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