Chreese is a vegan, plant-based, cheese substitute made with nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The scientific work of Louis Pasteur made it possible to isolate yeast in pure culture form. Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and...

. The product is manufactured by Road's End Organics, a U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 company that specializes in food for people with special dietary needs. Chreese is organic

Organic food

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...

, lactose

Lactose

Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...

-free, cholesterol

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...

 and saturated fat

Trans fat

Trans fat is the common name for unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Because the term refers to the configuration of a double carbon-carbon bond, trans fats are sometimes monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, but never saturated....

-free. It comes in a number of varieties, including a powder mix, a queso dip alternative, and as part of a "Mac & Chreese" line of pasta products.

There are currently four different styles of Chreese powder mixes with a modified version for children: "Cheddar Style" and gluten-free

Gluten-free diet

A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat , barley, rye, malts and triticale. It is used as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent, often as "dextrin"...

 cheddar style (used in grilled cheese sandwiches), "Mozzarella Style" (used on pizza

Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...

), "Gluten Free Alfredo Style", and "KIDz Chreese" (less garlic

Garlic

Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...

 and bright orange color). To make chreese, the powder mix is combined with boiling water and blended in a food processor which can then be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

The queso dip (nacho cheese) alternative is called "Nacho Chreese". It comes in mild and spicy flavors and may be used as a dip with tortilla chips. There are also five different "Mac & Chreese" pasta products, made with either semolina

Semolina

Semolina is the coarse, purified wheat middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta, and also used for breakfast cereals and puddings. Semolina is also used to designate coarse middlings from other varieties of wheat, and from other grains such as rice and corn.-Name:The term semolina derives from...

, whole wheat, or brown rice

Brown rice

Brown rice is unmilled or partly milled rice, a kind of whole, natural grain. It has a mild nutty flavor, is chewier and more nutritious than white rice, but goes rancid more quickly because the germ—which is removed to make white rice—contains fats that can spoil...

 noodles.

Similar soy cheese

Soy cheese

Cheese analogues are cheese substitutes made most frequently from soybeans but also made from rice, almonds, nutritional yeast and other non-dairy ingredients. Cheese analogues, just like plant-based milk substitutes, are available in many of the same varieties as their cheese counterparts...

s are also available from European manufacturers.