Oh No You Didn't: Vegan Eggnog
File under pointless: VegCooking.com has a recipe for vegan eggnog, which calls for soy milk (fine), instant vanilla pudding powder (uhh...), and Rich's non-dairy whipping cream (yikes). Well, I guess you could feel good that your holiday beverage consumption required no chickens to give up their eggs nor any cows their milk, but, honestly, this kind of drink is inhumane—to the humans drinking it!
Granted real eggnog isn't exactly humane either, with beaten eggs, whole milk and heavy cream. But you don't drink it every day. And I would even argue that eggnog could be considered the world's first protein shake. The vegan version is not only bad for you, it's also just plain bad. Non-dairy whipping cream and instant vanilla pudding powder are two of the most vile substances in the supermarket, and though they may be more "animal-friendly," they certainly can't be good for the rest of earth's creatures.
So if you don't eat eggs or milk, which is certainly fine by me, please don't try making a vegan eggnog. Just drink a good fruit smoothie instead.
About the author: Jamie Forrest publishes Curdnerds.com from his apartment in Brooklyn, New York, where he lives with his wife, his daughter, and his cheese. | Photograph of real eggnog from decor8 on Flickr.com
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8 Comments:
So don't post about it. :thumbs up:
Sorry Jamie, i'm a long time SE'r, a huge cheese head, and a recent convert to your site.
As a former vegetarian, it's always neat to see some of the substitutions/creations that people come up with. This is one of those things. Let em alone, ya know?
Prairie at 1:03AM on 12/26/07
Every cow I know is insulted.
Judith in Umbria at 5:04AM on 12/26/07
I'm with Prairie. If you don't like it, don't drink it. No need to make a whole post just to be snarky about someone else's holiday beverage choice. The commercially made Silk Nog is actually not bad. I just don't recommend you tried it as a substitute in an eggnog latte. Soy nog and coffee don't go well together.
Michelle Jones at 8:04AM on 12/26/07
seriously. why would "curdnerd" care one bit what vegans eat? or drink. not your target audience. file under pointless!
alktraz at 8:37AM on 12/26/07
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your opinionated (and to me, humorous) piece, Jamie. I generally take the tack that people should eat what they want no matter what it is but in terms of taste comparison (not moral comparison) something inside me cheered wildly when you wrote:
this kind of drink is inhumane—to the humans drinking it!
Of course everyone has their own moral compass and the taste of a thing can be on a very low rung of the ladder as opposed to the ideologic value of a thing in the human mind at times.
It would be an interesting argument to see also, the opposition of "save the animals" against "corporations are evil" that is possible in the vegan eggnog recipe you list above, as industrial corporate products are used in its making.
Goodness knows how many acres of land had to be cleared to make all those Rich's Products factories - the squirrels scattered, the birds with no trees, the ants and beetles scuttling elsewhere . . .
Anyway. Give me a cow with an udder, a sweet docile one, a chicken to lay eggs - and a sugarcane plantation to make rum, and there will be eggnog.
(And who will run and work the always-jolly-through-history sugarcane plantation? said the Little Red Hen.)
Karen Resta at 9:49AM on 12/26/07
I don't get the hostility that gets thrown at vegans. My daughter is one and I've been amazed at the blasting especially out of ignorance. The accusations and assumptions are legend. Not every vegan is holy about it. Vegan also doesn't mean healthy.
Why is it so important for some people to take vegans down?
However, while I don't agree with the ingredients so much myself (is the instant pudding really without dairy, and if so, is that good?) but there are many reasons someone might want to have an eggnog substitute. Allergic to eggs, allergic to milk, are but a couple.
Don't like the recipe you found? Try this one:
~~~~~~~~~~
VEGAN EGGNOG (from Vegetarian Times)
2 12-oz. packages organic silken tofu
16 oz. organice vanilla soymilk or rice milk
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar (can agave syrup)
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 to 1 cup rum or brandy (optional)
Nutmeg
In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except nutmeg; blend thoroughly. Serve well-chilled and dusted with nutmeg. Makes 8 servings.
~~~~~~~~~~
Sieseye at 4:38AM on 12/27/07
Blech! I have nothing against vegans and if the truth be known I admire them for their convictions. (I, on the other hand have never met a prime rib I didn't fall in love with). But some things should just be left alone. This is one of them. I sincerely would rather go without something if in it's place is substituted a dietary imitation.
RichardCrystal at 12:12PM on 12/27/07
Okay RC, here's another good reason. If one is allergic to corn (and that's becoming more of a problem each day) then s/he can't have either the eggs or milk because the animals are fed corn... and the eggs are cleaned in a corn-based wash.
Likely can't have the substitute with pudding or non dairy whip as those are likely very corn heavy. Even the one I provided might have to forgo the vanilla extract as it's suspended in corn alcohol and the others would need to be vetted first as they might be processed with corn derivitives.
Nor can they partake of the prime rib either.
But here's the real kicker especially for those who live with the one who has the allergy. An adult can be a lonely, lonely hermit but a child still has to have at least a parent. Regardless, whether parent, spouse, sibling, roommate, etc., if they live with someone allergic to corn they often can not consume corn-laden foods either while with that person.
Finding something, anything consumable at that point is a celebration.
What I've found is once I get over the initial taste of something my daughter has (and my mind walls), then I can usually appreciate and really enjoy it. Often I'll even prefer it. The biggest barrier is in our head.
However, I still don't like soy unless it's organic (there is a serious taste difference to me and I can tell even if I don't know there is soy before taking a bite) and even then despite the better taste I seem to react with a couple hours of not being able to focus well if I have very much.
Sieseye at 8:41PM on 12/27/07