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Nutritional Yeast


heidih

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I am still mildly traumatized by Adelle Davis but today's Serious Eats article brought nutritional yeast up again. Also the recent pandemic shopping issues around yeast made me laugh as baking yeast = nope.That other stuff =  yes.  Current vegan blogs and restaurants see it as a panacea it seems. Experiences and thoughts with real 2020 using?

https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/06/what-is-nutritional-yeast-nooch.html

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🙄

 

The problem I have with most uses of nutritional yeast are twofold: first, people flat-out lie about what it tastes like, and second, they use way too much. It's fine in smaller quantities as a seasoning. It's nutty, though it comes off as flat if you use it in something that doesn't have any fat in it. Vegan blogs always used to use it as a cheese replacement, but there are some better alternatives these days, and in general we have a better understanding of how to add umami without animal proteins, I think.

 

 

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I use it quite a lot. It might be somewhat cheesy tasting, in a sense, but as far as I'm concerned if you can taste it, than you used too much.

 

I use it simplify to add umami to vegetarian food where I don't want to add other ingredients that affect the taste. It's a bit like MSG in that sense. I also use MSG, but I find its flavor notable as well, sometimes more than the yeast. I'll often add a touch of both if I want a lot of natural umami.

 

Note that it should be cooked to get rid of volatile yeasty aromas.

Edited by shain (log)
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~ Shai N.

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I love the stuff!  I frequently sprinkle it over freshly steamed veggies, and I like to mix it in with my scrambled eggs (with a splash of tamari thrown in there too). Although not a vegan, I do a lot of vegan cooking so it comes up in recipes pretty regularly too. 

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I use it in vegetables burgers all the time and in some quick breads where I use vegetables in it or in savory muffins.

It’s a way for me to add a bit of flavor and protein without much fat. I use about 12g a recipe. I will only use for baking. 

D5CD234C-EE5C-43AF-B456-5957849142BB.jpeg

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55 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

it's a bit like when wheat germ was all the rage - on everything everything!

I actually liked it back in the day. (do refrigerate otherwise rancid). Decent yogurt, ripe fruit - we were in, Nice glass jars too. Memory can be scary,

 

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2 hours ago, Franci said:

I use it in vegetables burgers all the time and in some quick breads where I use vegetables in it or in savory muffins.

It’s a way for me to add a bit of flavor and protein without much fat. I use about 12g a recipe. I will only use for baking. 

D5CD234C-EE5C-43AF-B456-5957849142BB.jpeg

 

Hi @Franci, your burgers look good. I think I see some garbanzos / ceci / chickpeas in there. If it's not too much trouble, could you please post the recipe? TIA.

 

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45 minutes ago, MokaPot said:

 

Hi @Franci, your burgers look good. I think I see some garbanzos / ceci / chickpeas in there. If it's not too much trouble, could you please post the recipe? TIA.

 


For this I normally don’t follow a recipe but I do track all my food consumption and when I like it, I save the recipe. The power blend is a mix of frozen kale/chards/spinach if I remember. I made 9 burgers. I smash some of the cooked chickpeas but not too much because I like the texture,  I microwave the frozen vegetables and let cool, squeezing some of the water out and the miso should be a teaspoon. I try to make them very nutrient dense 😁

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I have been cooking vegan for the last month and usually cook vegan meals a few months out of the year.. I have purchased nutrional yeast but, never used it..  My favorite snack is this company called Bjorn Corn which uses nutritional yeast in their popcorn but, have yet to make something that i felt was missing a flavor.. But, i recently purchased some vital wheat gluten to make my own seitan and the recipes all include nurtional yeast so, i am happy to finally have a need for it. 

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1 hour ago, BKEats said:

I have been cooking vegan for the last month and usually cook vegan meals a few months out of the year.. I have purchased nutrional yeast but, never used it..  My favorite snack is this company called Bjorn Corn which uses nutritional yeast in their popcorn but, have yet to make something that i felt was missing a flavor.. But, i recently purchased some vital wheat gluten to make my own seitan and the recipes all include nurtional yeast so, i am happy to finally have a need for it. 

 

Interesting adventure. Please report back. Somewhere in my pile of boxes in the garage is Madhur Jaffrey's  "World Vegetarian" where she describes her seitan from scratch method. I never tried it. You be the guinea pig and I'll think on it ;)    I do use Cacique soyrizo in beans. It gives me the illusion that it is ok to use full fat coconut milk when I cook the rice.  https://www.caciqueinc.com/products/soy-chorizo/  I had a bad experience with the real thing cooking for seriously hammered guys in the middle of th night. The orange fat everywhere!

Edited by heidih (log)
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  • 1 year later...

I'm about to try nutritional yeast (or nootch as my daughter calls it) for the first time in this recipe.

https://mycrazygoodlife.com/air-fryer-buffalo-cauliflower-bites/

All part of the WW thing we're doing. I used to make wings about once a week (before the cook off days) and we do miss the Buffalo kick. Any recent experiences with nutritional yeast? Good or bad, bring them on. The recipe author says it adds a buttery taste to the buffalo cauliflower but I'm skeptical...

Edited by MaryIsobel (log)
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In my limited experience, I would describe the taste of nooch closer to mild parmesan rather than “buttery”. I am not a vegan so I decided to just use cheese😁. It does add nutrition to vegan dishes, so there is some benefit.

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"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast" - Oscar Wilde

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