Toxic veganism, that 1%

I'm curious as to why you include tofu. Its a fairly basic ingredient that doesn't contain additives. If you made tofu from scratch would that be OK?

Also - surely many things are not 'whole'. What about flour? Surely you don't grind your own flour for use in the restaurant?

You mention dairy substitutes for dairy. Are you saying that you wouldn't use almond 'milk' or soya 'milk'?
Personally I'm not a soy product fan and try and keep soy to a minimum.

Yeah, grains that are just ground are fine but again I use them sparingly and have a similar outlook as I do with soy. We're back today making starters because fully open dictates it and we'll get back to making breads full time. Most grains that actually hit a plate are from whole grains.

No, don't use various non dairy milks andwe can easily makes desserts specifically for vegans without using them/dairy, which allows imo the better option of using dairy products for our clientele. We've tried to replace diary in recipes but they're not up to the standard which we felt acceptable a pretty basic conclusion based on our business model. Personally I don't use them either.
 
Maybe I am too. Its an interesting discussion though.
Yeah, that argument is pretty old and it holds the opinion that everything has been processed. It's a straw man argument basically. I pick an apple off a tree and get rid of the stem and leaves and give it a wash is a processed food. I pull carrots out of the ground is a processed food.
 
We've tried to replace diary in recipes but they're not up to the standard which we felt acceptable

Fair enough. I commend your approach as you are not making it easy for yourself in the restaurant business. Its not difficult to make nut milks from scratch though. What about something like butter. Do you buy that in or make your own?

I think I'm going of topic a bit...
 
Yeah, that argument is pretty old and it holds the opinion that everything has been processed. It's a straw man argument basically. I pick an apple off a tree and get rid of the stem and leaves and give it a wash is a processed food. I pull carrots out of the ground is a processed food.

I can see that - but I'm curious how you define 'processed' in terms of your restaurant.
 
Fair enough. I commend your approach as you are not making it easy for yourself in the restaurant business. Its not difficult to make nut milks from scratch though. What about something like butter. Do you buy that in or make your own?

I think I'm going of topic a bit...
It still seems like pertinent information regarding the topic, to me.

I guess I love my breads, cheese, pasta, etc. far too much. And love butter too.

So what about fermented vegetables like kimchee and sauerkraut? Pickles?
 
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Fair enough. I commend your approach as you are not making it easy for yourself in the restaurant business. Its not difficult to make nut milks from scratch though. What about something like butter. Do you buy that in or make your own?

I think I'm going of topic a bit...
We have and we do on occasion. It comes down to time and labor management and for the most part and it doesn't work for us to make it full time. We buy butter in 1 kilogram sheets and pounds, always unsalted and go through quite a bit. JAS we make our own kimchee, sauerkraut and pickles.
 
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Interesting. What sort of options are you referring to?
Most of the meat alternatives.

I have come to hate the term plant based because it is usually very highly processed. Plus I never actually liked meat anyway so actually don't want something resembling meat.

To me, if I can't make it myself at home, it's highly processed. So tofu, seiten and Tempeh I can make at home, (as I can and do, and also cashew cheeses, almond cheeses, yoghurt etc), though we don't eat seiten for other reasons. The rest is out of the window. My idea of a burger or sausage involves identifiable components... not something that looks and frankly tastes horrendous and smells like vomit.

And yes, I can't stand the radical vegans either, but i also can't stand the radical meat eaters, carnivore and the likes who like nothing better than to try to provoke. It goes both ways.

Personally, I am vegetarian minus dairy (due to anaphylactic shock allergy). I generally don't eat honey, but that's a personal thing, it's too sweet but we do have a tub of local honey at home. I obviously eat eggs, but only from my own chickens. When out, I don't eat anything other than vegan. If my chooks are not laying, we don't eat eggs.

I don't agree with a lot of the vegan alternatives away from the food side of life because they involve too much plastic. My balance is towards the environment so I do knit with wool that meets certain ethical standards (it is biodegradable). I wear wool, mostly really old stuff from 25 years ago, plus what I've knitted. I do use & wear a lot of bamboo, cotton & hemp. I don't do beeswax. Frankly bees need all the help they can get and there are plenty of friendly alternatives. And so on.

It's a balance between veganism and the environment that frankly the radical 1% haven't worked out. But the same is also true for carnivores, meat eaters and so on.

It's also why I hasn't posted on this thread before. The topic is frankly an unlit grenade.
 
I´ve got no problem with veganism; in fact I´ve probably been cooking loads of Vegan food for over 40 years without even realising it and often eat Vegan food.
What I DO have a problem with is evangelical radicals who misguidedly believe that their way of life or their ideals (be it radical Marxism, LGBT, PETA, Extinction crap, etc.) need to be shoved in front of my face or forced down my throat when they feel like it. I´m an incredibly tolerant person- but don´t try to tell me what I should or should not believe or do.

That kind of sums up my thoughts. Any type of food preference that crosses into religious territory. I'm not kosher, I'm not halal, I eat meat on Fridays during lent.

Granted, there are people like SatNav who have pretty extreme food restrictions for medical reasons. I totally get that. But, I rather doubt SatNav would come into my house, and tell me to cook her food in pans that have never cooked meat. I would obviously avoid cross-contamination with food that could make her sick, but I can do that without going ridiculous.

I was once invited to go to dinner, along with a few other people, by a guy I knew professionally. One woman invited was a strict vegan, so we would be going to a vegan only restaurant. There were about six guests, and one person was deciding unilaterally what we were dining on. I had something else to do that night.

CD
 
You mention dairy substitutes for dairy. Are you saying that you wouldn't use almond 'milk' or soya 'milk'?
I forgot MG we did put a dessert on the menu a while back that used almond and cashew milk made from scratch in a panna cotta with an Asian pear compote, cherries and almond brittle.
 
Dog is definitely edible (not that I've tried any).

I've probably eaten dog in China (unknowingly) and more that likely cat. I know that I've eaten horse (or donkey/mule) in Spain back in the 70s.
 
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