If you think wine, tortillas or even vegetable soup are obviously vegetarian, you might want to double-check. Depending on how strictly you follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, some foods that are seemingly plant-based might not actually make the cut. Surprising ingredients, including animal byproducts, can sneak into everyday staples.
We spoke with food and drink experts to learn about 10 common foods that aren't always vegetarian-friendly. Here's everything to know.
Cheese
Real Parmigiano-Reggiano isn't a vegetarian product, due to the use of rennet during production. Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium
Alarmist headlines like to specifically call out Parmigiano-Reggiano as a nonvegetarian cheese, but Parm is far from the only culprit in the cheese category that contains more than just milk.
"Cheese is often not vegetarian because of the use of rennet, which helps the milk coagulate and separate into curds and whey," explained Emily Monaco, an international cheese judge and journalist. "Traditionally, rennet comes from the stomach of a baby animal: calf, kid or lamb. While similar, [plant-based] enzymes can be used for similar effects, many cheeses rely on animal-based rennet, especially in France," and throughout Europe.
Check your ingredient lists, or ask your cheesemonger if you're unsure. "Rennet" will pretty much always indicate animal rennet, but "vegetarian rennet," "microbial rennet," "thistle (cardoon) rennet" or another coagulant such as lemon juice, acid or vinegar indicate a truly vegetarian cheese.
White or processed sugar
Certain types of white sugar are produced using bone char. Getty Images
Yep, even something as basic as sugar might have nonvegetarian aspects to it. "There are sugars that are processed using bone char, which is made from charred animal bones," said Maricel Gentile, cooking instructor, chef and owner of Maricel's Kitchen. "Bone char whitens the sugar in the process."
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