New Foods and Questions about veganism

[Guest]

So I went on allrecipes.com and I uploaded a recipe of my own original creation on there, and I figured "Hey, let me share it with the public. Someone might like it and want to try it." So here's that: http://allrecipes.com/personal-recipe/64646420/kremo-de-la-maro/

 

The main reason that I'm making this forum post is to get an idea and understanding about veganism. I aspire to be a chef one day and open a restaurant of my own, and I understand that in doing so, it would be in my best interest in this coming day and age to understand a little more about veganism. I understand it as a concept obviously, but when I say veganism I'm talking in a culinary sense -- as in how do you substitute certain things in recipes such as egg yolks, butter, egg whites, milk, meats, etc. I'm just trying to get an understanding so that way I can like learn how to make food and also cater to a new branch of society, as well as build my repertoire and make new things. So please, if you are vegan, could you please tell me some ways in which you do stuff like that? Even the smallest of things would be appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

Subnote: In case anyone is asking, no I didn't spell the recipe name wrong. It's in Esperanto.

[nanogretchen4]

You might want to google aquafaba. Recently chefs have been using the water left over from cooking chickpeas and other beans as an egg white substitute. They've made fancy desserts like macaroons

 

[darkstreamers252]

For milk substitutes, I've found plant based milk work pretty well and do much of the same thing.

Egg substitutes are pretty easy too, you can use light tofu if nothing else if available but here are some of the more common: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-vegan-substitutes-for-eggs-in-baking-tips-from-the-kitchn-136591.

Meats usually tofu substitute depending on what consistency you want the meat it can be hard or soft or light tofu.

Butter I'm not really sure about exactly but I'm sure there are substitutes out there.

This is just from my rudimentary knowledge and limited experience, but here you go, glad you are interested in vegan stuff  

[Zosia]

Yay, this is very cool of you to consider!

 

Lets see...

2 hours ago, FranciumSenpai said:

How do you substitute certain things in recipes such as egg yolks, butter, egg whites, milk, meats, etc.

Eggs (yolks, whole egg): As far as baking goes, you might find it helpful to look up many different vegan recipes and see how they replace eggs. There's probably a few different ways you could do this. If you're looking for a direct replacement, there is such a thing called The Vegan Egg and The Vegg, both of which can be used in baking and, as far as I know, on their own if you were to make scrambled eggs or other egg dishes, or as washes on breads (both sites should give more information on how to use them and where). There are probably more egg replacers, but those are the two that I know about. When it comes to baking, eggs don't always have to have some direct replacement. Generally, it seems like baked goods tend to hold up well without eggs/replacers. I've done many different kinds of cakes, pancakes, waffles, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, tortillas, breads, etc. and I didn't use a direct egg replacer for any of them. Again, I recommend looking up different recipes and seeing how they do it and experiment for yourself (if you want me to find you some examples, I can.)

 

Eggs (white only): Like an above poster said, aquafaba is something that is really catching on these days. Here's an article talking about it. (This also includes some pictures)

 

Butter: Many margarines don't contain animal products, they're just made mostly from vegetable oils. If you're looking for a specific brand, Earth Balance is pretty good. Also, if I'm remembering correctly, Smart Balance's Light Buttery Spread with Flaxseed Oil is vegan, but it's much oilier. You might have to do some digging for some other vegan margarines.

 

Milk: Plant milks work pretty well in replacement of dairy milk. There are many different kinds of plant milk, including soy, rice, almond, hazelnut, pea, oat, coconut, cashew, etc. Depending on what you're making, you might favor the consistency of one type of plant milk over the other. For instance, soy, cashew, and almond tend to be on the thicker side, while rice and oat milk tend to be thinner. Also, some kinds of plant milks tend to curdle when you heat them (like in a saucepan), and others will separate if you try and mix something into them (like chocolate powder). I've experienced this with soy milk, and I had an issue once with rice milk slightly separating when I was trying to make potato soup in a crockpot. So, if you're trying to make creamy sauces, you might go for plant milk that is condensed already. I know that it's pretty popular to used condensed coconut milk in creamy sauces. I don't think that it really separates when heated in a skillet. I'm not sure about cashew milk since I've never used it, but it might also be promising seeing as it's also on the thicker side.

 

Meats: Depending on what kind of texture and meal you're going for, you have a lot of options with this one. Of course, you could spring for the classic tofu, and there are so many different ways you could cook this. The key here is to learn how to cook it properly, because many people don't know how to. There are different consistencies of tofu, which range from the consistency of yogurt to jell-o to cooked egg whites. Packaged firm/extra firm tofu often needs to be pressed before using, because it's often packaged in water. Tofu is very versatile depending on what you want to make it into. Here's a video for Spicy Braised Tofu, here's another video for 3 different ways of cooking tofu (Sweet Chili Crisp Tofu, Jamaican Jerk Tofu, and Tofu Lettuce Wraps), and here's a video for Dessert Tofu (not actually a recipe, but you might be able to find one online).

 

If you're looking for very realistic faux meats, these might interest you:

 

The brand "Beyond Meat" (They have burgers, grilled "chicken" strips, and ground "beef".) See: http://beyondmeat.com/products

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

The brand "Gardein" (They have "chicken" strips, "chicken" nuggets, buffalo wings, "chicken" cutlets, "chicken" patties, sweet and sour "pork" bites, burgers, ground "beef", breakfast sausage patties, "crab" cakes, "fish" fillets, stuffed holiday roasts, "turkey" cutlets, "pepperoni" pizza pockets, and breakfast pockets.) See: https://gardein.com/products/

Spoiler

 

 

 

Of course, you could make your own faux meats. Seitan is a pretty popular meat replacer. Here's a recipe for Vegan Salmon.

 

 

Some other things to keep in mind...

Bleached white flour and processed white and brown sugar aren't generally considered vegan due to how they're processed. Bone char (charcoaled bones of animals) are often used in the purification and bleaching process of the above ingredients, so you would either have to use unbleached whole wheat flour and raw sugar (or other sweetener, but not honey--that isn't vegan) in your recipes, or you would have to talk to the manufacturer that supplies your white flour/processed sugar and make sure that they don't use bone char in their processing (only some manufacturers in the U.S. use bone char; it's less of an issue in Europe).

 

**So, if you have any other questions, I'd be more than happy to try and do what I can to answer them. If you need any inspiration for vegan cooking, I know a slew of YouTube channels that you might find really great, too.

 

Happy cooking!

[Zosia]

Oh, also...if you want any examples of vegan restaurants and the kinds of things that they're doing, I can find those for you, too. Let me know.

 

[Guest]

Thanks so much, this is a lot to research. Wow. Honestly, thanks. I'll make sure to test out a bunch of these this summer for sure!

 

Knowing a bit about vegan restaurants might help as well, so yes please by all means. Go right ahead.

[m4rble]

@FranciumSenpaiI'm glad you decided to take the time to ask about vegans and were considering them. I don't have any better information than what was already posted(I'm not even technically vegan lol) I just wanted to say hi in this thread. As a child my younger brother was allergic to eggs so we used a lot of egg replacers in baking and he wasn't able to eat a lot of the baked foods when he went out. This meant that he had to avoid a lot of cake at children's birthday parties and such. Today he's still allergic to eggs but can eat them in baked products. I also kind of get an itchy mouth when I eat eggs directly but I don't have a problem with them in baked goods as long as they're not too concentrated. It actually makes a lot of sense for me to be a vegan if I think about it because I'm mildly allergic to eggs and I don't like a lot of dairy products. It still seems rather inconvenient to go all the way though. My family baked a few cakes with an egg replacer that that I believe was potato based. This led to the cakes being much more crumbly and less spongy than usual. Flavor wise I actually liked these cakes better because they were denser and had a more concentrated flavor, but I don't think most people would have found them ideal because of the crumbliness. We found a few cake recipes that didn't call for eggs at all but instead asked for a banana. These recipes didn't have any issues with crumbliness and they had a tasty banana flavor to them. I think the banana flavor especially compliments chocolate cakes. 

 

As far as finding replacements goes, I think a good rule of thumb when cooking vegan would be to not just look for one to one replacements(of course looking for one to one replacements is useful as well) but instead to instead see what tasty things you can do with plants on their own. People seem to think of meat as the center of the meal and fruits and vegetables as simply side dishes, but I think it's better to view it all equally as food. Of course, most vegans certain high protein or high calorie plant foods might be preferable when living exclusively on plants, but that doesn't mean a lot of plant foods can't be seen as whole foods without mimicking some other meat or animal product. I think Indian cooking can be a good example of this because India has a long history of vegetarian cooking. 

Good luck with your goals. 

[Zosia]

3 hours ago, FranciumSenpai said:

Thanks so much, this is a lot to research. Wow. Honestly, thanks. I'll make sure to test out a bunch of these this summer for sure!

 

Knowing a bit about vegan restaurants might help as well, so yes please by all means. Go right ahead.

No problem. Are there any particular recipes that I didn't mention that you'd like to try out (that I could find for you)? Are you interested in any YouTube vegan cooking channels?

 

And also, are there any specific types of vegan restaurants that you'd like to know more about? For instance, are you more interested in old-school diners, fried "chicken" joints, upscale eateries, restaurants that specialize in different cultural dishes...or things like vegan "butcher" shops, pastry shops, things like that? Or, all of the above?

[Amathy]

I am vegan and have to make all of my own food from scratch due to allergies.  Here is what I've found works best.

 

Ground flax seeds for egg.  Ground flax seeds have omega 3 fatty acids and fill a needed nutrient that many other egg substitutes don't.  1 tablespoon flax seed + 1 tablespoon warm water and let sit = egg.

 

Almond milk for milk.  Apart from the issues with cooking some of the other milk substitutes mentioned above, almond milk has the least taste and is readily available.  Soy milk has such a strong (and in my opinion gross) taste that it overpowers almost any other taste.  

 

If its for a cheese sauce or a cheesy flavor nutritional yeast works very well.  It comes in flakes that are slightly cheesy flavored and very nutritious.  It's my favorite popcorn topping.

 

I substitute even amounts vegetable oil and applesauce for butter for baked goods.

 

Meat substitutes include tofu, eggplant, mushrooms.  However, not all recipes need a meat substitute.  Some best proteins can be found in plants like edamame and beans.  I often find in vegan recipes, tofu is overused.  It's good but not for more than a few meals a week.  

 

Some other things to note:  Always make sure that you have a protein source when making vegan food.  I can't tell you how many times functions have just served me a salad which is not at all helpful to get the 15 grams of protein I need at every meal to keep my energy from tanking.  Also, make sure a recipe has available ingredients.  My biggest problem is when recipes have ingredients that aren't offered at my local grocery store.

[Yatogami]

http://www.vegkitchen.com/tips/vegan-substitutions/

[Muledeer]

I'm a food inspector so PM me if you have any questions about that angle of your dangle.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Zosia said:

No problem. Are there any particular recipes that I didn't mention that you'd like to try out (that I could find for you)? Are you interested in any YouTube vegan cooking channels?

 

And also, are there any specific types of vegan restaurants that you'd like to know more about? For instance, are you more interested in old-school diners, fried "chicken" joints, upscale eateries, restaurants that specialize in different cultural dishes...or things like vegan "butcher" shops, pastry shops, things like that? Or, all of the above?

I'm mainly trying to figure out how to do stuff like make a meringue or a bread or maybe even a cream sauce - basically mainly a focus on things involving eggs. I get some stuff but like since a lot of things I like to make involve beating eggs into a meringue or beating yolks with cream to make a sauce. That kind of stuff.

 

I'm mostly interested in vegan takes on Italian and french desserts, as well as like just Italian cuisine in general. Just want to see how I can put a vegan spin on it, since I derive most of my inspiration from these foods.

[Zosia]

On June 22, 2017 at 1:33 AM, FranciumSenpai said:

I'm mainly trying to figure out how to do stuff like make a meringue or a bread or maybe even a cream sauce - basically mainly a focus on things involving eggs. I get some stuff but like since a lot of things I like to make involve beating eggs into a meringue or beating yolks with cream to make a sauce. That kind of stuff.

 

I'm mostly interested in vegan takes on Italian and french desserts, as well as like just Italian cuisine in general. Just want to see how I can put a vegan spin on it, since I derive most of my inspiration from these foods.

Just wanted to let you know that I've been doing some digging for the things you requested. I've been trying to put together a list of things you might be interested in, but I've been kind of busy the past couple of days. I should be able to get a full list to you by tomorrow evening since I'll have all day tomorrow to put things together. I hope that's okay with you!

 

[Guest]

@Zosia Thanks a lot!! Don't worry about urgency, I understand people have lives and all after all. But yeah... thanks so much, again. Making and giving out new is just my passion.  

[Zosia]

Alright, let's see if this will submit correctly (it's been giving me a hard time...)

 

 

Meringue:

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") How to Whip Aquafaba Into a Meringue

 

Sauces:

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Lemon Roasted Garlic Sauce

(video, from the channel "Vegan and Killing It") Salted Caramel Sauce

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Spicy Peanut Sauce

 

Breads:

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") French Bread

(video, from the channel "Sarah's Vegan Kitchen") Croissants--plain and chocolate

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Focaccia (Italian bread)

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Flax Buns

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Sweet Potato Buns

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Flour Tortillas

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Lemon Poppy-seed Muffins

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Matcha and Adzuki Twisted Bread

(video, from the channel "Cooking with Plants") Irish Soda Bread

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Biscotti (Cantuccini di Prato)

 

Cheeses:

(video, from the channel "Sarah's Vegan Kitchen") Mozzarella--three different ways of making it

(video, from the channel "Cooking with Plants") Parmesan Cheese

(video, from the channel "Edgy Veg") Cheese Fondue

[Zosia]

Italian Food:

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Colored Pasta

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Potato Gnocchi

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Vegetable Panini

(video, from the channel "avantgardevegan") Supreme Pizza

(video, from the channel "Plant the Seed") Alfredo Pasta

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Cauliflower Arancini

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Flat Iron Pizzadilla

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Scallops and Spaghetti

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Fettuccine Alfredo

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Salad Dressings--three different kinds

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Lasagna Roll Ups with Almond Ricotta

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Pierogies

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Pesto Pasta

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Spinach and Feta Phyllo Triangles

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Pizza Pockets

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Spaghetti Carbonara with Carrot Lox

(video, from the channel "Mary's Test Kitchen") Stuffed Crust Breakfast Pizza

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Basil Walnut Ravioli

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Creamy Corn Gnocchi

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Mushroom Risotto

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Pasta Tricolore e Fagioli

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Pasta Alla Puttanesca

 

Italian Desserts:

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Anginette Cookies

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Mango Panna Cotta

 

French Food:

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Tofu Quiche

(video, from the channel "Cooking with Plants") Spinach, Artichoke, and Pumpkin Quiche

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Tofu Benedict with Hollandaise Sauce

(video, from the channel "The Vegan Corner") Crepes

 

French Desserts (and other sweet things):

(video, from the channel "Floral Frosting") Macarons

(video, from the channel "Vegan and Killing It") Chocolate Mousse Tart

(video, from the channel "Food Wishes") Chocolate Fudge with Walnuts

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Lemon Meringue Tart

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Lemon Curd Tart

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Tarte Tatin

(video, from the channel "Nadia's Healthy Kitchen") Custard Tarts

(video, from the channel "Delicaroom") Crème Brûlée

(video, from the channel "Delicaroom") Chocolate Mousse

(video, from the channel "hippygourmet") Coconut Creme Pie

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Apple Tart

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Gateau Au Chocolat

(video, from the channel "Peaceful Cuisine") Crème Brûlée--banana

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Pumpkin Scones

(video, from the channel "Hot for Food") Coconut Creme Parfait

[Zosia]

Hopefully, all of the links work properly. That's 60 recipes for you, and the list could go on and on. There are SO many vegan cooking channels on YouTube that you might be interested in. Here are a few good ones that I found:

 

(These below channels I already sifted through for French/Italian cuisine for the above list I gave you.)

Hot For Food

Mary's Test Kitchen

Vegan and Killing It

Peaceful Cuisine

Nadia's Healthy Kitchen

Delicaroom

Cooking With Plants

 

(These channels I only briefly sifted through, but they are well worth checking out if you have time.)

The Vegan Corner (this one has a lot of Italian recipes)

Avant Garde Vegan

Edgy Veg

Cheap Lazy Vegan

 

And, if you happen to be interested at all in raw veganism, there's a cooking show on YouTube called "Raw Vegan, Not Gross" hosted by Laura Miller. She has some videos for that show on her channel (also called "Laura Miller") or on other channels like "Tastemade". I'm not into the raw vegan scene, but she makes her videos really entertaining and she has such a bubbly personality.

[Zosia]

I'll have to get back to you on vegan restaurants @FranciumSenpai, this recipe hunting was quite the work-out.

[Guest]

@Zosia Thanks again, you're honestly a great help.

[Guest]

I used to use this in anything I was baking that called for eggs and it worked well:

http://www.ener-g.com/egg-replacer.html

 

Also, crushed walnuts and nutritional yeast make good alternatives to parmesan cheese.

[SamwiseLovesLife]

(Fox's) Party rings are VEGAN AF