Vancouver’s storied vegan cheese, Daiya, lands in Toronto

Toronto vegans have previously had to go to great lengths to obtain Daiya, the much-hyped vegan cheese revered by the non-meat set for its taste, texture and complete absence of dairy and soy. But according to Daiya’s Twitter page, it’s now available right here in Toronto—at Panacea. Internet buzz surrounding Daiya has been through the roof following its introduction last March. The general consensus among reviewers is that it looks, tastes and, more importantly, melts just like real cheese. It pulls off these feats through the use of the cassava shrub, which is also responsible for bringing us tapioca.

Hype surrounding the Vancouver-based product, which nabbed VegNews Magazine’s 2009 veggie product of the year award, was no doubt increased by the fact that it has been generally difficult to obtain until recently, having been mainly sold in restaurant dishes and grocery stores. Vegan bloggers from Toronto are sharing their excitement about the newly expanded availability and are celebrating appropriately with Daiya-drenched pizza.

• Daiya Cheese Arrives in Toronto [Las Vegan]