“I wanted to create a vegan cheese that tastes so good that you could serve it on a platter full of classic cheeses.” Nour Akbaraly is the founder of Les Nouveaux Affineurs, “the new cheese makers.” The goal of the young French company: perfecting vegan cheese alternatives.
The concept is simple: grind cashew nuts and soybeans into a paste. And from there, microbes will do the rest! Except for the first step, the process is similar to conventional cheese making.
However simple the idea may seem, the technology behind it is complex. Other vegan cheeses are mixed with additives, which give them their creamy texture or the typical camembert flavour. The Nouveaux Affineurs, on the other hand, manufacture their cheese in an artisanal way.
“There is a big advantage to making vegan cheese in France. We are lucky to have the most experienced microbiologists in the field of fermentation.” Even the rind of the Nouveaux Affineurs’ cheese is similar to that of camembert. The result: fresh and alive products — just like real cheese! However, as the cheese is fermented, be careful to store it in the fridge. Serve it on a platter rather than spreading it on a sandwich to go.
The result is a series of six products: three cream cheese spreads and three mature camembert-type cheeses.
If you are new to the world of vegan food, you should buy the cream cheese first — preferably the herbal one. Its taste is the most similar to cheese made from cow’s milk. Just spread it on a cracker, it will astound you!
The appearance of the matured cheeses is impressive — and confusingly similar to real camembert! As for the taste, be prepared for some differences between the three products. The Affiné de Germain, with “a delicious taste of leavening”, has a very pronounced yeast taste, which did not convince us. Instead, we recommend you buy the Affiné d’Albert, whose taste is the most similar to a camembert cheese.
“How can one govern a nation that has 258 different kinds of cheese?” Charles de Gaulle
Camembert, Brie, Roquefort: French cheeses are known all over the world. Each person in France eats over 26 kilos of it per year — a constantly increasing number. So, it takes a lot of courage to launch vegan cheeses here.
And yet, enormous quantities of milk are needed to meet the demand. Farmers have to make compromises. Extensive use of antibiotics in livestock, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution: intensive farming harms nature and our health.
The idea behind the Nouveaux Affineurs is tangible. They want to change consumption in a constructive way. “Plant-based food is the future!” explains Akbaraly with a slight grin on his face. Under no circumstances should one have to deprive oneself of gustatory pleasures. Especially not of cheese!
The company recently moved to the Paris banlieue area to have the space to further refine their existing products, and to develop new plant-based cheese alternatives.
“I don’t want the whole planet to become vegan. Merely, that everyone starts reflecting on their own diet”, concludes Nour Akbaraly. He firmly believes that we will only succeed in fighting the climate crisis together.
All the Nouveaux Affineurs’ products can be delivered to Luxembourg and to several other European countries.
More information : lesnouveauxaffineurs.com
Pictures : MarineCC
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