Vegan Practically

Lettuce is vegan, but I don’t have any surprise-not-vegan items in my home to photograph, hence, the lettuce.

I’ve blogged before about accidentally vegan foods—things we assume aren’t vegan but actually and delightfully are. I still remember the day I discovered the maple cream cookies, which I had dutifully avoided while my friend Diane raved about them, were actually vegan.

But there is a less delightful category of foods for those of us who are trying to avoid animal products: the foods you thought or assumed were vegan but (yikes!) are not! Prepare to be surprised.

Worcestershire sauce is not vegan. The offending ingredient: anchovies. In general this is a mysterious condiment that most of us know very little about. But if you thought you could keep ordering those Virgin Marys and Virgin Caesars without asking them to hold the worcestershire, think again. Is there a vegan version? Yes. It’s easy to find and as difficult to pronounce.

Gummies, marshmallows, and all the jelly-based candies and desserts are not always vegan. The offending ingredient: gelatin. Most vegetarians learn early on that gelatin is not as innocent as we once thought it was. It’s made by boiling animal bones, cartilage and skin. That’s easy to avoid, you might think. How hard can life without Jell-o mold desserts be? It turns out gelatin is in lots of things, from gummies and marshmallows to gel-coated capsules, cosmetics, and some chewing gum. Agar agar is a substitute thickener and vegan. Are there vegan versions? Yes to gummies and marshmallows. Skittles are apparently vegan. If you miss that jelly texture, most Turkish delight I’ve come across is vegan (but not always). For capsules and cosmetics you’ll need to be careful to read the labels.

Refined white sugar. Here’s another one that shocked me when I learned about it. The offending ingredient: bone char. It’s used in the refining process to remove the colour from raw cane sugar and make it white. It is often in powdered sugar (“icing sugar” in Canada) and even brown sugar, which is often just white sugar treated with molasses (who knew?). To be 100% sure you’re not getting sugar processed with bone char, it’s suggested that you buy beet sugar since it is differently processed. Are there certified vegan brands and brands that claim not to use bone char? Yes. Here’s a long list.

Belgian frites in Belgium. The offending ingredient: horse and ox fat for deep frying. I was doing some research for an upcoming trip to Belgium. Belgian frites are of course a must-have, since they proudly consider themselves (and not France) to be the home of frites. But authentic Belgian frites are cooked with horse and ox fat. I learned this sad truth from The Bruges Vegan. Even my non-vegan friend from Texas, with whom I will be travelling, is not interested in food fried in horse fat. Will we get our fries? Yes, there are vegan alternatives where they use vegetable oil to cook their fries. They may not be considered authentic, but they are vegan. FritBar is on my list.

Miso soup. The offending ingredient: dashi, a fish-based broth that is often used as the base. I’m not sure how many bowls of non-vegan miso I ate before learning about dashi, but basically I don’t order it anywhere anymore. Best to ask if you are going to order it anywhere. Is there a vegan alternative: Yes. Miso itself is a vegan soy paste, and the soup usually contains other vegan ingredients such as tofu, green onions, and sometimes some other veggies. If they use a veggie base you’re good to go. And you can easily make your own vegan version.

On a positive note, it’s good to have this information. Not only that, vegan versions are always available. I haven’t exhausted the list today, so I may include another installment of surprise-not-vegan-foods in the future. Let me know in the comments if you are aware of any other surprises.

Bon Appétit!