| Cooking for the vegan is more or less like cooking | | | | say that the elimination of salt, grease, animal fat, |
| for any other ethnic or religious group which | | | | and so on keeps their palette clean enough to |
| restricts certain things from their diet. A little | | | | taste the real essence of fresh fruit and |
| creativity will win you some big points with your | | | | vegetables. |
| vegan customers, and furthermore will help | | | | Vegan Cuisine... |
| conquer a niche market. Vegans often mourn the | | | | One wonders where vegans would be without |
| lack of restaurants that cater to their needs. | | | | soybeans. Soy forms a big staple in the vegan |
| Providing some imaginative menu entries for | | | | diet, in the form of soy milk, soy meat |
| vegan customers will make a happy patron who | | | | substitutes, and tofu. It is interesting that vegans |
| spreads good word of mouth to their vegan | | | | work so hard to create so many things out of |
| friends! | | | | soy beans that look, smell, and taste just like the |
| Understanding Vegans... | | | | meat and animal products they are trying to |
| Vegans are vegans for any combinations of these | | | | eliminate. Anyway, soy substitutes will be a big |
| reasons: | | | | part of any large vegan banquet, particularly |
| _Health_ The vegan diet includes whole grains, | | | | because soy is so easily fortified with other |
| beans, soy products, olive oil, fresh fruits and | | | | vitamins and nutrients. |
| vegetables, nuts, and fresh spices. Resultantly, | | | | International cuisine holds many wonders for the |
| they argue, their diet is very high in protein, | | | | vegan dietary spectrum. In particular, |
| vitamins, beneficial monounsaturated fats, and | | | | Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Southern Indian, |
| antioxidants and other micronutrients, while being | | | | Thai, Mesoamerican, East Asian, and East African |
| moderate in sodium, calories, and saturated fats. | | | | cuisine have a rich tradition of recipes and dishes |
| In addition, they automatically exclude those scary | | | | which happen to be vegan-friendly. This is due in |
| food contamination problems that strike their | | | | part to some parts of the world having birthed |
| meat-eating counterparts, such as e. coli and mad | | | | their culture in a regional area that doesn't have a |
| cow disease. | | | | handy livestock animal nearby, or just being poor |
| It should be noted that there are essential | | | | grazing grounds to start with. |
| vitamins missing from the vegan diet, most | | | | But also, many cultures of the world have a |
| notably B12, iron, and calcium, which they must | | | | wealth of native crops which lend some |
| supplement by other means. Vitamin-fortified | | | | interesting flavors to the cuisine. At least here, |
| foods or vitamin supplements are usually used. | | | | you can be a little envious of vegans - some of |
| _Ethics_ Probably the biggest concern is for | | | | them are gourmets in their own right, and can |
| animal cruelty. Vegans typically wish to exclude | | | | regale you with tales of Indian curry, rice pilaf, |
| any and all forms of ""animal exploitation"" - not | | | | almond deserts, salsa, baba ganoush, seven-grain |
| just meat and leather, but even the products that | | | | bread, and various other cultural specialties. |
| you can obtain from an animal without killing it; | | | | Particularly in contrast to the typical North |
| because even milking a cow or shearing a sheep | | | | American and European Union homogenized diets, |
| for wool is still exploiting an animal for a human's | | | | which sometimes seem to consist entirely of |
| benefit. This is a belief, when held, which varies in | | | | hamburgers and fries or chips, the vegans |
| degrees of commitment from philosophy to | | | | certainly get a wider variety of flavors. |
| religion. | | | | A chef can see this as an artistic challenge to be |
| _Environmental Responsibility_ The typical | | | | creative within a strict set of rules, and studying |
| environmental impact talks about methane gas | | | | some vegan recipes and the menus at vegan |
| from domesticated animals being as bad for the | | | | restaurants should give you a host of inspiring |
| ozone layer as emissions from car exhaust, and | | | | ideas. |
| about how it takes this many acres of land to | | | | Meat substitute will usually be some form of tofu. |
| sustain one cow where the same acres could | | | | Tofu comes in textures ranging from soft, which |
| more efficiently be used to raise crops, and so on. | | | | is about like yogurt or jello in consistency, to very |
| _Religion_ While religions which specifically require | | | | firm, which is more like a hard cheese. Tofu is |
| veganism are rare, several sects of Buddhism still | | | | marvelous because it can take on the taste of |
| require strict adherence to non-violence, including | | | | virtually anything. |
| killing an animal. Parts of different philosophies, | | | | Make tofu bacon by slicing thin strips of hard tofu |
| which usually focus on reducing the impact one's | | | | and frying in a skillet with vegetable oil, adding a |
| life has on the Earth, also suggest or enforce | | | | couple drops of liquid smoke flavoring. Or grind |
| vegan beliefs. | | | | hard tofu into a good hamburger and chili |
| _Aesthetics_ It can certainly be argued, if you've | | | | substitute. The medium-texture tofu can be used |
| been inside a slaughterhouse, that the factory-like | | | | for a cheese substitute. And soy, itself, can be |
| process of butchering animals is unpleasant in | | | | made into anything from milk to yogurt to ice |
| smell and appearance. Vegans also boast that | | | | cream, some of it tastes as good if not better |
| their food just plain tastes and looks better. They | | | | than its animal exploiting counterpart. |