ARE
YOU A TREKY OR A VEGAN?
So many
people today claim to be vegetarian, but are they vegetarian or some
different form of non-meat eater? I hope this list of definitions help sort out the confusion.
VEGETARIAN:
Do not eat meat, fish or poultry.
They do, however, eat dairy products such as eggs and cheese.
VEGAN:
No, this is not a person from the Star Trek series.
They do not eat meat, fish, poultry, dairy products or eggs or
any foods that may contain any of these ingredients.
Vegans do not use leather products, fur, wool, honey or any
products which have been animal tested.
Does this include certain prescription drugs?
Wow.
FRUITARIAN:
Vegan who also excludes the eating of any products which would
kill off the plant. Think
about this one. Carrots!!
RAW FOODIST:
Vegans who do not allow their foods to be heated over 118 degrees
F.
Many food products may be thought of as Vegetarian but are they really? Understanding the origin of many commonly used food agents may help one to understanding if a product is a truly vegetarian product. Have you ever considered if maple syrup is possibly a non-vegetarian product? Think again if you think because it is just maple syrup, it qualifies. The process used in making maple syrup requires an agent to reduce the foam created during the process. To reduce the foam, a fat agent must be introduced. The old traditional method for local maple syrup producers was to hang a piece of pork fat above the kettle and allow the heat to melt small drops of fat into the syrup. Commercial producers still use the fat foam reduction method, however, the fats can vary. Some use small drops of butter, one pea sized drop per eight gallons of syrup. Other commercial producers use vegetable fat applied to a paddle inserted into the foam as a reducer. A chemical synthetically produced agent may also be used in this process. This makes the matter of being able to define maple syrup as vegetarian almost impossible to do.
Other areas of confusion in defining vegetarian concerns are the commercially processed French fry. Most commercial French fries are blanched in animal fat prior to freezing. There are some forms of red food dye that are made from the shell of the cochineal beetle. This product can be labeled as cochineal, carmine, or carminic acid. Cochineal is not considered vegetarian. Just be aware that some red food coloring, frozen French fries and most ready to use piecrusts may contain animal products, as do many other items perceived as vegetarian. To be certain, read the label, talk to your customers and try to select the products, which best meet everyone’s needs. To check out other products that are considered vegetarian, go to http://www.vrg.org/Have a question...email me and I will send you a reply and will post some of these in the Tip of the Week!
chefjohnny@chefjohnnysproducts.com