Eight years into being vegan, I’d finally stuck with it long enough to see vegan cheese become easy to find. I thought, surely, after waiting so long, it’d be good enough to silence the “I’d go vegan if it wasn’t for cheese and bacon” crowd. But no — mainstream vegan cheese just gave them more ammo.

Most grocery store vegan cheeses taste like armpit (this is a factual conclusion). And the few good ones, usually hidden in hipster headquarters, would cost you a kidney.

In June 2024, I started leaning into fresh, simple food I actually enjoyed making. I learnt how to make my own tofu, yoghurt, and wraps… but cheese? That’s where being Lebanese saved me from a life without it. I came across a tradition from southern Lebanon where people fermented wheat until it turned tangy and cheese like as a substitute for when there was a shortage in dairy produce. In July 2024, I gave it a go — and have been tweaking and taste testing ever since.

As of July 25th, 2025, 30 people have tried and tested Bala Cheese… and not one of them are vegan. Total accident — maybe I need new friends. But it helped me land on something better: a vegan cheese that’s affordable, not trying to imitate anything, and genuinely tasty. A completely unbiased opinion.