Firstly "natural cheese" for dairy cheese is very debatable Secondly personally d favour soya over dairy, but both have their drawbacks and there can be issues with soya if you eat too much, especially if you have thyroid problems, and some people are now claiming it has effects on fertility if consumed in high amounts. Still a bit of soya cheese here and there wouldnt make a blind bit of difference so Id go for that. Dairy has a far more scary story
personally I would take natural organic artisian cheese or raw cheese over soy cheese any day. soy cheese is nasty. Just watch out for animal rennet. I eat raw organic milk and cheese all the time and am glad I don't sacrifice luxuries of life for some fruitless moral obligation.
I find that rice or almond milk is far better. Soy has a chalky finish to me. YMMV. None taste like cow or goat milk. Rice is closest to say, skim cow dairy. mock cheese or yogurt, I've found nothing worth eating, so I have a bit from time to time, local/organic. I've found that not eating dairy triggers the body to decrease the enzymes to digest dairy, and it is mainly noticeable with cheese. Be aware, if you go to this sample a few times a year option.
Darn, I tried twice to send a response to this and lost it both times to the cyber-monster. I think that whether soy or cow's milk is "better" is a matter of opinion. There seem to be pro's and con's to both, really. Because of cost, when I dropped dairy (95% of the time - I "cheat" every once in awhile because I still miss cheese!) from my diet, I switched to unsweetened soy. It is thicker than cow's milk and took some getting used-to, but I did eventually learn to like it. Recently I have found affordable rice & almond milk however, and MUCH prefer their taste & baking results. Rice milk is naturally a bit sweet. I wasn't prepared for that, and we had a rather unsavory batch of mac 'n cheese to choke through one day. It is absolutely wonderful in scone recipes however, and is also quite good when added to tea or cold cereal. Almond milk is a little tougher to find at the less-expensive prices, but I like how it blends in cooked recipes better. It makes a WONDERFUL cream-soup, and is quite nice with granola or in hot cereals. I think that soy cheese must be an acquired taste. From what I've found, the white cheeses taste more "real," and melt better. Soy cheddar was not a repeat in my own house. It reminds me of cheese... but it's definitely NOT cheese, if that makes sense. Still, if you're making something like a pizza with plenty of other flavors & toppings, the soy-mozzarella is pretty believable! I would not consider making something like a grilled-cheese sandwich with it, however. love, mom
Thanks for all your replies, I've been trying rice cheese, soy cheese, cow cheese, and the corresponding milks, (also trying to recall the feel of some goat cheese I had last year at a friends). My conclusion is that cheese, is cheese. Though I'm upholding a vegetarian/vegan-ish lifestyle, recently I learned that cow milk is a very sattvic and pure food, with many nutrients and I mean I look at it and I just know its wholesome if you know what I mean, it comes from mother earth, from our friends the cows who are wonderful creatures and kind enough to give us some of their natural gifts out of love. In the great circle of life we all take care of each other in whatever ways we can. The only issue is I'm kind of lactose intolerant, so almond milk is good too... thank you once more, I have learned a lot in the past few days
hemp milk is much better chinese medicine holds a dim view of soy milk as it leads to many health problems and leeches vitamins and minerals from the body as well as imbalance
The thought of (a trivial amount of) pus doesn't bother me. Whether someone is an omnivore, vegetarians, or vegan you are always going to encounter gross stuff in your food. Organic apples sometime house tiny worms for example.
