Vegan Cooking with Beverly Lynn Bennett

Beverly Lynn Bennett is a vegan chef who recently completed her first electronic vegan cookbook, Eat Your Veggies. She's been working in the restaurant industry since she was 12. Please visit VeganChef.com to get some great vegan recipes and to learn more about her.

Question:

We recently changed from vegetarian to vegan. I bought soy cheese and noticed it contained "casein". Is that vegan? Thanks

Answer:

Casein is definitely not vegan. It is the main protein found in cow's milk, and is the main component of the curds that form when milk is left to sour. It is widely used in the production of processed foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, personal care products, adhesives, and plastics. So my advice is to read labels carefully, look for any form of the word "casein", such as calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, rennet casein, or lactic casein. Also avoid forms of the words "lactose" and "lactase" if you are trying to follow a strict vegan diet. In the past, most soy-based, dairy alternatives contained some form of casein, lactose, or whey, as they were thought necessary for binding and melting properties. But the increased awareness of the benefits of a plant based diet, and an increase in food allergies and special diet requirements have changed all that. As far as cheese, I can recommend Soymage by Galaxy Foods, they have many wonderful products that fit many special diet requirements. Look for them in grocery and health food stores.

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