Review: Hipo Hyfryd Pistachio and Rose Delight

Review: Hipo Hyfryd Pistachio and Rose Delight

Welsh handmade vegan chocolate from Cardiff. The range of chocolates available from producer Hipo Hyfryd is not your run of the mill stuff, but rather the unusual and unique. Rose and pistachio are normally found together in turkish delight, but here they're paired as a sort of praline filling.

Chifu: 'tofu' made from Chia Seeds


Along with our sister site plantfoods.org we're reviewing chia seeds...Chia Bia seeds even. We've so far made chia gel, chia milk and chia tofu, but chia yoghurt was a no go...it just wouldn't culture.

The 'chifu' we made is very unusual...more gluten-like than tofu-like...but if anything we thought it was most like silly putty. We can't think of what to do with it as yet, but we suspect it might be useful in gluten-free baking as it's very elastic.

If you want to make it yourself, the instructions will soon be up on plantfoods.org, but in short you do this:

Review: Dorset Cereals Choc Macadamia Bars


Vegan chocolate cereal bars from the people at Dorset Cereals, the premium breakfast muesli makers. These cereal bars are billed as 'decadently chocolatey' and are just under 10% chocolate. Rather than being a chocolate-coated cereal bar, these have the chocolate mixed with the cereals throughout the bar. The presentation of Dorset Cereals products is great...lots of shelf appeal...but do these bars justify their premium billing?

Review: Taifun Tofritto tofu steaks


Our favourite tofu producer Taifun also makes sausages, cutlets, filets and steaks, all from the finest German tofu (made from German-grown organic soya beans). The latest line to hit chiller shelves in the UK is their Tofritto brand of tofu steaks. The product comes in two flavours, Cashew & Olives and Capers & Peppers. The steaks can be eaten cold but are best pan-fried until crispy. We fried up the Cashew & Olive steak for our review:

Review: Choceur Mint Chocolate Waves

Aldi Choceur Mint Dark Chocolate Waves

Vegan chocolate 'pringles' anyone? Aldi's Choceur brand of chocolate occasionally turns up some unexpected vegan treats. These minty chocolate waves take the form of Pringles, in a stack tube to match. They are simply very thin dark chocolate, flavoured with mint and peppered with crispy rice.

Campaign: Get Frys Stocked in Sainsbury's


Fat Gay Vegan has launched a campaign to get more vegan options stocked in UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's, and we're right behind him. The focus is on getting Frys vegan range offered in the freezer section instead of just Quorn, which contains animal products. Sainsbury's has fallen behind Tesco in catering to the growing Free From market, especially in their range of vegan food, but neither retailer stocks Frys great vegan selection.

The Frys range includes burgers, sausages, mince, schnitzels, and chicken style products, all of which are really great tasting. We'd love to see them stocked at our local Sainsbury's

You can back the campaign by signing the online petition over at FGV.
http://fatgayvegan.com/2012/08/25/petition-time/

Review: Carousel Waffle Cones for Ice Cream

Carousel Vegan Waffle Cones for Ice Cream

We only recently ran our ice cream cone taste test but have now found another UK source of vegan cones for ice creams. Carousel were included in our original test with their sugar-free cones, but they also make these premium waffle cones which are vegan too. Unlike the other waffle cones we found, these ones are not gluten-free, but then they don't attract that 'Free From' premium price either. We grabbed some dairy-free ice cream and took these cones out for a taste test.

SPACEBAR Goes Gluten-Free, Stays Vegan

Topas Spacebar wheat and tofu versions
Top: wheaty version - Bottom: tofu version

Spacebar, the vegan meaty snack bar is now available gluten-free. The Spacebar range was previously based purely on wheat protein, but the makers have now brought out a tofu version. Topas are obviously keen to broaden the market appeal of the snack bar by addressing the large gluten-free market.  We compared the tofu version with the wheaty version.

Review: Reggae Reggae Jerk Nuts

Reggae Reggae Jerk Nuts

Levi Roots' vegan-labelled Reggae Reggae jerk sauce has made its way to the snack shelf. These bags of jerk flavoured peanuts and cashews also carry a vegan label. It's just as well for a bag of nuts with 47 ingredients...you wouldn't want to read the back of this pack in a hurry. The nuts appear to be dipped in the jerk sauce and then rolled in extra jerk seasoning. Do this many ingredients deliver on the flavour front?

Review: White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bars

Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Luna Bar

More vegan white chocolate...we can't move for the stuff. Luna bars are the nutritional cereal bars aimed at women, from the Clif Bar company. Smaller and with fewer calories than Clif bars, these are still pretty hefty cereal bars. The white chocolate is no small part of this bar either...besides the decoration on the front there is a lovely thick dipped white choc coating on the bottom.

Review: Beyond Dark Chocolate Drops

Beyond Dark vegan Chocolate Drops

In a break from our white chocolate theme, we're going dark...beyond dark. We spotted these dairy-free chocolate drops in Holland & Barrett. They're not raw chocolate, which seems to be everywhere at the moment, but they are made in a special 'slow and gentle' roasting process which claims to preserve more antioxidants. They're certainly very dark to look at, but are they the drops of 'pure pleasure' promised on the packet?

Review: Vantastic vegan white chocolate spread

Vantastic vegan white chocolate spread

Continuing with our dairy-free white chocolate theme for this week, today's review is Vantastic white chocolate spread. You'd use this in the same way as nutella-style spreads....on bread or toast. The German spread is available online and has a long shelf life thanks to a good proportion of fat and sugar. What's immediately odd about this stuff is....it has no chocolate ingredients whatsoever...

Taste Test: Best Vegan White Chocolate

Vegan dairy-free white chocolate bars

A choice of three dairy-free white chocolate bars is another sign of how vegan options have improved lately. Not too long back, non-dairy white chocolate was a novelty, but now Sweet William, Plamil and Organica are battling it out for your custom. As we like to do here at Veganoo, we unwrapped the three bars and put them to the Taste Test.

Review: Provamel Intenz Desserts

Provamel Intenz Desserts chocolate vanilla

Long established organic brand Provamel has only recently made its way into the chiller cabinet in the UK. Their Intenz range of desserts are similar to their UHT range, but are sold as fresh and found in the fridge. The two pack desserts are available in chocolate and vanilla. Does the move from shelf to chiller improve the already great taste of Provamel's desserts?

Vegan Camping Food: Wayfarer Review

Wayfarer camping food, vegan ready meals

It's camping season...the mosquitos are feeding, and hungry vegans are too. If you're travelling light, but you want to take more than some dried TVP in your backpack, then Wayfarer's pouches might be the answer. The boil-in-the bag ready meals come in lots of varieties, of which the vegetable curry and the spicy vegetable rigatoni are animal-free. The advantage over tinned food is not so much the weight, as the convenience of the tough but malleable pouch shape...and no washing up....

Live from Leicester Vegan Fair 2012



A sunny Saturday in Leicester and the place is packed out for this year's vegan fair. Read on for our blog of the day's events.

Taste Test: Best Smoked Tofu

Taste Test: Best Smoked Tofu

The next time you see a recipe calling for smoked tofu, ask yourself...which sort? The British style of smoked tofu...rubbery, coarse, bitter? Or the German style, ranging from the dry and tough to the moist and ham-like. You see, there are as many types of smoked tofu as there are producers. There is no accepted norm for what you'll get when you buy some. As to the question of quality, frankly some are better than others.

Review: Primal Strips Vegan Jerky


Recently arrived from the US, these vegan jerky strips come in a whole range of flavours. Some are based on soy and with others made from shiitake mushrooms. The shiitake ones contain wheat gluten, but the soy ones are labelled as gluten-free. Although there are vegan pepperoni-style snacks available in the UK, these are the first widely available vegan jerky strips we know of. We picked up the Hickory Smoked, Texas BBQ and Hot & Spicy strips for our review.

Gluten-Free Vegan: Prewetts Jammy Wheels

Gluten-Free Vegan: Prewetts Jammy Wheels

Gluten-Free recently 'beat the wheat' in our recent vegan ice cream cone taste test, so for this review we're doing it again...putting these gluten-free 'jammy wheels' up against wheat-based jammie dodgers. Both packs of biscuits (cookies for US readers) are vegan of course. The Prewetts biscuits are based on gluten-free oats and are slightly more 'wholemeal' looking than regular jammie dodgers. Can oats beat out wheat this time too?

Review: 3 Uncle Japanese Style Mochi

Review: 3 Uncle Japanese Style Mochi

If you're not familiar with mochi you're missing out. The japanese style glutinous rice cakes have an unusual texture and come in a whole range of flavours. The term mochi covers a wide range of glutinous rice cakes, and the sweet-filled ones such as these are 'daifuku' mochi. In the US you can find mochi ice cream balls, even vegan ones, but sadly not in the UK. What we can get here are brands such as 3 Uncle (from Taiwan) who produce several vegan types of mochi.

Review: Taifun Herb Grill Sausages

Taifun Herb Grill Sausages (vegan)

The German word 'grillen' is the equivalent of 'to barbecue' in British English, but 'to grill' in US English. In the US 'to barbecue' is to cook more slowly, which has no equivalent in the UK...it's something Brits don't really do. To compound this linguistic confusion, 'to grill' in the UK is the same as 'to broil' in the US. No wonder there is some doubt as to what Taifun mean with their English translation of 'Grill Sausages'.

The Vegg vegan egg yolk. The Review

Review: The Vegg vegan egg yolk

Few new vegan products are greeted with the enthusiasm that has embraced the arrival of The Vegg - the vegan egg yolk that looks and tastes like egg yolk. Non vegans are probably imagining the product is a cocktail of artificial flavours, colours and thickeners, but the remarkable thing is...it isn't. The Vegg is a really simple mix of yeshi (nutritional yeast), sodium alginate (a seaweed extract) and black salt (a sulfur-rich salt). This simple powder makes a versatile egg substitute for vegans.

This Month: Leicester Vegan Fair, Sat Aug 11th

Leicester Vegan Fair 2012


August is here already and if you're in the UK's East Midlands (or fancy a trip) you can look forward to Leicester Vegan Fair 2012 this month. The event takes place on Saturday August 11th at Avenue Primary School, just behind the University, running from 10:30am until 3:30pm.

Full details are on the fair's website leicesterveganfair.com with more on their facebook page

You can also follow them on twitter: @leicestervegans


If you want us to publicise your vegan event, follow us on twitter @veganoo and let us know

Review: Blue Diamond 'Almond Breeze' Milk

Vegan Review: Blue Diamond 'Almond Breeze' Almond Milk

There's been a sudden influx of almond milk brands arriving in the UK. The latest is Almond Breeze from California almond growers Blue Diamond. What's interesting is that the new arrivals, including Alpro have settled on just 2% almond to water ratio. Established brand EcoMil uses a 7% ratio in their milk which is more in line with soya milk and rice milk. Does Almond Breeze suffer from it's low almond content?

The Pesto Testo: Vegan Pesto Taste Test

vegan pesto taste test: Florentino, Suma, Sunita, Zest

The expanding vegan grocery market in the UK means we easily laid our hands on four brands of vegan pesto for our taste test. A decade ago you had to make your own; now we can compare who makes the best stuff for us to buy. These are four very different takes on pesto...as we'll see in our vegan pesto taste test.

Review: Chocolate Soya Desserts from Delamere

Review: Chocolate Soya Desserts from Delamere Dairy

We've covered Delamere Dairy's soya shakes and their soya milk and now it's the turn of their chocolate desserts. The four packs of dessert pots can be found in the chiller section and therefore have better visibility than UHT desserts such as Alpro. Available at selected ASDA stores only, these desserts are quite hard to track down, so you'll want to know...are they worth seeking out?

Review: Food Heaven Lemon Cheesecake

Food Heaven Lemon Dairy Free Cheesecake (vegan)

Vegan lovers of cheesecake now have several sources of instant satisfaction. Food Heaven's non-dairy cheesecakes are co-branded with vegan ice cream favourite Swedish Glace. The frozen cheesecakes are stocked at Tesco as part of their welcome expansion of non-dairy foods. The packaging and branding are certainly better than the similar Mamma Cucina cheesecakes, but is the product good enough to replace your favourite cheesecake recipe?

Vegan Olympic Breakfast for London 2012

The Vegan Olympic Breakfast

In honour of the start of the Olympics today, we thought we'd put together a vegan version of the famous British 'Olympic Breakfast'. Redwood Rashers, Fry's Sausages and The Vegg vegan egg yolk, together with hash browns, beans, mushrooms and tomatoes...and a good slick of Reggae Reggae sauce. 

The Olympic Breakfast gets its name because it takes an Olympian effort to finish it...rather than being the sort of thing Jess Ennis starts the day with. We threw in 3 sausages, 3 rashers, 4 hash browns and a large dipping bowl of hot vegan egg yolk...fantastic stuff. 

Ours is slightly healthier than the typical version...still a calorie blow-out...but fine once every 4 years...

Review: CoYo Coconut Milk Yoghurt

Review: CoYo Coconut Milk Yoghurt

Non-Dairy doesn't always mean soya. Co Yo cultured coconut milk yoghurt has arrived in the UK. The probiotic yoghurt is available in natural (plain), mixed berry and pineapple. The yoghurt is sugar free and gluten free and proudly carries a vegan label. Originally developed in Australia the yoghurt launched in the UK earlier this year. We spotted a pot of the mixed berry flavour in our local wholefood shop and grabbed it for review.

Taste Test: Vegan Ice Cream Cones

Taste Test: Vegan Ice Cream Cones

It's hot and sunny, but your vegan ice cream needs a vegan cone. We've gathered together three brands of vegan wafer and waffle cones available in the UK, to see which is best. Two are gluten free, the other is sugar free...does that mean they're all taste free? We put a scoop of plain vanilla Swedish Glace in each...and ate them, so you don't have too (it's a tough job...)