I was skeptical… vegan rice cheese? Surely it won’t melt, and will probably taste weird too. But the prospect of my dairy-free soy-free daughter getting to have “cheese” — on tortillas, in a sandwich, on pizza! — was too exciting to pass up, so I bought a pack of sliced cheddar flavor.
I thought I would try a quesadilla first. “Quesadilla?” she asked, her nose in a quizzical wrinkle. “Yes, do you want a quesadilla?” I responded. “You mean… with cheese??” she asked incredulously. “Yes, with a special kind of cheese that you can have.” “A special kind of cheese that I can have?” she parroted. Boy, I thought, this better be good after all this!
I put a little oil in a pan, threw in a corn tortilla and let it heat up and soften a bit, then turned it over and laid down a slice of cheddar flavor rice cheese. I doubled the tortilla over and waited… please melt, please melt. I peeked inside the tortilla — it melted! I gave it to her and watched her reaction. “Mmmmmm! I love this quesadilla! I love this cheese!” she emoted as she ate it all… and asked for another. It not only passed the test, but exceeded my expectations. And the best part is that she can have CHEESE.
So where does one find this cheese? It is made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods and can be found in various locations, including Whole Foods (you can look up your area here). Be careful though — there are 2 different rice cheeses and one has casein milk protein in it. I don’t understand why they would put casein in a rice cheese — isn’t anyone buying rice cheese doing so because they don’t eat dairy? Anyway, make sure you buy the one that says “Vegan” and “Casein and Lactose Free” on it.
Update 7/20/08: My friend said her daughter didn’t like it. Quesadillas are definitely the best use of the cheese and my daughter still likes them.
karla says
My son and I have tried this rice cheese. It is ok, but only because we could not have anything else. I have now found a allergy free cheese that is very good and there are alot of varieties available. You can check it out on their web site http://www.allergyfreefoods.com. We have sure enjoyed all the ones they have to offer. American sliced cheese. provolone sliced cheese, 3 different kinds of shredded cheese and my most missed parmesan cheese. All of which are all free of the top 8 allergens. The best thing is that they taste good, even though they aren’t cheese at all. They sure fool our taste buds.
Karla
alison says
Hi Karla,
I want to try that cheese! I did a search for retailers in my area (northern California) and there aren’t any. I guess I will have to wait, or order online.
Tiffany says
Hi Karla,
I have tried several times to reach allegry free foods and have been unsuccessful. Do you have a phone number where they can be reached? My 21 month old daughter truly enjoys their frozen chicken products, I love them as well, but they are discontinuing their products in the grocery stores in my area. I would love to order their products, but I have been unable to reach anyone from this website. If I could order many of their products, this would help my daughter menu expand a lot? Please forward this information to me PLEASE!!!!
Jolene says
The last time I checked, there was Casein in Rice Cheese. Has the formula changed? I love this cheese but I m dairy sensitive.
Katy says
A word of caution for the cheese at allergyfreefoods.com.
It contains beef protein which 10% of children with milk allergies are also allergic to. I would hope that every parent of a child with food allergies would read the ingredients but you never know!
christy says
oh my gosh I just have to save everyone three dollars, my daughter was recently diagnosed with both soy and milk allergies as well as citrus,
she loved cheese most of all and misses that most of all that and chocolate
we got soexcited try this “rice” cheese we both bought about 3 packages and brought it home it was horrible, I mean simply awful it tasted like oily wallpaper paste no cheese flavor at all! I just ordered the cheese from allergy site and hope that its better!
Jessiy says
Just went to our local natural food store and purchased this cheese for my daughter who has milk and soy allergies. I tasted it and it really wasn’t all that great plain… but my daughter wolfed it down with a smile on her face! She is only 15 months old… so I think with time she will get to know this cheese as “normal”. I bought it in hopes of making her a grilled cheese sandwich! It definitely isn’t the cheese that I am used to, but as long as she likes it, I like it!
Maryka says
Hi
I am from South Africa. We are allergic to Cow’s, sheep,
camel, and goat milk and cheese. I would like to order
some of your rice cheese. My sons(10 & 5 years) are also allergic to Gluten, chick pease, eggs and many more.
In South Africa there are no lactose free cheese.
Hope you can help me
Regards
Maryka
Nicole says
Can anyone help sourcing dairy (no casein) and soy free cheese in the UK? I have a 4 year old desperate to try some for the first time but am only able to find sources in the US when I google…
Any help much appreciated.
N
Leah J. says
Please be careful with this product you are all talking about the vegan rice slices. It has Mono & Diglycerides in it. Which I know to be a soy product. I have been trying to contact the company about this and have not had a good response so far.
This was there last email to me said-
“In answer to your question, you are correct, mono and diglycerides are derived from non-hydronated soy bean oil. Have you tried our Vegan rice products, they are soy free as well as dairy and casein free.”
It does not make a lot of sense. But I will not consume this product until they clear this up. I would urge anyone with a soy allergy trying this product to be very careful.
Amber says
Also be careful with rice cheese, as it may contain “pea protein.” Those who are very sensitive to soy may have a similar reaction when they consume other legumes, namely peas, green beans, and chickpeas. We tried the rice cheese with pea protein and my son still had a reaction.
alison says
Yes,
The dairy-free soy-free butters and cheese do contain pea protein which can be a problem for some. I spoke to the guy in charge of the recipes at Earth Balance and he said they put it in for flavor. I let him know that I have been hearing on my blog about those with intolerance to the pea protein and he said he would see if they could take it out of their dairy-free soy-free butter!
Sharron says
Hi! I have a 2yr old son who is allergic to soy, milk, eggs, and wheat. Lately the poor kid refuses to eat any meat. Could you please give me some food iseas for him. Im tired of feeding him rice..he wants to eat pizza and ice cream…please help me.
Alison says
Sharron,
It can be hard! My daughter who is 6 sometimes refuses to eat meat and I am always worried about her getting enough protein since she doesn’t eat dairy, eggs or nuts, and doesn’t really like seeds. What meat have you tried? I found that my daughters like ground chicken — you might try that. Will he eat turkey slices? Does he like any fruits and vegetables? How about a smoothie?
allan sassman says
hello there
is thisb cheese available in south africa
nad if not can you make it avilable to me
txs allan
concerned diabetic person
027 01 7062049
thxs allan
allan sassman says
hi matyke
answer to your question about rice cheese
bad news : only made by galaxy usa ri.island
they do not ship outside south africa even if we know this good for us..knowing about caseins, gluten,lactose and soya
so we are stuck..also most diabetics are over 45 ..cannot afford these high prices
if you know someone going to usa ..youcan get it ..tell them to vacuum seal it..if customs have redtape for this product.. mail it fronm usa
hope you come right..if you do..telll me
allan allansassman@gmail.com south africa
Laura says
http://www.daiyafoods.com/
Daiya is a great alternative to cheese. My daughters love it! It does taste different than cow milk cheese, but it has grown on me and it melts really great. My daughters have never had cow milk cheese, so they have nothing to compare this cheese to and instantly loved it.
Bonnie says
YOU GUYS NEED TO TRY DAIYA CHEESE! It’s arrowroot and tapioca and it melts perfectly! There are pizza places that use this and it is amazing. We are currently living in South Africa, but we get our cheese at home in the States (Whole Foods or HyVee) and then we freeze it and bring it back. I wish I could find this in SA. It beats Rice Cheese by about 1000%!
http://www.daiyafoods.com/
annemarie fourie says
Can I order rice cheese direct from you? we stay in south africa. Or do you know about someone selling it in sa?
crissy says
Can anyone please post the UPC of this item so I can carry it in my store?
tumi says
I notice that there are a couple of parents living in South Africa who have children with cow, soy and goat milk allergies. Can we not form a forum of some kind and request places such as Dischem to stock these products for us? I know I have written to woolies asking whether they would consider making rice yoghurt (i know i was pushing it). They have since responded to say they do not stock it. If you agree we can set something up. i am in pretoria
Tumi
May Angela says
Hi everyone, it was interesting reading all the above posts and I have been taking notes. I live in England and have contacted Daiya foods for their cheese but they do not sell outside the USA and Canad. Anyway, after reading more about that cheese I found out that it is based on coconut oil. My daughter cannot have coconut. I also found lots of cheese alternatives that are free from dairy and soya but these are based on nuts. Again my daughter have severe allergy to all nuts and seeds.
Can anyone please help if you know any cheese alternative that is free from all of the following: Nuts, all kinds of dairy and dairy derivatives, soy, wheat, gluten, coconut, sesame, eggs and chestnuts.
Your help is greatly appreciated, my daughter is desperate for a pizza, lasagne and mac cheese. I am even prepared to make the cheese at home if anyone have a suitable recipe.
Thank you
tina says
Pea protein are horrible for use. Cant find a cheese. Help. I need no soy no dairy
donna coggon says
Hi, i live in England, i have many health problems and am a veggie. I have been searching for dairy free cheese as i am a cheese addict and my son is lactose intolerant!! ive tried some that are awful. i saw the galaxy rice cheese….is it only available for america or is there somewhere i could order it? Its so hard to get hold of a good one!!!! Please help!! Donna
Marcia says
Hi everyone,
I´ve been reading your posts and seen some people asking about cheese that is egg, nut, coconut, gluten, wheat, soy free and I know of an alternative here in Brazil, where I´m from. It´s called mandiokejo and it´s made of yucca pure, olive oil or vegan margarine, and a type of tapioca flour which is a little sour because it is fermented, called polvilho azedo. Recipe as it is seen in many websites here: 1 1/2 cups yucca puree; 1 cup polvilho azedo; 1 cup water (or your favorite vegan milk);1/4 cup vegetable oil. If you´re in the US you can add nutricional yeast as you like. Blend everything together in a blender and transfer it to a sauce pan. cook the mixture until it comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. Immediately tranfer to a ramekin, let it cool and then refrigerate it. You may find polvilho azedo at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sour-Starch-Polvilho-Azedo-GLUTEN/dp/B005CBRPIW
Cheers to all. 🙂
Zarina says
I was at Skipolini’s in Walnut creek and they offer Lactose Free Rice Cheese! I was so excited to have Pizza with CHEESE on it. It was amazing!