The Vegan Thread

Because I'm lazy, for PBP I went to Holland and Barret and just got one of everything from their snack bar/ball section, and supplemented those with dates. Removed all packaging and stuffed everything into a handle bar bag. The lucky dip variety was great.

These Adidas Terrex have a gore tex lining and Continental tread. I used them in the lakes and they worked. Check your size with Adidas, their sizes are smaller than normal?
https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/en-gb/shop/adidas-terrex-swift-r2-gtx-trainers

I've got a pair of Terrex boots. They're really comfy and lightweight. My only criticism is that after about a year they're not really waterproof any more. I probably just need to reproof them though!

cashew mac

The best vegan mac & cheese I've had is by Bar dei Baci. All others I've found too flavourless, but theirs is with truffle oil. Yum.

can't go wrong with anything German because purity laws...

I think that applies to 99% of German beer, but it is possible to get special permission to add other things. I can't remember where I read it, but I think there are a (very) few German beers that are not vegan. That shouldn't be an issue, just a reminder that (as with everything in life) it's not 100% sure.

Having just re-read the German Wikipedia article, I also think the 'purity laws' (see below) were not hugely relevant for veganism; the issue only arose in this country because of the various conventions for clearing beer. That never seems to have been done in most of Germany, and certainly not in Bavaria, although the issue seems very different with wine. I've long thought that isinglass only became so prominent in Britain because of the large amount of waste from the fish corpse industry, and the consequent availability of cheap fish gelatine. I suppose in Germany they could have used other kinds of gelatine, but I don't know how well they would have worked. It seems that now a substance called PVPP, a kind of plastic (Wikipedia doesn't say what it's derived from) is permitted for 'beautifying' beer.

The 'purity laws' were originally all passed for other reasons--to give Bavarian brewers a competitive advantage (for instance, against "Grut" beer, that is, beer brewed with various herbs, which was widespread especially in Northern Germany and the Netherlands; I'm afraid I don't know the English word for "Grut"--the Dutch term "Gruit" seems to be being used internationally, and there is a Scottish beer called Grozet Gooseberry, so perhaps 'grozet' is an English or Scottish word for it), to guard against certain intoxicating/hallucinatory effects caused by certain ingredients used in the Middle Ages, to keep "Süßbier" ('sweet beer') made with added sugar out of Bavaria, and to prevent grains like wheat, which were seen as more valuable than barley and needed for bread, from being used for beer. Interestingly, apparently in the Middle Ages the most widespread grain used for beer was oats.

On a side note, the term "Reinheitsgebot" appears to be a 20th-century coinage (many people think it dates back to 1516, but it's first attested 400 years later), and a "Gebot" is not a law, but an order or a standard, albeit contained in various laws (that typically regulated much more about beer than just the ingredients).

Of course, it is good that most German breweries still adhere to certain "Reinheitsgebote" (plural as there are so many versions of them) voluntarily, although there was also an article in the 'London Drinker' a while back, by someone not concerned about veganism, who argued that "Reinheitsgebote" had stifled innovation in brewing and reduced diversity in German beer by mandating against quirky local beers, some of which are apparently being rediscovered and brewed again in small batches, undoubtedly using the above-mentioned possibility of obtaining special permission. As far as I recall, non-vegan ingredients were mentioned there, although all ingredients mentioned in the Wikipedia article that were variously prohibited in the Middle Ages were vegan (mostly herbs).

tl;dr

Thanks Oliver... an interesting read... be good to know as beer is on the menu, what's everyone's favourite tipple?

They are definitely less flavourful than the real deal. I'll have to give Bar dei Baci a chance when I'm around those parts.

Anyone tried the Applewood vegan cheese yet? Picked some up last night but have another block of some sort I'll need to get through first (which will take a while considering how little vegan cheese I use).

those parts

You know they're market traders, don't you? At the moment, they mostly seem to be at the South Bank Food Market, Maltby Street, or Brixton Vegan Market. They do 'frizza', which is a kind of deep-fried calzone with the mac & cheese inside as the filling (their other flavours are good, too).

Are there any recommended go to vegan brownie recipes anyone can point me towards? I'm due to bake something for work after my sweepstake contestant of the Great British Bake Off was kicked out last week and would like to make something that everyone can have if they would like to (if there's any tips on how to make this gluten free that would also be appreciated, though not actually sure if there's any dietry requirements for this in the office so not entirely neccesary, but would be useful to know in future for my celiac vegan friend who visits me in London now and then). After something gooey and fudgy rather than cakey, looked around online and there's a lot out there so just curious about first hand experience of aynthing

double posted

I really liked these:

https://www.theppk.com/2012/01/raspberry-truffle-brownies/

I've only seen them South. But will keep on the lookout.

Currently intrigued by Olivers beers with hallucinatory effects

Any advances on vegansmart as best vegan protein powder? Looking for something rounded, my impression is that a powder should have a blend of different types? idk. My myprotein vegan blend was horrendous and I'm so so glad it's finally finished.

These are amazing. They did work with Dove's gluten free flour but the sticky-level is absurd, it's better with wheat.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/jan/26/meera-sodha-recipe-vegan-salted-miso-brownies

Nice tip, Will be making these, and pleased to read all the beer thoughts too, must drink more beer!

Carlsberg, served luke warm.

Oooh, I will have to try these as well..
..thanks for sharing!

+1 myprotein is gross. I like Bulk Powder's one - although a bit grainy if you don't use a blender.

Oh, and excitingly, my local go to for vegan stuff shop had a bunch of the Tyne Cheases in stock. First time ever I’ve seen them so splashed out and grabbed a few.

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^ hmm, sounds good (also looks neat)

I've been using Pulsin for a while now, not bad flavour and it's one ingredient... I've found that the cheaper powders have shit loads in them which for me, doesn't really make sense

I use bulk powders. Either vanilla or strawberry. I like it so much that I use it for my oats instead of milk.

These are my absolute favs : https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-gluten-free-black-bean-brownies/ usually bake them in a tray instead of the individual tins, and don't add the nuts. Super easy and really fudgy.