vegan cheese: I have been a vegetarian for 9 years and recently have began thinking about becoming a vegan. After seeing the living condition "milk cows" are placed in, I think that is very cruel and dont want to help fund that. I was wondering about vegan cheeses and butters. I live with a meat eating boyfriend, although he is currently trying to kick meat for good, and i don't want to ahve to buy both vegan cheese and milk cheese. I was wondering how different vegan cheese or butter tastes from its dairy counterpart. I want to be able to buy only vegan but I'm afraid my boyfriend may not like it. Does it taste alot different than the other? Where can I buy it? How much more expensive is it?|||Vegan margarines are very similar to others, and can be quite cheap. Nucoa is vegan, and very cheap, good, and at most super markets. :) As for vegan cheese, it tastes nothing like dairy cheese, but some are quite good. I was obsessed with cheese before I became vegan (almost 2 years ago), and I can admit that I miss it. Most food co-ops and Fred Meyer/QFC (if you have them where you live) have a fair selection of vegan cheeses. The best I've found that is easy to find is Vegan Gourmet, especially the nacho flavor. It is good in foods, but not great alone. Make sure they don't have casein, a milk protein (not vegan). Tofutti slices are also not so bad. Sadly, the only really good vegan cheeses I've had are ones I've had to order online (Teese is pretty darn good). Good luck and good for you for thinking about this. I know its hard. I live with a meat eater, but I still love him. :)|||A lot different! I personally cannot stand the taste of vegan butter & cheese. Well I once had a vegan cream cheese spread that wasn鈥檛 too bad but on the whole I avoid both. You only have to read the ingredients on vegan cheese to put you off for life! So it may be a case of trial and error, try a few different brands. Health food shops normally sell it. Organic stores sometimes sell it. Contact your local vegan society, as they can give you advice on vegan food brands, where to buy, cost etc.... http://www.vegansociety.com http://www.americanvegan.org Do a search for your area. .|||in my opinion vegan margarine and regular margarine are very similar, when it comes to cheese not so much, i've only bought the sliced cheese kind which didn't taste good plain but as a grilled cheese it was okay. there ae so many different types of vegan cheeses, your bound to find at least one you like, even if it doesn't taste exactly like real cheese.|||well its not a dairy product so how do you think its gonna taste!? thats like asking if soy milk is like real milk. hell no. if you like cheese eat cheese, just find some that is made on a free range farm, its out there.|||soy cheese is OK But Earth Balance butter substitute is awful! You can NOT bake with it as the package says. And it smells and tastes funny.|||Well, I have never aten it plain, but I had vegan soy cheese on lasagne and it tasted just fine, same with the texture so yeah. Dunno about butter.|||nope.. it's processed... read the ingredients.. most will have some derivative from animal.|||I totally agree with you on the cow thing. Okay, for starters, vegan cheese, for me, is really good! I like it. Vegan cheese can come shredded or regularly sliced, like how you see american cheese. I haven't tried vegan butter (which is just made from either soy, flax, and/or canola oil), I have been waiting for them to go on sale. If you go to an all-natural food store, you can get them cheaper then if you got them at Vons or Ralphs, or whatever grocery chain there is. They will be a little expensive and they usually don't go on sale very often. I'd say the price is about $3.99 - 6.99. But, you don't have an all-natural store, then you can go to your local, big-name, chain grocery store. The vegan cheese is NOT in the regular cheese area. Wherever you find tofu, you'll find vegan cheese and vegan items. The vegan stuff is usually in the produce section; real easy to find, of course. There are many "types" of vegan cheese, such as: Monterrey jack, cheddar, american, jalapeno, and mozzarella. I recommend that you try them. Peace!