Pine nut parmesan
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Ingredients
  • 1 + ¼ cups pine nuts, soaked 1 hour in filtered water, drained
  • 1 teaspoon unpasteurized white (Shiro) miso
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
  1. Soak pine nuts for one hour in mineral or filtered water. Rinse well and drain.
  2. In a food processor, place pine nuts and miso. Add filtered water to cover pine nuts by 1-inch.
  3. Blend in pulses until pine nuts are pulverized but not blended smooth.
  4. Wash a pint-sized or quart-sized glass jar thoroughly with hot water. Pour the mixture into the glass jar and cover the mouth of the jar with screen or cheesecloth, securing it with a rubber band.
  5. Place the jar in a warm place, between 85-95 °F, undisturbed for 6-12 hours.
  6. Use a large spoon to scoop some cheese into a nut milk bag or a strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Squeeze and wring the cheese firmly over a bowl to collect the 'whey". The texture of the pressed cheese should be crumbly and fairly dry.
  7. Mix together pine nut cheese, lemon juice, nutritiona] yeast, and onion powder. Season to taste with salt. It should be relatively salty as traditional parmesan is.
  8. If the cheese is very dry or textured and chunky, add some whey and process in pulses in a food processor until you obtain a creamy but granulated paste.
  9. Spread mixture on a non-stick dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 112°F for 12 hours or until firm enough to transfer to a mesh dehydrator sheet. Continue dehydrating until completely dry.
Culinary Tips
Use only mineral or filtered water to make this recipe. We use miso as a starter for fermentation. Make sure it is unpasteurized miso.
Texture is very important for successful pressing to separate the cheese (solids) from the whey (liquid) after the mixture is fermented. The ideal finished texture is quite like cottage cheese (see picture).
Make sure temperature during fermentation stays stable between 85-95 °F . Do not let the mixture ferment more than 12 hours or it may develop strong flavors.
Use a splash of whey to round up the mixture when preparing it for dehydration. You are looking for a creamy spreadable mixture. Avoid a too dry or too wet mixture.
Be very careful not to use iodized salt. Iodine will alter the fermentation process.
Store in a sealed container or jar in a cool dry place for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe by The Quotidian Cook at https://www.thequotidiancook.com/en/pine-nut-parmesan/