Edited to add: no it's not see comment from Emily!
You might be reading that thinking wtf?
Lydia over at More to Love to Love along with Emily from Aduki told me about this Greek fasting cheese which is vegan and you can get from the "Jim's deli" section at the Vic Market. I went along on the weekend and got a tiny bit to try. But hesitated eating it because I wanted to be 100% sure because deli people tend to say that another type of cheese called minichol is vegan and it's not and I like to be able to read labels and I couldn't! I also searched the Kolios website which says that even the pure vegetable fat and cholesterol free cheeses contain cows milk. So I hesitated some more. To double check the translation was right I asked a Greek speaking friend to translate it thinking that maybe the English translations of the website were not accurate and she confirmed that both those varities also had cows milk in them.
I was determined so I sought out a vegan living in Greece who said he has never heard of it in Greece but then later confirmed that it is actually vegan, it's only available during lent in Greece but is exported overseas to us lucky vegan Melbournians.
In the meantime, Lydia found it "Hellenic Deli" section at vic market and there was a sign in front of it that said "suitable for VEGANS".
How come it doesn't have greater exposure?
So what is it like, texture wise it reminds me of cheddar cheese but taste wise it is mild but yummy like a cross between mozzarella and tasty, and basically what I remember cheese to taste like. Now I just need to try the feta variety.
Here's a pic, sorry it's not used in a more exciting way but I was eager to try it after waiting so long for confirmation.
Btw, it's not normally that difficult to find out if something is vegan. It's the first time in 5 years that I have needed to do more than read a label and after a tiny period (about a month) you just tend to know what is vegan and what's not so I don't even have to do that much unless there are new products.
10 comments:
That's awesome that it is definitely vegan. I was a tad worried when I read the website that I had been giving out dodgy advice!
If they have it at the deli, try the feta too. It's sooooo good. Also made for lent.
Emily
Emily, I am trying the feta tonight!
How did you find out about it originally?
My brother brought it home to try. I have no idea how he found out, I think it's just one of those vegan urban legends that goes around!
How was the feta? I had a toastie today with tomato, feta, tartare sauce, red onion and mushroom. So good.
I received some heartbreaking news last night...the cheese isn't vegan. According to my source, the Australian importer of the cheese told him it has casein in it. Only small amounts, but definitely there. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :(
Kolios is NOT VEGAN!!!!!
Also the many other brandy they produce this cheese!
One ingredient is Natriumcaseinat......plase use google for this and you will see.....this cheese alternative is NOT suitable for vegan!
Hi girls!
I was trying to find out more about this Kollios fasting cheese and that's how I found your blog.
I live in Greece but I never heard of this Kollios vegan cheese. Now that it's fasting period because of the Easter I jumped into it in the supermarket and decided to try it. The people that worked in the market told me that it was soya based so I bought it. As I returned home though and searched it on the internet I saw that it is made of vegetable oils and NOT soya. Me and my husband are vegans and we 're trying to find something tasty not only to replace the cheese that contains cows milk but also one that it is low in saturated fat. We 've tried tofu but it lacks in taste, so this Kollios cheese looked very promising... But in my experience products that are based on vegetable oil are really high on saturated fat :(
Is it possible for you if you bought it to tell me more about the nutrition facts of this product? I can't find anything else regarding this product and I was thinking perhaps to call the company tomorrow in order to ask for more info.
Thank you very much and I am sorry for my English!
Rika
Hello I'm trying to find info from vegans about this "cheese" but the last thing I found is from 2014 and it says it's not suitable for vegans cause it contains casein stuff. I'm wondering if they have changed the ingredients cause the product I bought doesn't mention any milk protein/ casein stuff in the ingredient list. The product looks exactly like your picture. I cut some pieces and put them between 2 slices of bread too. Do you have any new info about it? In the company's website they use the word vegetarian for these products which is stupid isn't dairy vegetarian too? I don't think the word vegan is known in greece unless you're vegan of course (i'm a greek vegan) anyway if you or anyone has any news please share this is annoying i'm reading the package and it seems vegan but i'm still worried. xx
It's me again the above anon! I found that this cheese is vegan now! They changed the ingredients! I found a greek facebook page where ppl post vegan stuff that's on sale and it seems that now this "cheese" is suitable for vegans! So I'm answering my own question. The page is https://www.facebook.com/vegan.prosfores/?fref=nf . Just in case any greek vegans read here. Ok bye.
I bought Kolios fasting "vegan" feta for my husband, tried it, and loved the flavour and texture. I was very surprised by how creamy it tasted so eventually got in touch with the company in Greece to double check that it was vegan. This is the response that I eventually received from the Greek company, Kolios, that had supplied what they labeled as vegan feta cheese. From the Greek wording, I could see that their intention was to supply cheese that Greeks could eat while fasting at Easter time (no dead animal products i.e. no rennet.) Their tin was clearly labeled as vegan feta cheese!
Following is the email I received from Kolios:
--- On Wed, 28/11/12, KOLIOS wrote:
> From: KOLIOS
> Subject: KOLIOS
> To:
> Received: Wednesday, 28 November, 2012, 10:34 PM Dear Mrs Komodromos,
> We would like to inform you that our feta cheese (PDO Feta) is not
> vegan, but is vegetarian cheese (has milk in it). We do not use animal
> rennet but we do use sheep and goat's milk to produce PDO Feta cheese.
> Thank you for your interest in our products.
>
> Best regards
> Quality Department
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