Wednesday, 18 November 2009

accidentally vegan #1

This isn't a big thing for non-Australians, but Arnotts are The Brand in Australia, I can't think of a week of my time in Australia as a child that didn't include something Arnotts in my lunch box - Tim Tams and Mint Slice and Iced Vovos and Pizza Shapes and oh nom. Most Australian vegans (I find) have an "I miss X Arnotts product" somewhere in the back of their minds. Mine is Iced Vovos, Mint Slice, and Pizza Shapes.

I can't have any of those back (though Leda does an awesome imitation Mint Slice), but oh my word, I hope you understand how excited I was when I found out that Arnotts' BBQ Shapes are vegan.

bbq shapes are suitable for vegans!

I understand that this is old hat, apparently every other Aussie vegan already knew this, but not I, and my word did I eat a lot in a very short time. How I had missed them!

tofutti icecream and jellybeans

I also recently learnt that Allens' jelly beans are vegan! OH DELICIOUS JELLY BEANS, no terrible secrets just delicious sugary ness.

I'm excited.

Relatedly, if anyone knows of any vegan (or even vego) musk sticks, please let me know. It's not for me, it's for a friend. ;oP

31 comments:

Vicki said...

The day after WVD when you were talking about barbeque shapes I went out & ate a box of them - oops!

Tevere said...

Oh oh oh, jellybeans! I have been in a state of WOE after giving up gummies, previously one of my favourite junk foods. Jellybeans will substitute in a pinch. (Although do you know of any vegetarian gummies?)

I love agar-agar, but the texture just isn't the same.

steph said...

Actually, Tevere, Kmart has a housebrand (Bols) that does a vegan jube - specifically the hard jubes, for some reason the soft jube has gelatin.

Also I understand that the Ikea 'Swedish fish' lollies are vegetarian.

steph said...

Vicki, they are so good!

::Toby:: said...

Hi Steph, are you a member of this group?
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=73539878665

steph said...

Toby, I am now! Wow, I am excited about the possibility of eating finger buns from Bakers Delight!

Johanna GGG said...

that is great that bbq shapes are vegan - I remember when I first went veg that we were amazed that the ingredients said it used 'vegetable or animal fat' so my veg friend got a thick black texta and crossed out the 'animal' so we felt ok about eating them - they have come a long way since then!

Anonymous said...

I know Alkand and I used to get vegan musk sticks years ago in Perth, but for the life of me I can't remember where we got them from.

Alot of fruit jells soft sweets are vegan, also look at the sweets at places like Reject Shop and Red Dot as sometimes they don't have gelitine.

Theresa said...

Uh, what? BBQ shapes are vegan? This is really great news! So, you weren't the last vegan in Australia to know, I obviously missed that memo as well.

x said...

I was excited when I found out about bbq shapes too! And now I want jelly beans!

Anonymous said...

when i eat bbq shapes, it just makes me want pizza shapes :(

Two fit and fun gals said...

hehe wow who woulda thought that shapes would be vegan??!!

& - jelly beans- i'm not a fan unfortunately i just really don't like them at all i've given them a few chances and still nope :s

Susan said...

It looks like quite a few of us are the last to know, I just discovered it right now reading your blog. ;)

steph said...

Yay Susan! :o)

Yeah Pip, I miss pizza shapes A LOT.

Sandra @ Pepperberry & Co. said...

Wow, this is totally new to me and SO exciting! I just discovered Skittles are now vegan (they've reently changed recipes, or so I hear) and I was over the moon. Now that I have Oreos, Skittles and BBQ shapes, I'm a super-happy girl!! xx

steph said...

Hey Sandra, there are some other amazing vegan things! Kmart house brand lollies have a vegan hard jube!

Maggie said...

Sour Patch Kids, Fuzzy Peaches, Cherry Blasters, Sour Patch Fruit Salad, Swedish Berries, Swedish Fish, Big Foot, Green Thumbs, Hot Lips, Dots...

steph said...

Maggie, are these things I can get in Australia? Aside from Swedish Fish (which aren't vegan, but are available at Ikea) I've never heard of these before...

Anonymous said...

hate to be a party pooper but bbq shapes are NOT vegan as i believe they contain worcestershire sauce which contains anchovies / fish.

steph said...

Anonymous, I believe Arnotss has been contacted and informed various people that the worcestershire sauce doesn't contain fish. I was concerned about this too! But a friend of mine called to confirm. Have you heard different in regard to this?

Anonymous said...

i have been a vegan for around 17 years now and am reasonably savvy with whats up (although i could be wrong on this)- worcestershire sauce by its very nature is a fermented fish sauce - check out wiki for example - or just read the label on the sauce in the supermarket - it was one of the things i used to like given coming from a family of brits but no longer ingest.

steph said...

Oh, I agree, worcestershire sauce is fermented fish sauce! But I know people who have asked Arnotts and they have said it doesn't contain it. The wiki article does say that some variations of worcestershire sauces are suitable for vegetarians, though. I guess I will have to call and ask for myself! I mean, they're not going to lie though.

steph said...

Sorry, they have said the worcestershire sauce that they use doesn't contain fish, not that all don't. :o)

steph said...

Hmm, a quick google gives me this:

Here is the response..


Thank you for your email to Arnott's Biscuits.

The worcestershire sauce in BBQ shapes does not contain anchovies and there are no other animal ingredients in the recipe.

Kind Regards
Dawn
Consumer Contact Representative


from here, and it's from only October this year. So I guess...probably ok? Like, I assume they wouldn't lie, but maybe they would?

Anonymous said...

i contacted Arnott's myself via their website - www.arnotts.com.au - and asked the following question via their feedback link:

'are bbq shapes suitable for a vegan diet as i believe the ingredient worcestershire sauce contains anchovies / fish?'

this is the response i just received:

"Reference No: 2010119760


Thank you for contacting Arnott's bicuits. BBQ Shapes are not suitable for a vegan diet they are only suitable for a vegetarian diet. The worcestershire sauce we use does not contain anchovies.

Regards

Pam McKenzie
Consumer Contact Centre
24 George Street North Strathfield NSW 2137 Australia"

you will notice they did not address the 'fish' aspect of my question and were not willing to tell my why exactly they are not suitable for vegans.

pardon my distrust of companies and for being such a purist but it is hard enough being vegan without mis-information floating around. it is always best to check for yourself and ask the right questions.

if anyone is worried about other Arnott's products use the info at the top of the post to email them. i got a response within a day.

steph said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
nixwilliams said...

MUSK STICKS. *WANTS*

Spencer @ Moo-Lolly-Bar said...

I didn't realise that Allen's Jelly Beans were vegan. Just another reason to love them!

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone, it appears allens jelly beans are not vegan.
I just got a pack and they have colour 120 in it! That's carmine (cochineal) they must have changed it

beekeeperdog said...

BBQ SHAPES ARE NOT VEGAN. DO YOUR RESEARCH ROFL. FLAVOUR ENHANCER 635 IS MADE OUT OF FLAVOUR ENHANCER 631. WHICH IS NOT VEGAN.

Danni said...

E631 can be made from tapioca starch.

Arnotts say the E635 in their products is from a plant source.