Nutritional yeast
Type of deactivated yeast / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Nutritional yeast?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Nutritional yeast (also known as nooch[4]) is a deactivated (i.e. dead) yeast, often a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that is sold commercially as a food product. It is sold in the form of yellow flakes, granules, or powder 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.[5]
Nutritional value per 15 g | |
---|---|
Energy | 250 kJ (60 kcal) |
5 g | |
Sugars | 0 g |
Dietary fibre | 3 g |
0.5 g | |
8 g | |
Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
Thiamine (B1) | 992% 11.9 mg |
Riboflavin (B2) | 746% 9.7 mg |
Niacin (B3) | 288% 46 mg |
Vitamin B6 | 347% 5.9 mg |
Vitamin B12 | 733% 17.6 μg |
Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
Calcium | 0% 6 mg |
Iron | 6% 1 mg |
Potassium | 1% 25 mg |
Sodium | 1% 25 mg |
Other constituents | Quantity |
Cholesterol | 0 mg |
Bob's Red Mill brand, manufacturer reported values.[1]
See also SR LEGACY data for yeast (active dry #1103594) for an idea about pre-fortification values and nutrients not reported above. SR surveys are performed by unbiased USDA personnel. | |
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[2] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[3] |
It is a significant source of some B-complex vitamins and contains trace amounts of several other vitamins and minerals.[6] Sometimes nutritional yeast is fortified with vitamin B12, another reason it is popular with vegans.
Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty or cheesy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of cheese[7] in, for example, mashed and fried potatoes or scrambled tofu, or as a topping for popcorn.[8]
In Australia, it is sometimes sold as "savoury yeast flakes". Though "nutritional yeast" usually refers to commercial products, inadequately fed prisoners of war have used "home-grown" yeast to prevent vitamin deficiency.[9] Nutritional yeast is a whole-cell inactive yeast that contains both soluble and insoluble parts, which is different from yeast extract. Yeast extract is made by centrifuging inactive nutritional yeast and concentrating the water-soluble yeast cell proteins which are rich in glutamic acid, nucleotides, and peptides, the flavor compounds responsible for umami taste.