Monday, July 12, 2010

Nutritional Yeast, you rule.

I love this stuff - this must be my one 'freaky vegan' staple that I always keep a few packets of in my pantry.

For those not in the know: Nutritional yeast (also called Savoury yeast flakes, or 'nooch') is deactivated yeast flakes - a great source of B complex vitamins and complete protein. Many are fortified with Vitamin B12 (produced by bacteria just as the B12 in meat and dairy is) and you only need around a tablespoon or two to get a full whack of vitamins.

I only discovered yeast flakes when trying out Vegan Dad's Mac N Cheese recipe. And since then I have found it is awesome in adding a little cheesy creamy flavour to so many things. And then there's the 'superfood' health benefits to boot!

Also, being low on sodium I find it a great way to add a little more flavour without using salt. And, in my opinion at least, I find the flavour pretty mild - I was hesitant at first thinking it would be as strong as salt, herbs or spices where you would never add half a cup of it to your cooking. Being so mild I find I don't have to measure it or worry about how much I'm adding - I have never eaten anything where I thought I have overdone it.

I'm pretty generous with adding it to my cooking, adding anywhere from a tablespoon to half a cup of it to things like cheesy or tomatoey pasta sauces, soups, mashed potatoes, gravy, pizza topping, tofu scramble, marinades, french toast.. basically my rule of thumb is if cheese or salt would taste good in it, so would this.

I'm always interested to see what other things nutritional yeast is great in!

10 comments:

  1. nooch definitely rules!

    great background/etc!

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  2. it's great as a popcorn topping too!

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  3. I have made stuff where I have followed the nutritional yeast part of the recipe but not the other flavours and the nooch was too much

    However my biggest surprise was using nutritional yeast in a sweet vegan cheesecake - it was a crazy idea but it worked

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  4. Yeah I hear it's good on popcorn, I just haven't had popcorn in years so don't know!

    Yeah I bet it would work in a cheesecake - it worked in french toast! Just adds that slight hint of savoury ingredient that egg or dairy things have.

    Carla - thanks! It's just a blog-standard one though (oooh bad pun!)

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  5. So far I've only used mine to as a condiment to sprinkle over vegies/quinoa/etc... but I've been meaning to make a mac n cheeze with it! Would you recommend Vegan Dad's version above others?

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  6. Hannah, I LOVE the Vegan Dad Mac N Cheese, I use a bit more nooch and a little less nuts and skip the cornflour. My non-veg friends have offered to pay me for some sauce! I haven't tried others though because this one is so damn good!

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  7. Well I have discovered a vegan recipe for Reece's peanut butter choc cups and they use Nooch so I am new to this but the recipe sounds sooooo yummy and easy to make. Will let you know how I go. Is it easy to buy?

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  8. Gauri Radha गौरी राधाNovember 20, 2010 at 11:03 AM

    I put this on popcorn (with salt and vegan butter.) It tastes great!!

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  9. Where can I buy this stuff from?? x

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  10. Where can I buy this from?? Ps, are you on BlogLovin? Would love to follow you!

    Tx

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