Nutritional yeast has long been considered a cheese imitation among vegans. But what exactly is nooch, and why is it so cheesy? After all, isn’t yeast used to brew beer and make bread?
Yeast is a living, single-celled fungus found everywhere in nature. In fact, you may even find yeast in the air around you. Like other fungi such as mushrooms, yeasts come in all shapes and sizes, each with its own purpose. Some are best suited for making alcohol, while others are best suited for baking and cooking. The latter are nutritional yeasts. More specifically, nooch is made from Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, which is typically fermented with growth-boosting carbohydrates and then pasteurized to inactivate it. During this process, the yeast cell walls break down, releasing glutamic acid, an amino acid responsible for umami flavor. It is toasted before being ground into a flaky powder to give it a nutty flavor, enhancing its savory bravado and making it taste very cheesy.
You can eat it solid right out of the jar, but nutritional yeast is water-soluble, so it dissolves in liquids. When mixed with another liquid, the nooch disappears but the flavor remains, making it a great choice for dairy-free pasta sauces.
