John Myers
Yeast flakes are not only a popular condiment in vegan cuisine, they are also very healthy and nutritious. You can find out what you need to know about the small flakes here.
Yeast flakes – a healthy condiment
Yeast flakes are nothing more than dried and rolled yeast.
- However, the yeast is inactive. This means that nutritional yeast, unlike baker’s yeast, cannot rise.
- The small flakes contain a lot of vitamins . The vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7 and B9 in particular are present in concentrated form. Also vitamin E, folic acid as well as vitamin A and provitamin A, known as beta carotene are included in abundance.
- In addition, yeast flakes provide the minerals calcium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus .
- If you use yeast flakes as a seasoning, your body will also be supplied with the trace elements iron, chloride, copper, manganese, zinc and iodide provided.
How healthy are yeast flakes?
Even in small amounts, yeast flakes contain a high level of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6. There are some manufacturers who also enrich their yeast flakes with vitamin B12 and folic acid. Yeast flakes also help to cover the daily protein requirement. Yeast flakes are also rich in trace elements and minerals, but these are of little consequence due to the normally small amount of flakes consumed.
This is what yeast flakes do in food
Yeast flakes are particularly popular in vegan cuisine.
- Because of their nutty-cheesy taste, the flakes are used there as a vegan cheese substitute, for example in pasta dishes.
- Mix yeast flakes with some crushed cashews and you have a tasty, vegan Parmesan substitute.
- You can also use yeast flakes as a sauce binder or thicken soups with it.
- Of course, the small flakes are also very suitable as a seasoning. For example, they give patties or rice dishes a delicate taste.
Nutritional Yeast: Glutamate is not dangerous
Yeast flakes contain glutamate. Glutamate is a flavor enhancer that is also used in processed foods and has a bad reputation.
- However, there are numerous foods that naturally contain glutamate, such as tomatoes.
- In addition, no health-damaging effect of the flavor enhancer has been proven so far – unless you are one of the people who suffer from glutamate intolerance.
