Strained fermented nut cheese turns soaked macadamias or walnuts into a firm chilled wheel without using a dehydrator. Coconut oil helps the cold cheese hold its shape, while cheesecloth and a stainless-steel colander let excess liquid drain during fermentation.
I like a ferment that shows me what it is doing. This one begins as a smooth, dense puree in the lined colander. It is ready for the mold only after the mixture has risen and developed fine sponge-like bubbles. That physical change is more useful than treating one room-temperature time as a guarantee, especially in a busy kitchen where the temperature changes with the season.
This post contains one complete formula: coconut-oil nut cheese fermented in a cheesecloth-lined colander, pressed into a mold, and chilled. The soft olive-oil cheese and dehydrated coconut-oil wheel have their own posts, photographs, timings, and recipe cards.
How This Chilled Cheese Holds Its Shape
This formula uses one-quarter cup coconut oil. Coconut oil firms in the refrigerator, so the cultured puree can become a cohesive wheel after straining and at least six hours of chilling. It remains smoother and more supple than the dehydrated version because no warm-air drying step removes additional moisture.
The colander, cheesecloth, and receiving bowl work together during fermentation. The cloth supports the thick puree, the stainless-steel colander keeps it lifted, and the glass or ceramic bowl catches liquid below. The cheese then moves to a clean mold only after the risen, bubbly endpoint appears.
Choose Macadamias or Walnuts
Use two cups raw macadamia nuts or raw walnuts, choosing one nut for the batch. The photographed formula uses macadamias. They produce a pale, mild cheese whose fine bubbles and smooth texture are easy to see. Walnuts make a darker cheese with a stronger nut flavor.
The source mentions other raw nuts or seeds, but this accepted Full GAPS formula keeps the macadamia-or-walnut routes. Another nut can soak, blend, strain, and firm differently and should not be slipped into these measurements and visual cues without its own tested formula.
Soak and Rinse the Nuts
Place the nuts in a clean glass or ceramic bowl. Add one teaspoon mineral salt and enough filtered water to cover them by two inches. Stir until the salt dissolves, then soak overnight.
The source note uses two teaspoons salt for four cups nuts, making one teaspoon the exact half-scale for this two-cup batch. Drain and rinse the nuts thoroughly in a stainless-steel colander. They should feel wet and slightly plumper, with no stale odor.
Begin With a Completed Vegetable Ferment
Measure one-half cup completed homemade additive-free fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, together with their natural liquid. Use a ferment that has already reached its proper endpoint. Newly salted cabbage is not a substitute for a completed culture.
The fermented vegetables bring both cultured flavor and living activity to the nut puree. Keep the measured vegetables and their liquid together unless your batch is unusually dry.
Blend a Smooth Coconut-Oil Puree
Combine the soaked nuts, fermented vegetables, one-quarter cup coconut oil, two tablespoons hulled tahini made from properly prepared sesame, one tablespoon fresh lemon juice, one garlic clove, and one-half teaspoon mineral salt in a high-power blender with glass or stainless-steel food-contact surfaces.
Blend for about 50 seconds. The mixture should become smooth, pale, thick, and uniform, without nut pieces or cabbage strands. It should move around the blade as one creamy mass.
If the blender cannot turn, the source permits a small amount of filtered water, fermented vegetables, or oil. Add only enough to restore movement. A large unmeasured pour changes the straining time and can leave the chilled wheel too loose to unmold.
Set Up the Colander and Cheesecloth
Set a clean stainless-steel colander over a clean glass or ceramic bowl. The bottom of the colander should stay above any liquid that collects. Line the colander with clean cheesecloth, leaving enough cloth around the rim to cover the puree loosely.
Spoon the fresh puree into the cloth and level it gently. Do not press it into a dense block. The culture still needs room to rise as the cheese ferments.
Cover Loosely and Ferment Warm
Fold or drape the cheesecloth loosely over the top so the puree is protected without being tightly sealed. Keep the setup at warm room temperature away from direct sunlight. Allow collected liquid to remain in the receiving bowl without touching the colander.
Begin checking at about one and one-half days. A cooler room may take longer. Use the first check to observe the puree instead of moving an unchanged mixture to the refrigerator because a timer ended.
Look for Rise and Fine Bubbles
The cheese is ready for molding when the whole puree has risen and developed many fine, sponge-like bubbles. The surface should look aerated instead of dense and freshly blended. The change needs to extend through the mass, not appear as one isolated pocket.
The aroma should be pleasantly tangy and nutty, with garlic and lemon underneath. Unexpected colored or fuzzy growth and a foul odor are not part of the intended endpoint.
Press Into the Mold
Line a clean glass or ceramic mold with fresh cheesecloth. Transfer the risen puree into the mold, press it gently so the cheese fills the shape without large empty pockets, and level the top. Fold the cloth neatly over the surface.
This pressing step shapes the cultured cheese. It should not squeeze all of the air from the mixture or force it through the cloth.
Chill for at Least Six Hours
Refrigerate the filled mold for at least six hours. The coconut oil firms as the cheese becomes cold and gives the wheel enough structure to hold the mold’s shape.
After chilling, unfold the cloth and invert the cheese onto a clean ceramic plate. Peel the cheesecloth away carefully. If the wheel feels soft, return it to the refrigerator before slicing rather than borrowing the dehydrator step from the separate recipe.
Recognize the Finished Texture
The chilled wheel should hold together and accept a clean slice, but its center remains smooth and moist. It will not have the dry outer surface of dehydrated cheese. The cheesecloth can leave a fine pattern on the outside, while the cut face looks dense and creamy.
Macadamia cheese is pale cream and mild. Walnut cheese is darker and more distinctly nutty. Both should taste cultured and savory, with measured lemon, garlic, tahini, and salt supporting the fermented flavor.
Strained and Chilled Fermented Nut Cheese for Full GAPS
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Combine the nuts, 1 teaspoon mineral salt, and enough filtered water to cover by 2 inches in a clean glass or ceramic bowl. Stir to dissolve and soak overnight.
- Drain and rinse thoroughly in a stainless-steel colander. Measure the full 2 cups soaked, wet nuts into the formula.
- Blend the soaked nuts, fermented vegetables, coconut oil, prepared tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 50 seconds, until smooth and thick. If the blender cannot turn, add only a small source-permitted amount of filtered water, fermented vegetables, or oil.
- Set a clean stainless-steel colander above a glass or ceramic receiving bowl so its bottom stays above collected liquid. Line it with clean cheesecloth and spoon in the fresh puree without packing it tightly.
- Drape the cheesecloth loosely over the puree and hold the setup at warm room temperature away from direct sunlight.
- Begin checking at about 1 1/2 days and allow longer in a cooler room. Continue until the whole puree has risen and developed many fine sponge-like bubbles.
- Line a clean glass or ceramic mold with fresh cheesecloth. Transfer the risen puree, press gently to fill the shape without large empty pockets, level the top, and fold the cloth over it.
- Refrigerate the filled mold for at least 6 hours, until the coconut oil is cold and the cheese is firm enough to hold the mold shape.
- Unfold the cloth, invert the cheese onto a clean ceramic plate, and peel away the cheesecloth carefully. Return it to the refrigerator before slicing if it still feels soft.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Full GAPS Placement
This recipe belongs in Full GAPS after the chosen nut, properly prepared hulled sesame tahini, completed fermented vegetables, coconut oil, lemon, garlic, and mineral salt are appropriate and tolerated. Fermentation does not move nuts or sesame into an earlier stage.
The cheese is dairy-free and egg-free. It still contains nuts and sesame, and soaking and fermentation do not remove an individual sensitivity.
Serving Ideas
Serve the cold wheel in thin slices or small wedges beside cooked vegetables, cultured vegetables, or another compatible Full GAPS meal. Its tangy, concentrated flavor means a small portion can carry the plate.
Choose the soft olive-oil recipe when you want a spoonable spread. Choose the dehydrated version when you want a drier wheel with a firmer center.
Storage
Keep the finished cheese covered in the refrigerator. Use a clean knife for every serving and return the wheel to the refrigerator promptly rather than repeatedly warming the entire batch.
The source gives no exact refrigerated storage duration for this formula. Continue checking the aroma, color, and surface and discard a batch that changes in a way inconsistent with the clean tangy cheese you chilled.
Recommended Equipment
- Glass or ceramic soaking bowl
- Stainless-steel colander
- High-power blender with glass or stainless food-contact surfaces
- Suitable flexible spatula
- Clean cheesecloth
- Glass or ceramic receiving bowl
- Glass or ceramic mold
- Measuring cups and spoons
Frequently Asked Questions
Does This Cheese Need a Dehydrator?
No. This formula strains while fermenting, then firms in the refrigerator. Dehydration belongs to the separate dehydrated wheel.
How Do I Know the Ferment Is Ready?
The whole puree should rise and develop many fine sponge-like bubbles. Begin checking at about one and one-half days and allow longer in a cooler room.
Why Is the Colander Set Over a Bowl?
The bowl catches liquid that drains through the cheesecloth while keeping it away from the cheese. Use glass or ceramic for the receiving bowl.
How Long Must the Mold Chill?
Chill it for at least six hours. The cheese must be cold and firm enough to unmold without slumping.
Should It Be as Firm as Dehydrated Cheese?
No. It should hold its shape and slice cleanly, but its center remains smoother and moister than the dehydrated version.
Can I Use a Plastic Colander or Mold?
Use the supported stainless-steel colander and glass or ceramic bowl and mold for this exact fermented formula.
More Ferments for the Family Kitchen
For more practical fermentation projects with visible endpoints, visit the Well Fed & Lived In shop for the upcoming Ferments Cookbook and GAPS kitchen resources.
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