a handy resealable container, the wedges indeed are ready-to-eat. The cheese holds up well to handling and slices quite easily with a knife or cheese slicer (when’s the last time you used one of those??).
Eaten raw, the texture and mouth-feel of the cheese is perfect. As to the flavor? The Cheddar is very good. Okay, so it kind of tastes like Velveeta, but to a vegan that hasn’t had non-vegan cheese in years, it’s quite an interesting phenomenon tasting something like that. Jack is similarly good, but Havarti – wow! This could definitely be another game-changer from Daiya. They’ve managed to find that perfect balance between slightly salty and slightly bitter, with a touch of spice that makes this the best of all to eat raw (technically, the flavor is “Jalapeno Garlic Havarti”). The cheese-and-cracker hors d’oeuvres tray is back on the vegan party menu!
But what about cooking? After all, Daiya first burst on the scene with its awesome melting capabilities – so how do the wedges stack up to the shreds? We tried a few dishes to test things out:
French onion soup with Jack Wedges before the oven
French onion soup after – cheese holds up to baking and retains its great taste.
Popcorn Tofu Po-Boy Sandwich. Stupid good.
Gardein burger with Daiya Cheddar slice. This is so amazing you won’t know what hit you.
Verdict – Daiya Wedges are the perfect addition to the vegan arsenal of familiar foods left behind, but now replaced by well-suited vegan replacements. We’re counting the days until they’re available in DFW stores!