Why would you?
I wrote this down as a potential idea a while back, because it seemed to me that it popped up here and there in my reading of magazines, internet articles and cookbooks, not to mention a proliferation of the stuff on the supermarket shelves.
So today I decided to give it its moment in the sun, and having now read a whole lot of articles about it I don't think I have a lot to say. Which probably might be a relief.
What is it? Yes it's yeast - the type they use for brewing beer, only it's processed differently, so that you end up with a powder or flakes, yellowy in colour and no longer alive - so it can't give you digestive problems. How do they achieve this? Well put simply without all the involved technical and botanical stuff: "After the yeast is cultured, it’s fermented on molasses then harvested, washed and dried on roller drums." Well it doesn't have to be molasses - but a glucose rich form of carbohydrate. I think it's cooked at some point as well.
It's nothing new - the ancient Egyptians used it - but as far as 'modern' times go it dates back to the 70s and the hippy health food era - when it gained the name of nooch or hippy dust - I suppose to give it a bit of a cult feeling to it. Vegans have been using it ever since. It's also very rich in protein:
“With nutritional yeast, you get more protein per calorie than cheese, plus a little bit of fiber as well, ... On top of that, nutritional yeast is sugar-free, gluten-free, and sodium-free, despite its naturally savory flavor.” Dr. Cate Ward/Bon Appétit
and, I should also add, fat free. Not to mention the vitamin B12 that is very frequently added. But it can be harmful if eaten in large quantities.
So I get that if you are on some kind of special diet or if you are a vegan then sure it's a valuable addition to the range of foods you can eat. But what about the rest of us? I confess I felt and still feel like Kelli Foster who wrote on The Kitchn website:
"There’s just something about sprinkling something yeasty on my food that felt totally unappealing. Looking at it only made matters worse; it looks like fish food flakes" Kelli Foster/Kitchn
She nevertheless tried it out, and goes on to say, that she now finds she uses it all the time - mostly for sprinkling on things to give them that elusive umami flavour. And indeed, that seems to the way that almost everyone uses it with popcorn and macaroni cheese being the ones that are mentioned all the time.
I found one genuine chef - Richard Bainbridge who maintained it was his secret ingredient but even he just describes it as a brilliant seasoning, adding it to things like salad dressing and soups and sprinkling it over things as well.
Vegans use it mostly, it seems to me as a subsitute for cheese - particularly Parmesan when it is sprinkled over pasta, and if you are a vegan then there are heaps and heaps of recipes that use nutritional yeast in all sorts of ways - but always as an alternative to a dairy product. As a non vegan why therefore would I use it as a substitute for something I can and love to eat - cheese?
Maybe I should try it - buy a small jar - if that's possible - and sprinkle it on my next pasta dish. Maybe I will be so blown away I won't be able to live without it. But I suspect not.
And why when you can get an ingredient such as this which is predominantly used by vegans, can you not get more gourmet but often touted ingredients like nduja and chermoula? Demographics I'm guessing. More vegans than Middle-Eastern cooks.
Like I said - not much to say on this one. If anyone wishes to disabuse me of my slight prejudice here, please do.
POSTSCRIPT
July 25
2023 - Best - who says?
2021 - This and that - a selection post
2020 - Grow your own mushrooms - from my digital archive
2017 - Define artisan - I vaguely remember a similar post before
2016 - Marmalade time - coincidence - just made some today - well it is that time of day
No sure about Nooch, but the marmalade is wonderous indeed. Imagine what the Egyptians would have done if they started their day with marmmalade- like I do. % stars for the marmmalade 🤣!