These six foods are not really vegetarian
FollowAre you are a staunch vegetarian? Think again, because you just might be consuming products made from animal parts without being fully aware of it. In fact, there are several food products labelled as vegetarian are actually contain certain non-vegetarian items that might be considered a sacrilege by puritans.
Here are a few foods that masquerade as vegetarian fare:
Soup: That delicious macco soup made with the beans and onions that you just savoured might not be a vegetarian dish as you would like to believe. The main sauce used in cooking this macco soup contains fish extracts. So, the next time you visit a restaurant, just ask the waiter about the ingredients of the macco soup. A discreet waiter would tell you it contains “tom yum paste,” which, dear patrons, is not vegetarian either, as it contains shrimp sauce.
Edible Oils: Edible oils that contain Omega-3 fatty acid is said to be good for your heart, but consuming this heart healthy oil might turn you into a non-vegetarian. Omega-3 fatty acid is actually processed from cod liver oil that is extracted from the liver of a cod fish.
Salads: The famed Caesar Salad is another dish widely enjoyed by vegetarians. Made from lettuce and croutons (rebaked bread) and is dressed with parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil. But that delicious sauce that you relish, did you know, is actually made out of eggs.
Cheese: Are you a cheese lover? Then here is another shocker for you - there are some cheese which are always made using animal rennet. Traditional animal rennet is an enzyme derived from the intestine of calves, lambs or goats before they consume solid food.
Sugar: This list of ‘non-vegetarian’ food items would be incomplete without sugar. Do you know what gives processed sugar its crystal white texture? Bone char! During the processing of sugar, bone char is used as a bleaching agent, and this process is what gives sugar its white colour.
Wine and Beer: Wine and beer, too, is not vegetarian-friendly. Many brands of beer and wine contain an ingredient taken from the bladders of tropical fish called Isinglass that is used in the process of fining beer or wine.
Besides the food products, there are also medicines that can turn you into a non-vegetarian. Some capsules prescribed by doctors also contain animal products. The outer sheath of a capsule is made by gelatin, which is processed from the bone marrow and muscles of some animals. Sometimes, it is also processed from pig skin.
