WINE-Vegetarian or Not?

Wine has been widely and coequally accepted all over the world, not only by meat eaters but also vegans and vegetarians. ‘Chardonnay’ with fish or chicken is as scrumptious a combination as it is with risotto or legumes. Similarly, an aromatic ‘Syrah’ usually pared with beef or steak will also go equally well with roasted vegetables. There are absolutely no limits to pairing wine with vegan or vegetarian food. However, something that every vegetarian wouldn’t know is that every combination of a wine and a vegetarian dish might not be as vegetarian as it seems. No, its not the food, it’s the WINE that might render the pairing non-vegetarian.

Photo courtesy: flickr.com

Before being bought to you in artfully crafted decanters, wine is aged and before aging it goes through a fining process. This fining or clarification process decides if the wine will be suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The process essentially uses ‘fining agents’ to remove the dead yeast cells, proteins and tannins. Vintners reason that the process not only helps clarify the wine and give it the desired tint but also help getting rid of the off-flavors that the tannins and proteins may other wise give to the wine.

Photo courtesy: flickr.com

The fining agents that a winery would typically use are casein (milk protein), albumen (derived from egg whites), gelatin (from animal bones), chitosan (from the shells of sea crustaceans), isinglass (from fish bladder) or in some Mediterranean countries even bull’s blood (it is not allowed to be used in US and Europe). These agents cling to the unwanted particles and sediment them out; wine is then poured from barrels to barrels to get rid of these sediments. Trace amounts of these fining agents however still remain in the wine. While, casein and albumen might be acceptable to certain vegetarians the others are certainly not!

Some wineries also use bentonite (a clay mineral) for clarifying the wine, but it is not known to be as common a fining agent. Unfortunately, the biggest hitch is that wine labels do not mention which fining agent has been used for the purpose of clarification. 

In that case, the question is how do you pick a vegetarian or a vegan friendly wine? Following is what you can do, the next time you crave for one:

1. Choose unfiltered/unfined wines that omit the whole clarification process (wines from small local producers for example)
2. Ask your wine merchant, if the wine is vegetarian/vegan friendly or if its unfiltered
3.  There are helpful guides online (Barnivore.com for example) that carry an exhaustive list of wines available in the market and if they are vegan friendly or not
4.  Go for the red wines as they are less likely to be fined than the white ones

       

                                         

Photo courtesy:flickr.com

Try out some vegetarian/vegan wines and if you’ve tasted one, please leave the name of wine and your opinion of it in the comments.

Thank you so much for coming back! I will see you again soon. Till then, Read what you drink and Drink what you love, keep it Vegetarian!!

Pesto Sauce- Vegetarian versions

Like million others, I am also a hard core fan of Pesto sauce. I use it to dress my pasta, salads, as a spread on wraps and sandwiches or as a topping on pizzas, bruschetta and crackers and every single time the result is lip-smacking!

Spaghetti pasta with veggies in hemp seed pesto

But until recently, I always used store-bought version of the sauce, primarily consumed with two thoughts 1. sauce is undoubtedly vegetarian 2. its not an easy recipe to make at home and even if I do try, I will in no case recreate the taste. But, to my surprise, both my assumptions were gravely wrong! Parmesan or pecorino cheese that are essential ingredients of the sauce are rarely vegetarian and making the sauce at home is both easy and results in a better than store-bought version.  I've tried making pesto in about 4-5 different ways, two of which were exceptionally delectable. I am posting them here, do give them a try :)

Almond/Walnut Pesto: 
This ones inspired by the recipe on http://littleferrarokitchen.com/2013/02/basil-almond-pesto/ . However, I've made some modifications to make it suitable for vegetarians. Hope you'll like my version of the recipe,

3 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup almonds (skinned)/walnuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2-3 sundried tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup paneer or 1 avocado (optional)
Water (if required for grinding)

Process all the ingredients together in a blender until the desired consistency is reached.

Hemp Seed Pesto: 
This ones inspired by the recipe on http://www.createnourishlove.com/2014/06/27/basil-and-hemp-seed-pesto/ . I've also made certain modifications and here's how I did it,

3 cups fresh cilantro leaves/ basil leaves
1/2 cup hemp seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
2-3 sundried tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup paneer or 1 avocado-for a more creamy texture (optional)
Water (if required for grinding)

Process all the ingredients together in a blender. The one with cilantro also works well, especially as a salad dressing or a spread.

You can also store these sauces in air-tight containers in your refrigerator, and they will easily last for up to 5 days.

I will be back on Monday with another write-up on another 'seemingly vegetarian food'. Do come back and leave your comments :) Till then, Read what you eat and Eat what you love, Keep it Vegetarian!!

CHEES-E-FACTS

Most of us vegetarians are quite fond of cheese. We Vegetarian-Indians or Indian-Vegetarians have basically grown up on paneer. ‘Pamper with paneer’ was and still is a thumb rule; you can never go wrong with. For ages, paneer was the nearest thing to cheese that we had tasted.
But, we’ve come far and today most of us have our own favorite variety of cheese; Parmesan, mozzarella, ricotta, cottage, cheddar, bleu… name it and we’ve had it. However, while texture to an extent is, what most of us still do not know is that the process of making cheese is more complex than that of ‘paneer’ and therefore all kinds of cheese are not suitable for vegetarians like paneer (chenna).

Mozarella Cheese

Picorino Romano Cheese

Smoked-gruyere Cheese

No matter how weird and difficult-to-pronounce name a cheese has got (every variety of pecorino for example), it is taken to belong to ‘an obviously vegetarian’ category. Time to see beyond the name guys!!

An important element used in the process of making cheese that might render it as non-vegetarian is Rennet. In simple terms, rennet is a set of enzymes that coagulates the milk to help the formation of cheese. The source of rennet is however the cause of concern here. There are three sources of rennet,

• the inner lining of the stomach of ruminant animals like cows, goats and pigs etc. (animal rennet)
• plants (vegetable rennet) and
• microbes like bacteria/fungi/yeast etc (microbial rennet)

Off late, manufactures have also started using Fermentation-produced-chymosin (FPC) for making cheese. FPC is a coagulating element that is produced by introducing a rennet-producing gene from an animal’s stomach into a microbe. This genetically modified microorganism then produces chymosin, that is used in coagulation and the microbe is killed in the final product.  FPC is also referred to on labels as ‘vegetable or microbial rennet’. Some manufacturers also use acids for coagulation.

While animal rennet is not suitable for consumption by vegetarians, the other two categories are. Below are some of the popular types of cheese in each category:

Types of cheese using animal rennet	Types of cheese using vegetable/microbial rennet *	Types of cheese manufactured without rennet
Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) –most varieties	American Bleu and Bleu	Cream cheese
Gruyere – most varieties	Asiago	Cottage cheese
Pecorino Romano	Brie	Farmer’s cheese
Gorgonzola – most varieties	Cheddar	Mozarella- some varieties
Manchego,	Colby Jack	Quark
Emmenthaler	Feta	Paneer
Mimolette	Fontina	Vegan (all types and varieties)
Grana Padano	Montery Jack
Camembert – most varieties	Mozarella
Boucheron	Pepper Jack
Vacherin	Ricotta
	Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano) – some varieties
	Gorgonzola – some varieties
	Camembert – some varieties

*Please note that the types of cheese mentioned under the vegetarian category (except for the ones not using rennet) may have certain varieties/brands that use animal-rennet too. Therefore, reading the label is your best bet!

Brie Cheese

Fontina Cheese

Gorgonzola Cheese

So, the next time you crave for cheese, make sure you do the following:

1. Read labels for rennet before buying cheese/ask a knowledgeable salesperson about the rennet used in cheese.
2. While eating out, opt for dishes that use the vegetarian types like cheddar, feta, fontina, ricotta etc. /ask your server or a knowledgeable restaurant staff for the cheese.
3. Go for organic, and try to buy cheese at a reliable store/supermarket (for example, I buy cheese either at Whole Foods or Trader’s Joe where the labels always carry the type of rennet used). Remember you always have the option of vegan cheese to fall back on.
4. Find out the vegetarian/vegan brands of cheese available in your country before you go shopping.  Here in US, you can find Go Veggie, Daiya, Follow your Heart, Treeline, Dr Cow etc. Amul, a very popular brand in India also manufactures vegetarian cheese. 

White Cheddar Cheese

I hope you found the article helpful. I will truly appreciate any comments, suggestion or questions that you have for me. Also, please share names of vegetarian brands of cheese you’ve tried and how did you like them. I will be back soon with another helpful write-up on another ‘apparently vegetarian’ food.

Till then, read what you eat and eat what you love, keep it Vegetarian ;)