If you're a vegetarian and are blindly trusting what you eat just because the ingredient list doesn't mention any non-veg ingredients, you need a reality check. Many foods, considered vegetarian actually contain traces of non-veg food. Though there are substitutes available for the non-veg used, they are still not popular or widely used. So the next time you crave one of these foods, your best bet would be to confirm if they are actually "vegetarian".
1. Salad Dressings
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Think you're safe when you ordered that lettuce salad? Think again! You know the vegetables are, well, vegetarian but have you ever wondered about the sauces? What exactly is in those sauces that make your salad so tasty? Most often than not, salad dressings are not completely vegetarian and contain eggs. So the next time you order a salad or are buying your favourite salad dressing, please check the ingredients list thoroughly. Especially, if it is an imported brand.
2. Soups
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We all love Indian Chinese. The tang, the spice, heat. But what if we told you your favourite Manchow soup is actually non-vegetarian? Restaurants often add sauces to your soups which are derived from fish or are fish sauces to the mix. Yes. Even in your vegetarian soup. We kid you not. Try asking them about it the next time you're at a restaurant. We promise you'll hear things like, "It's Tom Yum soup and Tom Yum Sauce contains fish..."
3. Cheese
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Life just feels incomplete without a pizza, doesn't it? Indians have taken to cheese like a fish to water and we now add cheese to each and every recipe! So you have cheese pav-bhaji, cheese poha, cheese rajma, cheese dosa and even cheese paratha! But did you know that the cheese you love might contain rennet, which is an enzymes derived from animal guts. And for the love of humanity, we shall not get into how the enzymes are extracted. Unfortunately for you, the cheese packets do not list the actual enzyme used but just a generic "enzyme". We leave it to you to keep guessing the actual ingredients!
4. Jelly
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The very sight of these delectable gummy bears has left you craving one. Admit it! But before you give in and indulge, read this. We all know what is the main ingredient of jelly. That's right! Gelatin. And gelatin is an animal derivative. However, in recent times, gelatin is being replaced by starch or other similar food products and chemicals so you might just be safe.
5. Beer/Wine
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Hic. Cheers! No, we aren't drunk writing this. Unfortunately, we aren't. We're as sober as a beaver (just coz it rhymes, you know). Beer or wine makers often use isinglass - or fish bladders to clarify their beer. So the colour you keep raving about? It's all thanks to fish bladder! Sounds ugh? Well, most of the famous beer and wine brands in the world use isinglass. Vodka, here we come! Hic.
6. Oils
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That advertisement for your 'heart-friendly' oil? That's actually not heart-friendly at all! Oils and jucies that contain Omega-3 acids, advertised to be good for your heart are derived from fish oil. Also, some juices claim to have Vitamin D which is derived from Lanolin, obtained from sheep! So much for pure veg. Hmpf!
7. Naan
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This accompanies every meal! How the hell is naan non-veg?! This is taking things too far. Well, it is not. Many recipes for authentic naan call for use of eggs while kneading the dough to keep it soft and give it good elasticity. That's absolutely fine if you're an eggitarian but dear vegetarian, you might want to eat that paneer tikka with chapati now?
8. White Sugar
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Whoa! Did you know that while processing white sugar, to make it precisely as you like it, white, manufacturers send it through a cleansing process. And the cleansing process is done using 'natural carbon'. Wondering where that 'natural' in carbon comes from? Bone char. Yupps, that's right. Charred animal bones! The safest way out is to buy unrefined sugar or stick to brown jaggery.
