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Question: I am trying to add more vegetarian items to my menu without having to purchase a lot of specialty items. Looking at my store room, I was wondering if all canned fruit and vegetables, canned juices and beverages, and herbs and spices are vegetarian. If not, how can I tell?
Answer: Congratulations on including more vegetarian items on your menu! You'll find you have lots of veggie products already on your shelf. We'll assume you are looking for vegan products, which means no milk, eggs, cheese, dairy in general, sugar, honey, or other animal products. Most canned vegetables and vegetable juices should already be vegan. Check the label (or with the manufacturer) to be sure there's been no sugar (which may have been processed with bone char) added. For example, canned green beans and carrots should be fine all the time. Canned yams may have sugar added, as may some corn or tomato products (sugar is used to reduce acidity). Check tomato or pizza sauce to be sure there's been no meat added as an extra ingredient (some prepared sauces might be made with beef or chicken broth, sausage, or cheeses). Canned fruit should be canned in juice or water; check the label to be sure there's no sugar. Same for fruit juice - unsweetened fruit juice should be fine; however, you'll have to check the labels of sweetened juices. Check for artificial colors, such as carmine and cochineal (they come from animal sources), in fruit juice blends, sodas, and beverage mixes.
All fresh herbs are vegan. Most herbs and spices are vegan. Once again, you'll have to check to be sure there's no sugar, dried dairy, or animal-based coloring in blends or mixes. Grab yourself a copy of Vegetarian Journal's Guide to Food Ingredients to get yourself familiar with many of the food additives, vegan and nonvegan, commonly found in foods. (You can order this handout at http://www.vrg.org/catalog/fing.htm)
Excerpts from the Fall 2001
Issue:
Click here to go to the main foodservice page (Vegetarian Journal's FoodService Update and Quantity Cooking Information with links to each issue).
For the complete issue, please subscribe to the magazine. To subscribe to Vegetarian Journal's Foodservice Update, click here and check "Add 1 year Foodservice Update for $10 more" on whatever subscription form you choose.
Converted to HTML by Stephanie Schueler.
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VRG Home | About VRG | Vegetarian Journal | Books | Vegetarian Nutrition F.A.Q. | Subscribe to Journal | Game | Vegetarian Family | Nutshell | VRG-News Recipes | Travel | What's New | Bulletin Board | Veg Kids | Search | Links |
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| Last Updated October 20, 2001 |
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