First step — soften cashews. Soak them in a bowl of water to cover for several hours or up to overnight. Rinse and drain.

Pour cashews into a food processor or high-speed blender. Add tapioca starch, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, turmeric and and chile powder, if using.  Give everything a quick whizz until smooth. processed and pourable. It should be of a milkshake-like consistency.

Pour into a medium-sized saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly. The cheese mixture will thicken in a matter of minutes, pulling away from the sides of the pan and magically turning stretchy and cheesy.

Let cool, pour it into an airtight container, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Cheese will continue to thicken but still be spoonable or pourable, perfect for vegan nachos and quesadillas.  Slather on chips and tortillas.