Vegan Journal's Foodservice Update
Healthy Tips and Recipes for Institutions
Volume X, Number 3     Summer 2002

Vegan Food Products

1. Endive: With its petal-shaped leaves and delicate color, endive is a perfect ingredient for catered events. A member of the chicory family, endive leaves are crispy and moist, with just enough bitterness (as in a radish) to make for an interesting taste. Use the whole, uncooked leaves instead of crackers or bread for dips. Endive puts a tuxedo on guacamole, hummus, and black-bean dip. Endive can be chopped into fresh salads or can be finely shredded and added to cooked dishes right before service. California Vegetable Specialties, the world’s largest producer of California endive, suggests a Cleopatra Salad to complement a traditional Caesar Salad. The vegan version of a Cleopatra salad is composed of endive, cooked and cooled white asparagus, peeled green grapes, and slivered almonds along with a creamy dressing flavored with green onions, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, white pepper, and champagne vinegar. For information on using endive in your catered events, contact California Vegetable Specialties, 15 Poppy House Road, Rio Vista, CA, 94571, email [email protected] or call (707) 374-2011. You can also visit the company’s website.

2. Elegant Endings: Edward and Sons Trading Company’s Organic Fine Confections are vegan and great tasting! Bite-sized chocolate-covered fondants and chocolate-dipped fruit jellies are offered. These vegan delights add elegance to a dessert tray or to sorbets or cookies. They do very well on their own, offered after a meal. The fondants include peppermint and orange-mint. The chocolate jellies include banana, orange, and strawberry. Ingredients include (depending on flavor) corn malt syrup, apple pectin, organic cocoa butter, organic dehydrated cane juice, natural flavor, and orange oil. For information on Edward and Sons Trading Company, Inc., visit their website; email [email protected]; or write to PO Box 1326, Carpinteria, CA, 93014.

3. Soy Delicious: Turtle Mountain manufactures organic Soy Delicious non-dairy frozen dessert. Serve this creamy, luxurious dessert as a trio of flavors, topped with chopped nuts or accompanied by sweet wafers. Soy Delicious can be served as a frozen pie or as individual frozen tarts. Create frozen parfaits, ice cream sandwiches or mini-banana splits with different flavors. Flavors include old-fashioned vanilla, vanilla orange, mocha fudge, Neapolitan (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry), chocolate peanut butter, chocolate velvet, mint marble fudge, and strawberry. Depending on the flavor, ingredients include organic soy milk, dehydrated cane juice, brown rice syrup, potato starch, and yucca extract. Visit their website or write to PO Box 21938, Eugene, OR, 97402.

4. White Wave: Look to White Wave for many of your vegan catering needs. White Wave packs the following products for the food service industry:

• Silk Soymilk and Vanilla Silk Soymilk: Bag in a Box (5 gallons)
  Use soy milk for “creamy” sauces for both entrées and desserts, for “cream” soups, for vegan puddings or custards and for salad dressings.

• Tofu, Firm, Organic: 2/5 pounds per case
  Use firm tofu to create savory entrées, such as grilled tofu piccata or lemon-tofu bro- chettes. Purée firm tofu for salad dressings or fruit and vegetable dips. Marinate diced firm tofu and use in “no-chicken” salads and other cold salads.

• Seitan: 2/5 pounds per case
  Use seitan as vegan “steaks” that can be grilled, barbecued, or roasted. Finely chop seitan and use to flavor soups and salads.

• Seitan Stir Fry Strips: 2/5 pounds per case
  Include seitan strips in Mediterranean pasta or vegetable dishes, Thai curries, or hot vegan sandwiches.

• Tempeh: 5 grain, 20/8 ounces
  Tempeh can be baked with a savory sauce, served as a “filet” with caramelized onions, or grilled.

• Tempeh: Deli Diced, 2/5 pounds
  Deli tempeh can be used in appetizer recipes, served with dipping sauces, or put in mini hot sandwiches.

• Silk Cultured Soy (soy “yogurt”)
  Comes in apricot mango, banana-strawberry, blueberry, Key lime, lemon, lemon kiwi, peach, plain, raspberry, strawberry, vanilla, mixed berry, black cherry flavors. Several flavors are available in quart containers. Use cultured yogurt to create fruit dipping sauces and dessert sauces. Combine with tofu to create puddings and “creamy” pie fill- ings for parfaits, pies, tarts, and cake fillings.

For information on all these products contact White Wave, Inc.,1990 N. 57th Court, Boulder, CO, 80301; or call (303) 443-3470.

5. Near East: Near East Foods has imaginative grain mixes that cook in less than thirty minutes. Some varieties are vegan including:

• Pilafs: rice pilaf, wild mushroom and herb, garlic and herb, lentil pilaf, brown rice pilaf, wheat pilaf, and curry pilaf
• Couscous: plain, roasted garlic and olive oil, and tomato lentil
• Creative grains: roasted pecan and garlic and roasted garlic
• Specialty: tabouli, falafel, long grain and wild rice mixes, black beans and rice

If prepared and cooled, most of these mixes can be used on a cold appetizer or salad buffet table. Prepare and served hot, these mixes are excellent accompaniments to savory entrées or used as stuffings for mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers. Visit their website.

Catering Weddings and Other Big Events

Food Service Hotline

Vegetarian Quantity Recipes

Fennel and Tomato Gratin

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Orange Chocolate Bread Pudding with Maple Rum Sauce

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Last Updated
June 11, 2004

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