Did you know that grapes, that many people of on the cheese board, is not often the best choice with cheese? We pair certain foods/flavour profiles so that they enhance one another. Grapes in a few ways can make cheese taste bitter, especially for Blue & Washed Rind Cheeses. For other types of cheese, it may not always worsen the cheese, but it may not enhance the cheese board experience. Better options can be apples, figs, pears. You have either try dried fruit such as dried figs, dates & cherries. By no means am I a flavour-wizz. I'm parroting a few do's & don'ts with cheeses 😅 So on that basis, what I know is, it's sweet & salty pairings thing. Pair sweet foods with cheese and you are good to go! Though dark chocolate pairs well with certain cheeses too, and I believe this due to having similar flavour profiles whether it's, acidic, nutty, savoury, sweet, creamy, etc. In this instance, it's recommended to experiment and experience a small bite of each, separately, and then together. Chocolate can be made in so many ways with different beans. The flavours can vary even if two bars are both 95% dark. What do you enjoy with cheese? . . P.S. Excuse the last minute crappy photo. I'm still in Torquay 😅

I'm closing up the workshop to take a short break to Torquay. Going to be sad to leave my oversized cheese babies in the cheese cave but thankfully I have a secret someone to just check up on them, flip them, brush them, and maybe give them a little spank every now and again. . Expect a few posts about food from Torquay. Don't worry, I don't spam to much. . UPCOMING EVENTS . Sunday 30th June @tfsundaymarket in Bristol. Saturday 6th July @yeovilveganmarket (will have Blue & Washed Cheese). Sunday 14th July @tfsundaymarket in Bristol (will have Washed Cheese). Saturday 20th July @veganeventsuk.co.uk Bath Festival (will have Blue & Washed Cheese). Sunday 21st July @veganfairs Stroud - UNCONFIRMED (with have Blue & Washed Cheese). Sunday 28th July @tfsundaymarket in Bristol. . CHEESE CAVES . I mentioned a cheese cave a lot recently and I noticed many are, understandably, not sure what it entails. What used to be actual caves, a cheese cave is a cold-type room with a very specific climate that is required to help cheese age & develop naturally. Climate falls on two main components. Temperature & humidity. Each cheese has its own requirements on the climate, however at its base, a vegan cheese needs a minimum humidity of 80% with a temperature range of 10-14 degrees Celsius. A mold cheese requires a 90% humidity as a must. This climate helps the microbes, I mentioned in another post, develop naturally. They produce the rinds, flavours & textures synonymous to cheese, as well as stop the cheese from having problems such as promoting bad growth, drying out, etc. On the topic of drying out - to my fellow vegan cheese makers, please don't just use a wine fridges with no other alterations. It's making me cry. I can see your cheese has dried to dust 😅 Please get your humidity up at the very least or vacuum pack your wheels instead. Please! Within the cave, the build up of microbes over the years increases where every cave has their own unique community. This community gives each cheesemaker the ability to develop a unique rinds, flavour & texture to them, so there's potential of 1000s of vegan cheeses out there if done right. Just like dairy. Just better 😉

Right, hopefully this is the last update on the packaging I use regarding the environment 😅 To catch everyone up; cheese needs a special type of the packaging and the stuff I use in my prepackaged range fits the bill as it creates a safe barrier and climate. It's plastic free and is home compostable (better than industrial compostables and biodegradables). . A fan found out that the council removes the packaging from collected compost waste (either a machine limitation or it looks like plastic) which in turn costs the council money (probably?). . So, please only compost the packaging in your green waste that you use in the garden, and not the stuff that is collected. If you can't do that then please place in general waste. It was quite important to know however, what would happen if the packaging ended up in the oceans. I received a response from the manufacturers and they mentioned to conform to a certain protocol that the packaging requires 90% degradation in marine conditions. Trying to make sense of the fancy lingo, they also say it does not break down into tiny particles, so nothing like mico-plastics. Another statement: "...films conform to EN 13432 and as such are certified as biodegradable and compostable due to the fact that they break down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass by the action of micro-organisms. As part of EN 13432 our films have been tested for biodegradation, disintegration, absence of heavy metals and ecotoxicity. They have been shown to have no toxic effects on plants (following tests on summer barley and cress) or in the aquatic environment (following tests on Daphnia).". . There's no mention of what happens in landfills, however I think it's safe. They also mention that clean energy is created when it's incinerated. I'm pretty happy with this (as long as I understood everything correctly 😬😅)

Converted quite a few veggies so far. Maybe I should be keeping count on all these wins 😅 The cheese in the background is the Washed Rind Cheese. Aged in a high humidity environment and washed three times a week with my cultures & brine solution for that depth in flavour and a bit of a stinky wiff. It's aged in a Blue Cheese cave which helps give it a bit more "oooof" to is profile. It's currently out of stock online, but I have some in the works for several July events, and to sell online. Check out my site for all events & online store details. I'm on track to having this part of my regular range so that I always have it on hand ☺️

Very grateful that @thebowlshed have returned. A firm favourite of mine as the acai smoothie bowls are on point with glorious nutrients & noms. My only problem is Charlie (my Labrador) was getting hot & bored so I had to eat my bowl quickly, hence the badly rushed photo 😬 @thebowlshed, don't leave me again (you can find them tomorrow @theharboursidemarket in Bristol).

Excuse the face 😝 The not-so-humble cashew. It's the base of nearly all artisan cheeses because of its creamy and neutral flavour. As it doesn't offer the same structure to that of dairy, it makes it pointless in trying to make curds, however it's become synonymous in vegan cheeses anyway. Though it's a great ingredient, it does have a major drawback of being pretty damn expensive. And though I'm not clued up on all details, we can safely say it has a sizeable carbon footprint (how is grown, cared, imported, etc). . There's also this thing called "blood cashews" which I won't go into the details. I done what I can to source it ethically as possible through a local supplier in Bristol. They in turn, import them from Vietnam. But, given its drawbacks of cost and allergies, I've always been working in the background for a British-grown plant-based nut-free alternative for over 6 months. I got my eyes on something, but lack of timing is delaying experiments. Working out the science background of it is challenging, though it's the same-old story where I want to be as traditional as possible when it comes to cheese making. With cashews being a blended/creamed to create cheese, I'm going for the milk, curd & rennet approach with the nut-free alternative. No matter which way you spin it, there's a reason why dairy cheese is so loved that people will fight over it (and no, it's not because of the addictive nature of fatty based foods). . Anyway - watch this space. No cheese making today. Taking a jaunt with Charlie the Labrador around Bristol harborside to feed the mind, soul and belly ☺️ . . . . . #bristol #bristolfood #bristolfoodie #bristolvegan #bristolvegans #veganaf #eatplants #cashewcheese #cleaneating #cleanfood #ukvegan #entrepreneur #foodblogger #ukvegans #foodinstagram #foodlover #foodphotography #healthyeating #healthyfood #plantbased #instavegan #smallbusiness #veganbristol #vegancheese #veganfood #veganfoodporn #veganfoodshare #vegansofig #veganuk #whatveganseat

"Hey, I miss cheese. Does your cheese contain mold & yeast?". . The above is a question I receive quite regularly. Though I am not sure on the details of the aversion to molds and yeast (not to be confused with nutritional yeast), they both play a fundamental role as a building block in nearly all dairy cheeses (and of course, my vegan cheeses). . Microbes (bacteria, mold, yeast, etc.) take the stage throughout cheesemaking, whether it's in the ingredients already, added during cheesemaking, or naturally occurring during the ageing process. Molds and yeast are part of all cheeses during the affinage (ripening/ageing) stage, which cannot be avoided, for a good reason. Most are not directly added to cheese but are naturally occurring to affect the cheese within the environment. To not over complicate things; certain microbes help develop flavours during affinage. Some microbes develop textures. While, other microbes contribute towards rind development for flavour, protection, and additional microbe development. . Many microbes are unique to their environment which, if you remember from my previous posts about being a Natural Cheesemaker, means the end cheese will be unique to that maker. This comes about from the uniqueness of bacteria in the cheesemakers settings as well as the geographical location in the world. Without molds & yeast, many kinds of cheese will fall flat with monotone flavours or none at all. There are mold and yeast-free vegan "cheeses" available. However, these then rely on artificial flavours or a series of spices and nutritional yeast to create a fake cheese/quavers flavour, which are somewhat offputting for a cheese snob such as me 😉 As an advocate for vegan cheese, such as my range, being REAL CHEESE, you gotta embrace microbes. So yes, all my cheeses contain bacteria, molds, yeasts, etc, etc. That is why they taste exactly like dairy cheese, and so damn good too. . . . Disclaimer: I'm not a dairy cheese expert (just an experienced artisan one), nor a microbiologist. Please let me know if I made any mistakes in the above write up.

Looking for Vegan Blue or the Aged Washed Rind Cheese? Next month I'll be at @yeovilveganmarket on the 6th July at @quedamcentre where these specials will be returning once again. The classic range will be there too, including the Original Sharp, Maple Wood Smoked & the Feta vegan cheese. I'm setting a plan in motion to build a bigger & better cheese cave in the near future. This means you can see more of the Special cheeses more frequently. Quite exciting for the cheese obsessed 😝 Next week I'll be talking a trip away from my cheese workshop for a short holiday but I'll be back for the Tobacco Factory Market on the 30th June 🙂

Latest reviews are in! Unsurprisingly I'm the best 😝😝😝 Help me out and nominate me in the @vivacharity awards for Vegan Cheese innovation. I'm not big in the grand scheme of things but we need to show the other vegan cheese creators how cheese is done right, the dairy way 😉 Innovative right 😛 . You can vote for "Food by Sumear" using the link in my bio. . . . . P.S. I need some help leaving the house. My head won't fit through the door now.

Packaging Update - A fan has brought to my attention that local councils (well, the Bristol one at least) remove the cheese film (that's home compostable) from collected green waste and place it into general waste. Though this is quite annoying to find out, it potentially costs the council in extra costs to sort through recycling. I need to find out the outcome to the packaging in how it degrades outside of compostable environments. For now, please can you try and add the packaging to your home compostable waste that you use for gardening, if you have one. Not the green waste that is collected by the council. There are commercial composters around the UK but I'm unsure on the details at the moment. The creators of the packaging claim that if it's added to general waste and incinerated, it will produce clean energy. However, I think some councils don't incinerate. Please correct me if I'm wrong! As you know, all my retail packs are plastic free, but compostable packaging isn't entirely the solution if it can't degrade outside of limited parameters. Will keep everyone posted on what I find out!

This fella behind me is how I feel today 😂 Me dead tired. Least it's stopped raining for now and the sun's out. I'm set up at the @tfsundaymarket today till 2.30pm. This will be the last sighting of me this month till the 30th June! Remember you can find a few stockists dotted around. Check out my website, though it's worth contacting the stockist ahead to ensure they have the cheese you want/need!

Think I should be charging for selfies with my Cheese Wheels 😂😝 I won't, don't worry. Never be afraid to ask for pics 😉☺️ . It was a killer day today at @houseofveguk. Sold out on quite a lot of stuff! Will be back tomorrow at @tfsundaymarket in Southville, Bristol if you missed me today. There's no Blue but I'll have the classics (Original, Feta & Smoked). . Thanks to everyone that saw me today. Before to take lots of photos, share them and tag me in 😄

@thebigkebabski is running around with blue cheese at @houseofveguk. They gave me a wrap with their new faux chicken and it's bloody awesome! It legit has that chicken texture & vibe. We are all here till 5pm!

Don't judge 😂 It's the Pug's fifth birthday which to me is a big milestone and I wanted to celebrate the day with cake 🤣 . (Video of the dogs eating it can be found on my Instagram Stories. Excuse the partially squished cake, that's my fault when I brought it home.) . As you may know, one of my favourite people and bakers is Lauren from @happybunnybakery. I got her to make a custom doggy friendly cake which is naturally vegan (and not loaded with sugars to upset the poor doggies). Lauren said it was safe for humans, so naturally I had a slice or two (four. I had four slices. I said don't judge!). I did have to sweeten it with a bit of maple but it was pretty good for a dog cake 🤣 What did the dogs think of it? Well they went mad for it, making a mess of it all. They are pretty well trained so wouldn't take it off the plates initially but it all ended with the Labrador somersaulting off the chair to grab the crumbs off the floor 😂 If you ever need a custom cake either for you or your dogs then please give @happybunnybakery a buzz. She deserves a lot of recognition for putting up with me as well as doing some amazing bakes ❤️

Remember that Vegan Blue Cheese wheel I rolled in with last Sunday at Clevedon? Well, it's been sliced, diced and tightly wrapped. All for tomorrow's event @houseofveguk in @pennywellproject (Bristol), this version has much more of a creamier affair compared to Sunday's special. Samples are available along with my standard vegan cheese range. There's also some left over Washed Rind Cheese if you need something stronger in smell & taste 😉 As usual, no plastic here. All packaging is home compostable!

With the many questions & requests I receive, I noticed I have not explained the reason behind making my own cultures. There is also a bit of "fake news" going around too 😉 So, let's have a quick talk about bacteria. This topic is quite vast so will only cover a tiny bit about cultures. I'm a Natural Cheesemaker. Basic form: it entails creating my own starter cultures of bacteria to develop cheese instead of using lab-created cultures in the way of probiotics. This is not something I did when making dairy cheese. However, I think it is important (and fun) for vegan cheesemakers to do. Vegan cheesemakers often use lab-created probiotics, which is fine. However, due to probiotics being weak, they will have to add in other flavours (spices/nutritional yeast) to make it more like cheese (with a few additional drawbacks). There are a few instances where the act of making your own cultures is seen as a negative by those who don't understand real cheese & biomes. A natural stance to cheesemaking is safe and can offer stronger flavours, complex ranges, and do science magic with changing properties and textures. Yes, this is from a better understanding of cheesemaking, though it is not something I can do from an off-the-shelf probiotic capsule. When done right, the final natural cheese will be unique to that cheesemaker where it cannot be replicated. This is because the flavours, and the power of the cultures, is dependant on the ingredients used to make it, where & how they are grown, and more. The cultivation of the cultures plays a big role. The overall balance and make-up of this indigenous microbial community will be exclusive to the location, and each cheese created. How they are used makes quite an impact too, which is why my feta tastes drastically different from my washed-rind cheese - intense unrivalled flavours. And this is cheese in its purest form – a true reflection of where it is made — not a mix of spices and artificial flavours, but a heritage of bacteria doing their work. Sidenote: Affinage microbes in cheese-caves are also essential, but that's another story for another day as there is quite a lot of misconceptions about this too!

Quick update to say my remaining events for June are all in Bristol! . Saturday 15th @houseofveguk (Blue cheese & Aged Washed Rind Cheese will be available here) Sunday 16th @tfsundaymarket (rare possibility of blue cheese) Sunday 30th @tfsundaymarket (producers event so much more vegan grub here!) . For more events, check out foodbysumear.co.uk/cal

Couldn't help but just show off wheels today 😅 So grateful for my loyal following though 😁❤️❤️ I've made so much progress in a short space of time over the year that it's unbelievable. I keep getting told off that I'm too negative towards myself, or to actually believe the positive words that people say about what I do, but I am eternally grateful to everyone that helped me get here today 😁❤️ . Reposted from @ewa_hibberd - How wonderful to see the lovely Vegan Cheese Wizard, Sumear of @foodbysumear again at Clevedon @veganfairs today!!! 💚💚💚 My fridge is well stocked up now with his delicious creations. 😋🌱💚 . #vegan #veganfood #veganfair #clevedonveganfair #vegancheese #vegancheesemaker #plantbased #eatplants #govegan #vegansofig #veganofinstagram #instavegan - #regrann

I'm showing off today at Clevedon's @veganfairs 😝

Today's the day. First anniversary of my first market is today when I no longer hid my cheese from the world 🙈 Ignore the fact everything was dairy. I of course went fully vegan soon after. We all had to start from somewhere 😝 You can find me and many of my favourite people today at Clevedon's @veganfairs on Princes Road in the Community Centre. 10 till 3pm. It's going to be epic!

Today, I spent an astonishing 3 hours in Bristol's new chocolate shop/cafe, @pionkaschocolate by (possibly?) Bristol's only Bean to Bar choclatier, Mariusz Pionka (@cocoa.corner). Time kinda flew away as we ate chocolate, talked about chocolate, drank chocolate, talk chocolate politics, and ate even more chocolate 😅 One of the many things we tried was a proper pure 💯 hot chocolate. 100% chocolate is melted directly into a cup with a heat gun and then added with plant-based milk that is whisked & blended in. Dark chocolate is my weakness, though when made in this sort of style with milk, it still hit the spot. For those who don't like dark chocolate, there's a 70% version with plenty of sugar available 😝 If you missed my previous posts, Mariusz was one of the people that indirectly helped me decide to start my food business by being the experienced, skilled and passionate person that he is. As you many know, I am an overly opinionated blunt and passionate person myself. I like to think I know what good chocolate is, how it is made, and how best to enjoy it, etc. So I definitely got the snob thing down too. Without a doubt, Mariusz creates the best chocolate I've come across, by using his experienced, knowledge on different beans, flavours and skills. All by being humble and not arrogant at all (I'm throwing shade now 😉). . A lot of his range is naturally vegan, as all good proper chocolate is (dairy milk is used in cheaper chocolates as a filler, to be honest). He has got: pure dark chocolate bars (100% my fav), proper stone ground chocolate bars (also my fav), flavoured chocolate thins, truffles, soon to have vegan chocolate muffin balls, and more. He does all the chocolate making on his own but runs the new shop with his partner, Lisa. Highly recommend dropping by. You will not regret it. Just like my cheese. Quality trumps all. Supporting the independents is important and buying premium quality products little but often is better then buying cheap crap on a weekly basis. Check out the shop @ 192 Cheltenham Road in Bristol. P.s. It's pionka, as in Willy WONKA 😉

I have gone a bit lighter with the Vegan Blue Cheese again. Damn I'm good 😛 Trying different things out before I settle on a certain style hence the changes. This wheel is heading to the Clevedon @veganfairs (just like everything else at the moment). Even if I don't sell anything (I will, but hypothetical), it's gonna to be an amazing day. Will be surrounded by my favourite people like @happybunnybakery, @nutcessity, @eatdarkmatters and many more. Rumor has the Dino lady will be visiting (*hint hint nudge nudge wink wink @hungryherbieuk 😉). With over 30 stalls with a lot a variety, it will definitely be amazing. You can find at 2 Princes Road, BS21 7SZ, Clevedon and it runs between 10am till 3pm. On my menu you can find: Original Sharp Feta Maple Wood Smoked Aged Washed Rind Cheese (limited) Proper Vegan Blue (limited) Samples of everything will be available, but be early!

This is me, Sumear. I've been your cheese maker for the last 363 days. Though I was doing dairy cheese for much longer than that, doing 100% vegan cheese has been much more rewarding in all honestly. The love of my cheese has been amazing with my sales always increasing month upon month. Though I am still paying myself below minimum wage. It is improving. I enjoy what I do but I always push myself to be better and do more as I'm a people pleaser. It's both a positive & negative. I do kinda run myself into the ground with long hours and then feel worse when a very small few whinge at me for not doing better 😅 I have big plans for the future of my Vegan Cheese (as I keep telling you). I think I will always keep my business small. Rather than have a factory and a team, at the moment, I only see myself making cheese on my own, with my own proper cave. A lot of they is due to personality, though who knows what the future really holds! I did originally write this post more about myself as a person, as a few people been asking for it. But I deleted it cos it seemed too much 😂 So instead, have a photo of me with a piece of cheese photoshopped onto my face!

It's a bit wiffy. Aged Rind Washed Vegan Cheese special heading to Clevedon @veganfairs this Sunday.

Last sappy post, I promise. I'll go back to being sassy & cheesey soon! I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that bought from me in the last 361 days. An extra big thank you to everyone that shared their experience with my Vegan cheese with people in real life and online. Sharing helped fuel my expansion around the Southwest and beyond and allowed me to do bigger and better things. Instagram & Facebook groups have been a life changer! Keep sharing online and I'll keep growing. I have big plans for the future for even bigger things 😉