From potato cashew muenster to pumpkin seed ricotta to coffee Kahlúa crunch gelato, Miyoko Schinner has built a career reinventing dairy with nuts, seeds and other plant-based ingredients.
The Nicasio resident shares her methods and recipes in a new cookbook, “The Vegan Creamery: Plant-Based Cheese, Milk, Ice Cream, and More,” which she’ll celebrate at an author event hosted by Book Passage in Corte Madera at 6 p.m. Sept. 17.
“This book is not just a recipe book, but my effort to democratize a basic food — dairy — and put it into the hands of cooks in kitchens all over the world to decrease the reliance on the corporate food system,” Schinner wrote in an email.
She’ll discuss this and other topics with James Beard Award–winning vegan chef, food justice activist and bestselling author Bryant Terry. A meet-and-greet and signing will follow. Admission is free.
For more than three decades, Schinner has been at the forefront of plant-based cheesemaking as an award-winning chef, author, entrepreneur and advocate for animals and sustainable food systems.
The founder and former CEO of Miyoko’s Creamery based in Petaluma, she has established a reputation as a leader whose culinary innovations helped reshape the vegan food landscape.
Her new book includes more than 75 recipes with full-color photography. Chapters cover everything from milk and cream to butter and spreads to aged and mold-ripened cheeses to ice cream and gelato.
Instead of masking flavors with additives, Schinner leans on culturing and fermenting to craft foods such as truffle-laced French-style cheese, watermelon seed mozzarella, mung bean halloumi, pumpkin seed-oat yogurt and fresh strawberry ice cream.
Beyond the kitchen, Schinner founded Rancho Compasión, a nonprofit farm-animal sanctuary in Nicasio that’s home to more than 100 animals and hosts youth education programs.
For details about the Corte Madera event, visit bookpassage.com/event/miyoko-schinner-vegan-creamery-corte-madera-store, where the book is available starting Sept. 16. Learn more about Schinner and Rancho Compasión at miyokoschinner.com.
Leanne Battelle is a freelance food writer and restaurant columnist. Email her at ij.lbattelle@gmail.com with comments and find more local food news at therealdealmarin.com.
Dining and Cooking