vegoftheweek

Inside The Oven: Chef Erik serves up one of my recipes, thoughts on Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese


Shame on Tofutti! I normally am not in the business to get too political or chastise someone or something publicly (with the exception of here), but I feel I must speak up. I buy non-hydrogenated Tofutti plain vegan cream cheese for many vegan soft cheese needs (cheese balls, bagels, spreads, etc.). I've mostly purchased it at health foods stores, so I usually come across the yellow packaged variety, which is non-hydrogenated and trans-fat free.

However, one day I had to visit a mainstream grocer and while I was there I spotted a cold section of hummus and non-dairy products. Getting closer to the display, I saw the label, "Tofutti," on some of the products. I picked up the cream cheese tub, which had a "blue" label on it and looked at the ingredients to see if it, too, was completely non-dairy and vegan.  After reading the label, I saw that this Tofutti cream cheese contained trans-fat. I avoid trans-fat like some politicians avoid direct answers so naturally I was alarmed. After going home and looking at my yellow packaged Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, I was comforted by the fact that at least the package I had at home was trans-fat free. But why the discrepancy? Looking for answers, I went to the company's website which showed all Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese products to have 0 trans-fat. Confused, I wrote to the company and got this reply: 

Thank you for your recent Tofutti email.  We actually have two versions. The original version, which has been around for over 20 years, uses PHO.  The newer version, introduced over five years ago and available in health food stores only, does not.  The website is incorrect and is one of several errors that we are in the process of correcting.  We apologize for the confusion.  Please feel free to contact us should you have any further questions. 

Before I received the email, I contacted the company by phone (call me impatient) to get an answer. Hear details of my conversation and get recipe for Vegan Cheese Balls using Trans-Fat Free Tofutti after the break… (more...)


Everyone else.

Reminds me of a decade ago when it seemed all my neighbors were having a cookout for Memorial Day. Traditional meaty holidays usually have no effect on me as macaroni and cheese is just as good on Thanksgiving as it is any other day. But something about that particular Memorial day made me feel a little left out. Watching everyone grill in perfect temperatures underneath cloud-free skies made me a little jealous. So I took a stroll down the street (I lived within 4 blocks walking distance of 3 grocery stores), bought a package of Tofu Pups, buns, and fixings, and had veggie hot dogs to celebrate the holiday. Gryffy's critical ratings and Recipe for Portobello Mushroom Veggie Burger after the break… (more...)