# can vegetarians eat beef broth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 16, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001 "2015-01-16T17:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/21 "2015-01-17T16:51:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > We know that Jews are prohibited from eating meat and dairy together because of something about ‘eating the child in the milk of the mother’. To me, a heathen, that means that they can’t have beef with cheese made from cow’s milk, or a goat dish made with goat’s milk. But I’ve been told it’s forbidden to have a turkey cheeseburger, even though it’s impossible for the turkey to be eaten cheese made from its own mother’s milk. I’ve also been told that vegetarian burgers made with vegan cheese is forbidden. Apparently it’s been interpreted that even if the the combinations do not violate the law, they violate the _spirit_ of the law. I have an Orthodox friend who got in big trouble with the Rabbi for putting vegan cheese on (Kosher) hamburgers at a Temple cookout. On the other hand, I know other observant Jews who’ve said that that wouldn’t be a problem. I always wondered if chicken & scrambled eggs would run afoul (pun!) of that rule - mother and child cooked together, ya? Naturally, it’s Saturday, so I can’t ask today. :smack: Isn’t that one of the Laws of the Dope? “Thou shalt come up with questions about Judaism only on Saturdays, when most of the Jews are offline.” ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/22 "2015-01-17T17:17:46Z")
Since the spirit of the question in the OP has been thoroughly answered, let me do the pedantic nitpicking part. > [@](#): > > Beef broth has no meat in it, it’s made from the bones. Nope. In culinary terminology, beef \*broth \*is made from the meat and has a strong flavor of the beast it was made from. Beef \*stock \*is made from the bones, as intentionally not very flavorful so it can be used in other foods without flavor conflict. In most home kitchens, stock is made from both the meat and the bones, for stronger flavor and because it’s hard to get all the meat off, but a classic stock is bones only. > **[The Difference Between Stocks and Broths - Alton Brown](https://altonbrown.com/the-difference-between-stocks-and-broths/)** > > What is the difference between stocks, broths, and bone broth? Let's lay out the facts right up front. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/23 "2015-01-17T18:45:25Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Well, [I got bad news for you](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_cattle#Calf): > > …but that last bit is a little misleading. It’s very rare for bull calves to go into breeding programs. > > In short, the milk you drink pretty much requires the death of half the baby cattle who would otherwise drink the milk. Yeah, I know. I actually just learned that not too long ago. For years I just never gave a lot of thought to the fact that, of course dairy cows have to have calves, and you have to do something with the little buggers. Duh! So I’ve been trying to get my head around making the switch to almond milk, etc. But milk and cheese are such an easy and tasty source of protein, and I’m rationalizing… ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/24 "2015-01-20T05:07:47Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Since the spirit of the question in the OP has been thoroughly answered, let me do the pedantic nitpicking part. > Nope. In culinary terminology, beef \*broth \*is made from the meat and has a strong flavor of the beast it was made from. Beef \*stock \*is made from the bones, as intentionally not very flavorful so it can be used in other foods without flavor conflict. > > In most home kitchens, stock is made from both the meat and the bones, for stronger flavor and because it’s hard to get all the meat off, but a classic stock is bones only. > > [The Difference Between Stocks and Broths - Alton Brown](http://altonbrown.com/the-difference-between-stocks-and-broths/) Most recipes I see call for just bones. I was under the impression that all cheeses were made with the rennet of a slaughtered calf when I made the post. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/25 "2015-01-20T05:18:11Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > My partner used to be vegan but found a life without cheese not worth living, so switched to being vegetarian. But she would never eat non-vegetarian cheese, nor drink non-vegetarian beer. Vegetarian _beer_? You mean beer isn’t vegetarian? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/26 "2015-01-20T05:28:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Vegetarian _beer_? You mean beer isn’t vegetarian? It may be, but unless the brewer assures you of this, you usually can’t know. Most beers are filtered to remove yeast. If this isn’t done, the beer may be cloudy and/or taste yeasty. A number of different filtering agents can be used, one of which is isinglass, which is made from fish. A vegetarian beer will be made with a vegetarian filtering agent. A second problem arises in some of the cheap and nasty lager beers, where starch products are added to create a bigger or more long-lasting head. Some of these starches are animal-derived. And a third problem can arise in a few specialty beers which contain either honey or lactose. Fine for vegetarians, but not for vegans. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/27 "2015-01-20T06:13:28Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > It may be, but unless the brewer … La la la la! I can’t hear you! Seriously, beer? Fucking _beer_?! And… fish?! Really? Even before I went vegetarian (or, based on this thread I guess I should use sneer quotes, “vegetarian”), I thought fish was kind of nasty. Now you’re telling me my damn beer might be strained through fish! Gah! :mad: But, whiskey, I’m still OK to drink whiskey, right? And gin? Life without a decent Old Fashioned or a Gibson now and then is too awful to contemplate. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/28 "2015-01-20T06:34:56Z")
Glad I’m not a vegetarian then. No way would I give up bacon AND beer. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/29 "2015-01-20T07:05:55Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > La la la la! I can’t hear you! > > Seriously, beer? Fucking _beer_?! And… fish?! Really? Even before I went vegetarian (or, based on this thread I guess I should use sneer quotes, “vegetarian”), I thought fish was kind of nasty. Now you’re telling me my damn beer might be strained through fish! Gah! :mad: Gah, indeed. Also, wine is typically fined with isinglass. > [@Bayard](#): > > But, whiskey, I’m still OK to drink whiskey, right? And gin? Life without a decent Old Fashioned or a Gibson now and then is too awful to contemplate. Whiskey is not filtered through isinglass, SFAIK. Your problem with whiskey, though, is that it’s matured in wooden casks which have previously been used for something else. Indeed, much of its distinctive flavour is derived from the Something Else. The result is that if you are going to preserve your Ethical Purity you need to know what the Something Else is, and to research the vegan/vegetarian status of _that_. The Something Else is often sherry; sherry is (mostly) not vegan because egg whites are employed somewhere in the process. And it’s often not vegetarian because isinglass. (Who would have thought that fish bladders could be so ubiquitous?) Gin, though, you should be safe with. Knock yourself out! Just be careful what you mix it with. Also you are safe with brandy; it’s made from unfined wine. Avoid port. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/30 "2015-01-20T07:09:40Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Can they eat _beef broth_? Well, it’s _not_ vegetarian. It is a meat product, full of meat proteins and fats. I’d be interested in a chemist’s analysis of this. Can a firm line be drawn between broths that originated with an animal and one that originated from a vegetable? If so, what is the chemical difference, and how distinct is it? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/31 "2015-01-20T13:50:36Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > My partner used to be vegan but found a life without cheese not worth living, so switched to being vegetarian. But she would never eat non-vegetarian cheese, nor drink non-vegetarian beer. da heck is non-vegetarian beer? Scrumpy? :dubious: Beer is water, hops, barley, and… Wait… vegetarians have a problem with yeast? If so, how do they deal with all the yeast on the surface of the fruits they eat, removing it humanely so it can be reintroduced to the environment? Peel it and throw the peelings on their compost heap? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/32 "2015-01-20T14:03:25Z")
Well… I’m no vegetarian, but I _do_ throw my fruit and vegetable peelings on my compost heap, so why not? ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/33 "2015-01-20T14:16:20Z")
My grandmother would answer the question as follows. I am sure they can dear, but will they is another question. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/34 "2015-01-20T14:28:16Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > da heck is non-vegetarian beer? Scrumpy? :dubious: > > Beer is water, hops, barley, and… Wait… vegetarians have a problem with yeast? > > If so, how do they deal with all the yeast on the surface of the fruits they eat, removing it humanely so it can be reintroduced to the environment? Peel it and throw the peelings on their compost heap? Filtered with isinglass, as already described. Fish guts aren’t vegetarian. If we’re keeping a list, most sugar isn’t vegan, either. It’s made pretty white with bone char somehow. I don’t know the process, but I know it uses bones. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/35 "2015-01-20T14:28:26Z")
These two ridiculous extremes are amusing. “Oh, you’re a vegetarian and don’t eat meat? Ok, would you like to suck on bones from my stake? I’ve eaten all the meat off.” Or “Oh, you’re a vegetarian and don’t eat meat? Ok, I can’t let you have that plastic bag until I’ve checked to see if a cat licks it.” ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/36 "2015-01-20T14:28:30Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > da heck is non-vegetarian beer? Scrumpy? :dubious: You mind find _the rest of the thread_ helpful reading. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/37 "2015-01-20T14:37:18Z")
**UDS** , I’m going to stop reading your posts now. Nothing personal, I’m sure you’ll understand. It’s just that you’re stripping all the joy from my life. More seriously, that is really interesting information, and shows me how much of my ethics are balanced precariously on ignorance. It does go back to **Left Hand of Dorkness’** excellent post about where you find yourself on the continuum. I don’t describe myself as a vegan, and I’ve never been particularly ideological or evangelical about vegetarianism in any case. But I do try to avoid things made with products that require killing. Your posts indicate that I may need to try harder, or at least not assume that something like beer (I mean, really, _beer_!) hasn’t been passed through fish guts on the way to my glass. So, thanks, I guess. Bastard. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/38 "2015-01-20T21:31:05Z")
It isn’t just vegetarians who worry about this stuff. There are certified kosher products for anything that may come in contact with food or your mouth. Hand soap, dishwashing detergent, plastic bags, wood finish, etc. It all has to be certified free of animal products. Re Alcohol I never liked beer. I like Manishewitz. It’s grapes that are not suited for wine, plus a lot of sugar to kill the after taste of the grapes. I, tragically, don’t have a bottle at the moment, but IIRC Manishewitz is certified as parve (neither meat product nor dairy product) Anybody know anything about mead? I know honey is kosher (though bees are not). I know water is kosher. I know yeast is kosher. I don’t know of a mead that’s certified kosher though. Let’s Not Forget Cosmetics! Cochineal dye (AKA Carmine), made from the crushed shells of a species of beetle, is used not only in foods but also in cosmetics. That volumizing mascara with collagen? They get the collagen from bones and hooves. A few years ago, I developed an intolerance to red meat. I love it. I miss it dearly. I also discovered Indian food. As almost everything in Indian cuisine involves dairy, I find it easier to order a vegetarian dish. (Just in case anybody doesn’t know, Jewish dietary laws forbid the mixing of meat and dairy. You can have cheese. You can have a burger. You cannot have a cheeseburger). My Primrose and I often go to Taj India. It’s a wonderful place that serves no meat of any kind. I often wonder why they don’t go that extra mile to be certified kosher. I know a few places in China town that are vegetarian and certified. Blast! Now, I want a glass of Manishewitz and some badam halwa (semolina pudding with almonds. More delicious than it sounds.) ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/39 "2015-01-20T22:58:47Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Anybody know anything about mead? > > I know honey is kosher (though bees are not). I know water is kosher. I know yeast is kosher. I don’t know of a mead that’s certified kosher though. Looks like [quite a few](https://www.google.com/search?q=kosher%20mead&rct=j). I quite like the Sky River, out of Redmond WA. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001/40 "2015-01-21T00:44:45Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I often wonder why they don’t go that extra mile to be certified kosher. If they get sufficient business between sundown on Friday and sundown on Saturday it may not be fiscally a good choice. Or maybe some other reason. Or maybe they just don’t know about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-vegetarians-eat-beef-broth/710001.md?page=3)