Agave Nectar-
Agave Nectar is a great alternative for vegans to honey, as it's runnier and much easier to cook with than its counterpart. Strict vegans see honey as still coming from a living creature and therefore this provides them with a guilt free sweetener for porridge, puddings and coffee. Agave Nectar is 1.4-1.6 times sweeter than sugar so you only need to use a little bit, which will save you money in the long run.
Agave Nectar
I found it particularly useful when making a vegan strawberry no bake cheesecake, as it blended up easily with the other ingredients with little residue and fuss, as honey can be quite sticky and messy. To taste, it took the edge off the tanginess of the strawberries and added some moisture to rest of the ingredients without being too runny- the ideal consistency to make a dessert like cheesecake hold together. Plus it comes in an easy squeezy bottle too, so it's really simple to add to your dish.
Coconut oil-
I bought a Vegan cookbook and coconut oil was mentioned in several of the ingredients lists, however I substituted it with Olive Oil at first as I didn't know what it was or where to buy it from. Since then, I have mainly used coconut oil when sweating onions and celery for making soups. Great for Thai style soups and South Asian curries, it melts easily to fry the vegetables in and creates wonderful smells in the kitchen by comparison to other commonly used oils.
It has a long shelf life on it too, so even though you only need to use a small amount- you can be sure that it won't go off quickly and use it in moderation.
Both of these products are now firm favourites in my larder and come in useful in so many ways- if you are looking to introduce new flavours to your existing dishes or try something new completely, these ingredients are both inexpensive and versatile additions for your cupboard.
Tagged in Coconut Oil