Product Review: Daiya Plain Cream Cheese Style Spread

Now that I'm consuming as little dairy as possible, there are certain foods I miss.  A bagel with cream cheese is at the top of the list.  While at the Marsh near Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis, I was considering buying soft tofu, stirring it to break it down, and using it as cream cheese.  Then I noticed the Daiya Plain Cream Cheese Style Spread on the shelf near the vegan cheese.  It was worth a try.

I bought a single everything bagel in case the spread didn't work out, lox, capers, and a tomato.  The next morning, I eagerly awaited my non-dairy breakfast.  The first thing I noticed is that it was satisfyingly creamy and smooth as I spread it over the bagel.  The smell was not like cream cheese though--it smelled like paper.  I know that's hard to explain, but if you've been eating a sandwich wrapped in paper and grabbed a bite, it's kind of like that.  Not bad, just papery.

I assembled my smoked salmon bagel, topped it with two tomato slices, and spooned on some capers.  The presentation looked just like a bagel with ordinary cream cheese.

Lox bagel made with Daiya non-dairy cream cheese.

The taste...I had mixed feelings.  It was way too sweet.  One of the ingredients is agave nectar, and I'm not so sure it needs it.  I disassembled my bagel and sprinkled the spread liberally with salt and pepper.  At that point, it was edible but the underlying sweetness was still noticeable.

The bottom line is that this spread will work on a breakfast bagel where some sweetness will be welcome.  A Panera cinnamon crunch bagel?  That would be great.  A lox bagel or something similarly savory?  Not so much.

It's still in my fridge, but I haven't used it again.