With her new cookbook, Vegan cheese pioneer hopes to democratize food

"Vegan innovator and Miyoko Schinner isn't your typical cheesemonger. The founder and former CEO of Petaluma's vegan Miyoko's Creamery, she's now on a mission to share her recipes in a new cookbook all about plant-based alternatives to dairy products like milk, cheese and even ice cream. And when she wasn't at the bench testing how different plant oils react to cheese cultures, she founded a nonprofit farm animal rescue, Rancho Compasión in Nicasio."

"You might recognize the epicurean activist's name if you've browsed grocery store shelves and seen Miyoko's Creamery-branded plant-based cheeses and butters. Even though she started the brand in 2014, she was controversially ousted as the company's CEO in June 2022 and is no longer a part of the business. Her latest cookbook, "The Vegan Creamery" (Ten Speed Press, $27) was released Sept. 16 and showcases her scientific streak, working to reimagine satisfying dairy-free alternatives to cheese"

"We are in an evolutionary period where food is rapidly changing. One of my concerns is the corporatization of the food system in America and worldwide. About 70% of our calories today come from ultra-processed foods, most likely from one of 10 multinational corporations. Some people are in love with cooking and putting things together, but oftentimes that cooking still entails buying a lot of products and then assembling them."

Miyoko Schinner created a cookbook focused on plant-based alternatives to milk, cheese, butter and ice cream using scientific methods and unconventional ingredients. Recipes test how different plant oils and cultures behave and include creations like mozzarella from watermelon seed kernels and coconut-mung bean yogurt. Schinner founded Miyoko's Creamery in 2014 and later started Rancho Compasión, a nonprofit farm animal rescue in Nicasio. She was ousted as CEO of her company in June 2022. The cookbook promotes hands-on food knowledge to reduce reliance on ultra-processed products and counter corporatization of the food system.

Read at The Mercury News