Veganism Q&A

[-MoB-LustOverLove]

Re: Veganism Q

I’ve been slowly moving to a Vegetarian diet, at the beginning of the year I started eating 50% of my meals vegetarian. Currently I’m eating like 75% of my meals vegetarian. With my goal becoming vegan.

My first question for you is how you deal family/friend gatherings where they don’t really consider your diet when preparing the food?
My second question is do you seek mostly restaurants that offer vegan options or how do you navigate the menus? I feel like most restaurants here the only vegan thing is salad

 

[Wesday]

Re: Veganism Q

I’ve been slowly moving to a Vegetarian diet, at the beginning of the year I started eating 50% of my meals vegetarian. Currently I’m eating like 75% of my meals vegetarian. With my goal becoming vegan.

My first question for you is how you deal family/friend gatherings where they don’t really consider your diet when preparing the food?
My second question is do you seek mostly restaurants that offer vegan options or how do you navigate the menus? I feel like most restaurants here the only vegan thing is salad

If i go to a gathering where they typically have no vegan items, I'll eat beforehand or bring something. A lot of friends are supportive of my veganism so I'm lucky that they usually make the effort for me. Family, less so. My great-grandma still tries to make me eggs. She has alzheimers though so i just give it to my little brother if she offers something not vegan.

I'll usually look up a place before to see their menu. Fries are also vegan. You might have to adjust taste buds when you go out. I find "ethnic" restaurants are more likely to have vegan options. Standard "american" fare usually relies heavily on dairy and meat rather than spices and sauces for flavour.

 

[-BB]

Re: Veganism Q

Fries are also vegan.

This isn't always true and you should ask to be on the safe side, as well as asking how the fries are prepared as many places will fry the fries in the same oil and fryer as their fried meats.

 

[WhoTfIsWesday]

Re: Veganism Q

Fries are also vegan.

This isn't always true and you should ask to be on the safe side, as well as asking how the fries are prepared as many places will fry the fries in the same oil and fryer as their fried meats.

As someone who has worked in many kitchens, it's very rare that places use the same fryer for their meats and fries. Cross-contamination is a big thing. They'll be more likely to do it if the meat is mostly cooked already. It doesn't hurt to ask tho. Mcdonalds fries are not vegan, but they do it on purpose. They use beef to flavour fries

 

[-BB]

Re: Veganism Q

Fries are also vegan.

This isn't always true and you should ask to be on the safe side, as well as asking how the fries are prepared as many places will fry the fries in the same oil and fryer as their fried meats.

As someone who has worked in many kitchens, it's very rare that places use the same fryer for their meats and fries. Cross-contamination is a big thing. They'll be more likely to do it if the meat is mostly cooked already. It doesn't hurt to ask tho. Mcdonalds fries are not vegan, but they do it on purpose. They use beef to flavour fries

Rare in some places, more common in others. All I'm saying is that it's safer to ask than assume.

 

[Angee]

It's a flavor thing, not a cross contamination thing. That oil is hot enough to kill any germs. But if you cook fish in one vat, everything else cooked in that vat is gonna taste like fish until you scrub the vat and change the oil. Meanwhile, chicken has a much milder taste. It's sorta common for restaurants to cook chicken and fries in the same vat, unless they are serving so many fries that it makes sense to have a dedicated vat for just fries.

 

[Wesday]

They also wanna tend to keep them in different fryers though to keep fries gluten-free since that's a common request nowadays. The breading in fried meats would be considered contamination

 

[-BB]

What they "should" do and what they actually do are different. LOL.

In my area, they're typically mixed and so even fries aren't safe. There are definitely areas where they're strict and do keep them separate as they should. But it's not safe to assume all places do this.

 

[Angee]

They also wanna tend to keep them in different fryers though to keep fries gluten-free since that's a common request nowadays. The breading in fried meats would be considered contamination

They're just gonna skim the extra breading off the top of the oil with a spider in a smaller restaurant with only 1 or 2 fryers. They can't afford to change the oil very often. Oil is expensive when you're talking gallons of it at a time

 

[Wesday]

What they "should" do and what they actually do are different. LOL.

In my area, they're typically mixed and so even fries aren't safe. There are definitely areas where they're strict and do keep them separate as they should. But it's not safe to assume all places do this.

I am assuming proper restaurant quality. That's why i said it never hurts to ask.

 

[Kefo]

It's a flavor thing, not a cross contamination thing. That oil is hot enough to kill any germs. But if you cook fish in one vat, everything else cooked in that vat is gonna taste like fish until you scrub the vat and change the oil. Meanwhile, chicken has a much milder taste. It's sorta common for restaurants to cook chicken and fries in the same vat, unless they are serving so many fries that it makes sense to have a dedicated vat for just fries.

One time my ma made prawn crackers but used too much oil so she put it in a jar and we had prawn flavoured oil for weeks... Cause I didn't want everything to taste like prawn.

 

[GodTierOni]

Re: Veganism Q