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Why do they put milk in everything?

December 10, 2014 by Tofu Temptress 21 Comments

Pringles Paprika Flavour

Picture the scene. A lovely friend of mine has invited me over for snacks and drinks and is in a food shop (which will remain nameless), trying to pick out crisps, crackers and choccies. After checking each product is vegetarian, a cursory glance at the allergens on the back reveals that almost every packet of goodies contains cow’s milk goats milk, whey… ‘Why,’ she asks me when I come round ‘do they put milk in everything?’ I’m at a bit of a loss. I was gutted to find out that, when I turned vegan, that my Monster Munch eating days would be over. Memories of swapping the crisps at school and putting them on my fingers like rings and then munching them off have been consigned to the vaults of history. Walkers (who make them) have added a milk derived ingredient fairly recently when they were removing monosodium glutamate (MSG) from their products. For me, this just amounts to replacing one evil with another, but hey ho.

Cow saved from the dairy/veal industry
Cow saved from the dairy/veal industry. Jo-Ane McArthur – We animals

Many people are shocked that loads of crisps contain milk. They are even more shocked when they realise that products like Quorn do too. Quorn is one of the most surprisingly un-vegan brands around. Not to worry though, soya mince and vegan sausages and burgers are readily available in supermarkets, so until Quorn wake up and get with the vegan programme, you needn’t miss out.

It’s no great surprise that lots of chocolate contains milk, when the clue is in the name (milk chocolate) or in the colour (white chocolate) but did you realise that even some brands of dark chocolate contain milk? It seems crazy, but it’s true. Again, a quick look at the back of the packet is all you need to do to establish what’s in there. Sometimes, it can be confusing. After Eights, for example, used to be vegan, but then they changed their recipe to include butterfat, which is of course another milk derivative. Another confusing thing is that European law states that if milk free products are produced in a factory that also produces products that contain milk, they have to put a wee disclaimer on their packets. It’s basically to cover their backs so that they can’t be sued by anyone with a severe allergy, but I have spoken to friends with allergies and most say they’d be happy to consume a milk free product, even if it did say ‘ May contain milk traces due to manufacturing methods used’ or whatever…Vegan organisations sell these foods, so as long as milk products (or any other animal ingredient of course!) doesn’t appear on the ingredients list, I’m generally happy to go with it.

Allergens label
Allergens label

Unless it says ‘Contains cow’s milk’ or something similar, it can be a bit of a minefield, so for your information, some of the commonest milk-related terms are: Butterfat; Caesin (mostly found in cheese); Lactose; Whey and Lactitol (E966).

The good news is there are lots of yummy snacks out there that don’t contain any cow juice at all, hurray! Most of Golden Wonder crisps are vegan and if, like me, you miss putting crisps on your fingers, Hula Hoops to the rescue! Or you could always go with Salt and Vinegar or Pickled Onion flavour Ringos. McCoys do a lovely Salt and Malt Vinegar flavour crisp and you’ve got a good choice with Kettle Chips too. I particularly enjoy Tyrrells vegetable crisps. They have very simple ingredients and are always the first to be scoffed at a party in my experience. Who wouldn’t feel good munching away at a beetroot-based crisp pretending to be healthy?

 

Pringles Paprika Flavour
Pringles Paprika Flavour

Even Pringles have options although their labelling can be a bit misleading.

Pringles vegan tick
Pringles vegan tick

Make sure where it says vegan that there is a little tick next to it (like on my favourites, Paprika flavour.) Sometimes it says vegan, next to vegetarian, but there’s no tick, so be aware. Bafflingly, Walkers have vegan crisps in BBQ Rib, Prawn Cocktail and Roast Gammon flavours amongst others, so if you’re craving a meaty flavoured crisp, don’t despair!
A lot of dairy free chocolate can be pricy, so if you’re shopping to impress, by all means go for Booja-Booja or Lindt 70% or something, but slightly more affordable and still party-like are Bendicks Bittermints or Elixabeth Shaw Dark chocolate Mint Crisp. A company dedicated to dairy free chocolate is Moo Free, which does all sorts of flavours, including milk and white chocolate, using rice milk. Also, check supermarket own brands, because they can hold pleasant surprises in the milk-free department, and not just in the ‘free-from’ section either.

So you see, avoiding dairy can be a bit mystifying at first but once you get the hang of it, it’s a breeze. Bear in mind though that INGREDIENTS CAN CHANGE, with companies fiddling about with recipes in the never ending pursuit of ‘new and improved’, so do check your favourite vegan products every now and again, especially if they’ve suddenly changed the packaging. Viva! have a great guide to going dairy free, as do many of the other animal charities. With lactose intolerance on the rise and many people simply wanting to cut back on dairy, demand is on the rise, so hopefully one day, dairy free will be the norm.

Filed Under: What can vegans eat? Tagged With: chocolate, crisps, milk, snacks

What on earth do you cook for a vegan?

November 20, 2014 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

Vegan Junk Food
Vegan cheesecake I baked myself!
Vegan cheesecake I baked myself!

Hello non-vegan friends. Welcome. What’s that? You’re teenage daughter has decided to become a vegan just weeks before Christmas? You’ve invited the new neighbours over for dinner, but discovered they’re a couple of hippy vegans? Maybe you’re considering going vegan yourself, but don’t know where to start. Never fear, the tofu temptress is here.

The first question many people ask me on discovering I’m a vegan is ‘What do you eat?’ The easiest way for anyone new to veganism to think about vegan meals is to consider first what they themselves eat and see how it can be veganised. What did you have for dinner last night? Steak and chips? If so, veggie burger and chips isn’t that much of a stretch, is it? Most veggie burgers are fine for vegans, but do check the packaging as some will sneak milk in there somewhere. If they do, or even chuck an egg in the mix just to be awkward, it should be listed on the back of the packet under allergens. Or even better, you can make your own! Did you have spaghetti bolognaise? How about making it with soy mince, or lentils or just having penne al Arrabiata instead? See, it’s not that difficult really. The recipe selection is far too vast for me to list here, but try looking up some of these terms – bean burger, vegan sushi, vegan stir fry, vegetarian pasta, vegan mushroom risotto, vegan pancakes, stuffed peppers, vegan curry, vegan soup, vegan fillings for baked potatoes, vegan pizza – and you might find a few recipes that will become your vegan staples. Most pastry is vegan (like Jus-Rol) so puff pastry mains or short crust pastry tarts should be a breeze.

Vegan Junk Food
How about dessert? Well, the list is endless really. Believe me, once you get into vegan baking, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with milk and eggs at all. (For more info on milk and egg subs in baking, head over to my How to be Vegan section.) A vegan apple crumble is easy is you just substitute vegan margarine, like Vitalite, for the dairy stuff. Tray bakes and fridge cakes are just as easy. I have this book Vegan Junk Food and there are recipes in there that require three or four ingredients whizzed up in a food processor and voila, you have an instant sugar hit. I will say that where there’s melted chocolate, coconut oil often follows. You may look at the price of coconut oil in the supermarket and faint in shock. There is a cheaper way though. I get my coconut oil from Coconoil, where you can buy it in bulk. If you feel like you’re not going to be doing a lot of vegan baking, then you don’t have to bother, but do consider it, as when they’re not cooking with it, many people smear it on themselves for better skin! Win win. There’s also the legendary (in the vegan world) Vegan cupcakes take over the world. I took some chocolate orange cupcakes I made from this book into work last weekend and my non-vegan colleagues gratefully scoffed the lot.vegan cupcakes

What to remember when cooking for vegans is that they know they’re presenting you with a challenge. Many will offer to bring their own food, or maybe just one course, so don’t be insulted by this as they’re trying to be helpful. Also, don’t panic. If you’re having a group of people just substitute the meat item for, perhaps, something mushroom-y and delicious in pastry – I’m thinking of having this yummy thing at Xmas. And remember not to honey roast vegetables or cook them in butter or dog forbid, goose fat. Just think, you’ll be providing for a very grateful vegan at the table, while doing your heart a favour. I mean, goose fat, urgh…

If you’re not sure what to cook for a vegan then simply ask what they like. There’s no shame in it. Any vegan should be more than willing to help out, and who knows, once you’ve tasted what they’re having, you may never go back to meat again.

Filed Under: What can vegans eat? Tagged With: Christmas, Cupcakes, Desserts, Non-vegans, Sweets, Veganising

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