The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vegan Baking - Donna Diegel [123]
tofu A cheeselike substance made from soybeans and soy milk.
turbinado sugar A sugar made with pure raw sugar cane juice and often labeled as raw cane sugar. It has a golden caramel color; light molasses flavor; and coarse, crystalline texture.
vanilla bean pods Natural vanilla beans, also known as pods, are a flavoring derived from orchids. Vanilla beans come in long, thin, dried, brown pods that contain thousands of tiny seeds that can be scraped out and used in baking recipes.
vegan buttermilk Traditional dairy buttermilk is a fermented dairy product that gets its tartness by either artificially adding lactic acid bacteria to cow’s milk or from naturally occurring bacteria. Cultured buttermilk is generally pasteurized and homogenized for safety reasons, but it’s also a thicker product than traditional buttermilk, which makes it appealing to most bakers. Vegan buttermilk produced with plant-based milk (soy milk) is slightly different from its animal-based counterpart. The end results should be the same in most recipes that call for dairy buttermilk.
vegan confectioners’ sugar Sugar made from either beet or cane sugar (not refined with bone char-based charcoal) that’s processed with a starch, such as cornstarch, to prevent caking.
vegan cream cheese A snow-white imitation cream cheese made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, guar gum, and sugar. Tofutti brand contains no dairy, cholesterol, lactose, or butterfat.
vegan marshmallow crème Gluten-free and kosher, this fluffy, sweet, and smooth product is made with brown rice syrup, soy protein, and natural gums and flavors. It can be used in most recipes that call for marshmallow fluff.
vegan sour cream A unique blend of tofu, lemon juice, oil, vinegar, and salt that, when blended together, makes a product very similar to regular dairy yogurt. It can be used in most recipes that call for sour cream with good results.
vent holes Small cuts made in the top crust of a double-crusted pie to allow steam to escape from the hot, bubbling filling. They can be as simple as straight knife cuts or scissor snips, or decorative cuts made with tiny cookie cutter shapes.
vital wheat gluten Also known as instant gluten flour, vital wheat gluten is a powdered form of dehydrated pure wheat gluten (protein) used in the production of seitan.
walnuts A rich, slightly woody flavored nut.
whisk To rapidly mix, introducing air to the mixture.
whole-wheat flour Wheat flour that contains the entire grain.
yeast Tiny fungi that, when mixed with water, sugar, flour, and heat, release carbon dioxide bubbles, which, in turn, cause the bread to rise.
zest Small slivers of peel, usually from a citrus fruit such as lemon, lime, or orange.
zester A kitchen tool used to scrape zest off a fruit. A small grater also works well.
Appendix B
Resources
Maybe you still have some questions about vegan baking, or perhaps veganism itself. You’ve come to the right place! In this appendix, I’ve pulled together a whole resource center so you can dig deeper into vegan issues, leisurely browse through some of my favorite vegan cookbooks, or find a new vegan blog or website. Take a look through the links while you’re here. There’s plenty of vegan love to go around!
Vegan Cookbooks
Balcavage, Dynise. The Urban Vegan: 250 Simple, Sumptuous Recipes from Street Cart Favorites to Haute Cuisine. Guilford, CT: Three Forks, 2009.
Gordon, Elizabeth. Allergy-Free Desserts: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free and Nut-Free Delights. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010.
Holechek, Kris. The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes: Amazing Cookies, Cakes, Muffins, Pies, Brownies and Breads. Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2009.
Kaminsky, Hannah. My Sweet Vegan: Passionate About Dessert. Henderson, NV: Fleming Ink,