# Natural Non-dairy Cheddar Flavor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351 "2020-05-07T19:30:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/1 "2020-05-07T19:30:17Z")
My wife buys a cheese-flavored snack popcorn called Skinnypop that makes all kinds of health claims like non-GMO, gluten free and certified vegan. It was this last claim that got my attention, as it is my understanding than vegans don’t eat cheese. Looking at the ingredients, I see they contain “Natural non-dairy cheddar flavor”. How can that be? Natural cheddar flavor comes from cheese, unless there is a cheddar flavored plant or mineral I am unaware of. And if it is a man-made cheddar flavoring, it is not natural. It is either natural or non-dairy, it cannot be both. Can it? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/2 "2020-05-07T19:44:02Z")
Maybe it’s homepathic? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/3 "2020-05-07T20:00:13Z")
[Here’s a recipe for homemade vegan cheddar](https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/vegan-sharp-cheddar-cheese/). Looks like it relies on garlic, paprika, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and white miso for the flavors. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/4 "2020-05-07T22:10:14Z")
Nutritional yeast is the Vegan go-to for cheese flavor. Maybe on popcorn it can fake it. When I first became Vegan, I was gung ho. I wanted to cook for the carnivores in my family, and then make a Vegan analog along side the meat dish. My initial creation was an enchilada. Recipes from various places instructed the Vegan cook to make a white sauce with soymilk, and then whisk nutritional yeast into the mixture. This could be used then as a “cheezy” sauce in the enchilada construction. The finished product looked beautiful. But in NO universe could that nutritional yeast sauce EVER be considered a substitute for cheese. It was damned near inedible. I wasn’t rich enough to throw out the whole pan, so it became my lunch for a week. I drowned each serving with salsa, and I drank gallons of water to wash down every bite. I never touched nutritional yeast again. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/5 "2020-05-08T00:22:53Z")
It’s a man-made chemical that isn’t supernatural. There we go, natural non-dairy cheddar flavor. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/6 "2020-05-08T02:46:15Z")
There are plenty of nut-based cheese substitutes. A godsend for those of us with family members who can’t have dairy. Do they taste exactly like cheese? No. Are some a close enough approximation? Reasonably so, especially if you can’t eat dairy. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/7 "2020-05-08T12:41:35Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zr8wAm7i-vo/maxresdefault.jpg "Brad Makes Fermented Popcorn Seasoning | It's Alive | Bon Appétit") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr8wAm7i-vo) Brad Leonie trying out different fermented pop corn powders. As far as I remember, the white miso one tasted like cheddar. Natural and non-dairy. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-non-dairy-cheddar-flavor/853351/8 "2020-05-08T13:03:26Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Nutritional yeast is the Vegan go-to for cheese flavor. Maybe on popcorn it can fake it. > > When I first became Vegan, I was gung ho. I wanted to cook for the carnivores in my family, and then make a Vegan analog along side the meat dish. My initial creation was an enchilada. Recipes from various places instructed the Vegan cook to make a white sauce with soymilk, and then whisk nutritional yeast into the mixture. This could be used then as a “cheezy” sauce in the enchilada construction. > > The finished product looked beautiful. But in NO universe could that nutritional yeast sauce EVER be considered a substitute for cheese. It was damned near inedible. I wasn’t rich enough to throw out the whole pan, so it became my lunch for a week. > > I drowned each serving with salsa, and I drank gallons of water to wash down every bite. > > I never touched nutritional yeast again. > ~VOW A coworker who went vegan brought in a vegan cheese-like dip he and his wife made. I believe nutritional yeast was one of the ingredients. It was actually not bad, but there was a little bit of a graininess and an “off” aftertaste. It was the kind of thing that at first taste you say, yeah, it IS cheesy tasting and good! But if you ate more I could see getting sick of it quickly.