Nutritional yeast, darling of the vegan and vegetarian communities for years, has recently been making its way into mainstream kitchens as well. Let’s take a look at how nutritional yeast can be used to keep us healthy and make delicious food in the interesting days that lie ahead.
Nutritional yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is produced from sugarcane or beet molasses. Though some people use the terms interchangeably, nutritional yeast is not brewer’s yeast and should not be confused with it. Nutritional yeast is inactive—dead. It will not make bread dough rise. Accordingly, nutritional yeast is not used in baking; rather, it is loaded with nutrients and has several interesting ways it can be used in the kitchen. Nutritional yeast comes in several forms—flakes, granules, and powder. (They are all used interchangeably. The flakes look like fish food.)
The health benefits alone are fairly substantial. Nutritional yeast is loaded with B vitamins which promote healthy skin, hair, and nails, and a healthy pregnancy. Nutritional yeast may be fortified with vitamin B12, a vitamin most frequently sourced from animals in the form of eggs, milk, or meat; check the label to determine whether your nutritional yeast has it.
Nutritional yeast is high in essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Regular usage of nutritional yeast has been shown to improve cholesterol levels and increase immune function. It has some antimicrobial properties and has been shown effective against candida infections, in addition to E. coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus. Furthermore, nutritional yeast helps resolve diarrhea, constipation, and other digestive issues.
While nutritional yeast also contains high levels of iron, selenium, and zinc (which may be of interest if you can’t obtain zinc supplements), let’s take a look at how it is used in the kitchen.
How
is nutritional yeast used?
- Parmesan
cheese substitute. It is sprinkled on
spaghetti or substituted for Parmesan in risotto sauce. It also substitutes well for cheese in pesto
sauce. And it reportedly works well for
making a vegan macaroni and cheese.
- Popcorn. It can be sprinkled alone on popcorn instead of butter and salt. Or you can take it up a notch, combine equal parts walnuts and nutritional yeast in a food processor, and then add a little salt.
- Topping a baked potato. Make a paste of roasted garlic and nutritional yeast flakes, and mash this into the baked potato. Then sprinkle with olive oil. (I think I’ll stick with sour cream.)
- Seasoning. Nutritional yeast flakes sprinkled on top of zucchini or scrambled eggs flavor them well.
- Soups and sauces. “They” say nutritional yeast is a terrific thickener for thin soups and sauces. It makes a great umami (defined as "true savoriness", one of the five key flavor profiles which also includes salty, sweet, bitter, and sour), and a terrific gravy (using flour, water, oil, and soy sauce).
- Cheese substitute. Vegans and others who need to be dairy-free report that it makes a wonderful cheese substitute. For the record, I’m not convinced, but I’ll probably try these recipes out someday. The Bob’s Red Mill website features two vegan cheeses that actually look and sound good. Unfortunately, they also require nut and tapioca flours, items not commonly found in long-term food storage.[1]
- Bouillon. Nutritional yeast makes a great bouillon substitute.
So where do you get nutritional yeast? You’ll definitely find it in health food stores, but it has become so popular that most grocery stores also carry it. In my small-ish Smith’s it is stocked next to the regular bread yeast and goes for about $4 for a 4-oz bottle. Some grocery stores carry next to the spices. WinCo carries it in the bulk section. Bob’s Red Mill is one manufacturer, so you may find it in your store with that line of products.
Nutritional
yeast has a shelf life of about two years in a sealed container in a cool, dark
place.[2]
Contraindications: Nutritional yeast should probably be avoided by individuals with irritable bowel disease, glaucoma, gout, or hypertension. It should also be avoided by those with a yeast allergy or sensitivity.[3] Nutritional yeast contains high amounts of tyramine, which may trigger migraines in susceptible individuals.[4] It must also be avoided by persons taking MAOs.
Links to related posts:
All the Different Kinds of Yeast
[1] https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/healthy-living/surprising-ways-to-use-nutritional-yeast/
[2] Alicia Kennedy, “Nutritional Yeast: Savory, Cheesy, and Not Just for Vegans,” Serious Eats, 23 June 2020, https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/06/what-is-nutritional-yeast-nooch.html (accessed 8 December 2020).
[3] Danielle Dresden, “What Are the Benefits of Nutritional Yeast?” Medical News Today, 3 October 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323245 (accessed 8 December 2020).
No comments:
Post a Comment