Vegan chilli

soba

I've got a vegan guest coming to a party soon. I'm going to make burnt aubergine chilli which is vegetarian. As far as I can see its the couple of squares of dark chocolate that are added that make it unsuitable for a vegan.
Would a spoonful of cocoa serve the same purpose -to add sweetness and gloss?

And need to check if regular soy sauce is vegan-friendly also.

splishsplash

I would omit the chocolate and forget the cocoa also.

Soy sauce is vegan in that it contains no animal products or by-products, but some brands have used animal testing, others use isinglass as part of the production process (so not on the label).

Best to check which brands your vegan friends are ok with, I think.

ETA: tesco and h&b now carry vegan chocolate, I think - you could use that if you wanted.

caronc

Cocoa would be fine as a sub for the chocolate, I usually add about 1/2 tsp to my chilli as seldom have chocolate open (once opened it just has to be eaten.....).

Linda32

I thought I remembered that Green and Black chocolate was vegan, but having had a quick look at their website, they have removed the statement (their words not mine) because of the production line. Might be worth a look at their range.

SpikyHedgehog

Linda32 wrote: »

I thought I remembered that Green and Black chocolate was vegan, but having had a quick look at their website, they have removed the statement (their words not mine) because of the production line. Might be worth a look at their range.

They used to have a good vegan range of chocolate, but decided to add milk products to various bars. So I just don't buy them anymore. Sadly for my waistline, most of the supermarkets now offer their own vegan suitable dark chocolate. Now, where did I stash the rest of the bar I bought in the coop on Monday...

I always use cocoa in my chilli, easier to keep than chocolate.

Ben84

A large amount of dark chocolate has no animal ingredients when you check the label. However, very few chocolates say they're vegan. This had me baffled for a while, why do so many chocolates with no animal products on the ingredients list only say vegetarian on the packet? Far as I can tell, the issue is the possibility of minor dairy contamination from the factory. Labelling something that may have minor traces of milk vegan can confuse people with milk allergies (that's the reason green and blacks give). Personally, minor milk contamination doesn't cause me any bother, no further animal products are being used on my account to eat these chocolates, but it's best to check with whoever you're cooking for about this kind of thing. They may actually have a milk allergy or different feelings about it all.

Cocoa will add the savoury cocoa taste, but not any gloss or sweetness since it has no sugar or fat. I don't imagine it causing a radical change to the recipe however. You can always calculate how much sugar and fat is in a couple of squares of chocolate and add those.

JIL

I think green and blacks organic dark is still vegan. They removed the vegan as there is a very small chance of cross contamination.

Bournville is showing as vegan

http://myvegansupermarket.co.uk/product/cadbury-bournville-dark-chocolate-bar-180g/

elsiepac

Hiya, I'm vegan! Bournville is usually fine but used to contain milk so check the ingredients list that you aren't getting an older one! Also, when things say they contain milk, but it isn't listed in the ingredients (where they have to clearly mark as an allergen), it is down to "cross contamination... most vegans are fine with this as it only means it's made on the same production line as other stuff containing milk. Of course it's all cleaned between batches anyway, but they put it in for legal purposes so they don't get sued if you have an allergic reaction! Tesco own brand in the black packaging in vegan, the 100g bars with coloured writing... I think 74% or something. Also Lindt Plain is vegan, but some of theirs have milk or butter fat bizarrely so just check it's not in the ingredient list. Tesco Finest Plain cooking vcocolae is good too!
However, for your chilli, cocoa powder is absolutely fine. Most are vegan

soba

soba wrote: »

And need to check if regular soy sauce is vegan-friendly also.

The bottle of soy sauce I have open is only suitable for vegetarians but tucked away at the back of the cupboard is a bottle that''s also suitable for vegans��

Cycled to Lidl this morning and picked up an aubergine (49p) and will put a small amount of cocoa in as my dark chocolate has been opened (guilty) and doesn't have the ingredients packaging.

Game on for vegan chilli!
Yay!!

[Deleted User]

Lidl dark chocolate is suitable for vegans and cheap too.