A few questions about making nut and seed cheese

[kurt28]

I got a couple of nut and seed cheese recipes off of this forum and I'm not sure how long to soak the nuts and seeds for before you blend them up, and whether or not you let the cheese ferment. I know if you're using rejuvelac you probably will let it ferment as well, but I'm not using rejuvelac because I want my cheese to last longer than just a couple of days. One of the recipes was called "rich cheddar sauce" and the other was called "pimento cheese". The ingredients are pretty much the same: they have bell pepper, some kind of nuts or seeds, tahini, nutritional yeast, sea salt, onion powder, garlic, lemon juice, and water.

So here's my questions:

1. How long do you soak the nuts or seeds before blending?

2. Do you let it ferment? -How long do you let it sit out before refrigerating?

3. How many days will it last in the fridge?

4. What temp and time would you leave it in a dehydrator if you're turing it into cheese sticks?

Thank you all for your help

[RawDad]

1) Soaking the nuts depends on the percentage of enzyme inhibitors you want to remove from the nuts. As much as 50% can be removed from a half hour soak, so if you're rushed you can just do a bit. But I like to let them go 6-12 hours to get all of the enzyme inhibitors out. Often I'll just start soaking before I go to bed for the next day or in the morning for that night.

2) I'm an amateur, so I've never actually fermented the cheese, I suspect it would be better if I did.

3) 3 days in the fridge.

4) Sounds delicious, have to try it. I'd guess at least 12 hours, but it depends on thickness.