Cashew Cheese Base

A delicious, fluffy cultured cashew paste that can be turned into various vegan cheeses or used in place of cream cheese or sour cream.
Yield	about a pound
Time	10 minutes, plus time to soak and culture
Tools	colander Vitamix or other high-speed blender rubber spatula glass or ceramic container with lid
Ingredients	2 c raw cashews, soaked for 4-8 hours ¼ to ½ c rejuvelac salt
Directions	Drain cashews and transfer to blender. Add ¼ c rejuvelac and a pinch of salt, and blend until perfectly smooth. If it’s too dry, add a bit more rejuvelac, 1 t at a time. Transfer to container, cover, and let culture at room temperature for 8 to 36 hours, tasting occasionally until it’s as sharp as you like it.
Notes	Once this basic recipe is ready, you can use it like cream cheese or sour cream, or turn it into a flavored cheese like Sun-dried tomato and basil cream cheese. Recipe for “Basic cashew cheese” from Artisan Vegan Cheese – read my review. Buy it: Amazon.com \| Amazon.co.uk More: Mock cheeses \| Mock dairy recipes
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