Friday, February 24, 2012

What in the world is....Nutritional Yeast?

What in the world is...nutritional yeast? Is it nutritious? Delicious? Lets find out what wiki has to say about it:


"Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging it. This is commercially available in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder similar in texture to cornmeal, and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment.[2]
Nutritional yeast flakes

It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy, and gluten. Some brands of nutritional yeast, though not all, are fortified with vitamin B12. When fortified, the vitamin B12 is produced separately (commonly Cyanocobalamin) and then added to the yeast because yeasts are fungi, whereas B12 is synthesized only by bacteria.

Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn. It can also be used in mashed and fried potatoes, as well as put into scrambled tofu or eggs. Some movie theaters offer it along with salt or cayenne pepper as a popcorn condiment."

If you're interested, pick some up and give it a try. I use it in my Thanksgiving gravy to give it some serious deep flavor, but recently blogged about it in this post about popcorn.

Don't you find it interesting that there are foods like this that are SO good for you? Try it!

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