Delicious Initiative looks to solve key vegan cheese challenge

In Sweden, an EU-funded project aims to combine precision fermentation, yeast biomass and fiber-producing microbes to achieve better-tasting vegan cheeses and kefir.

The four-year Delicious Initiative is led by the Research Institutes of Sweden but includes 16 other research centers and corporations from nine countries. It will focus on semi-hard cheeses like  Gruyère and Manchego, whose flavors have been difficult for vegan options to emulate.

“By integrating advanced technology with consumer insights, we aim to accelerate the shift towards plant-based diets and set a new standard for the plant-based dairy industry,” project coordinator Charilaos Xiros, a senior researcher at Rise, tells Green Queen.

The project has received a €5 million investment from the EU’s Horizon Europe program.