Optimal taste experience with yeast extract
As an ingredient, yeast extract is extremely versatile. You can use it to season sauces, bouillons, soups, savoury snacks and much more. It not only complements the savoury taste of meat and fish dishes, but it is also perfect for preparing vegetarian dishes as it is free from animal ingredients but still provides a meaty taste. You can also use it to counteract the loss of savouriness that usually occurs when the salt content of a dish is reduced, and thus your perfect companion for low salt cooking.
A high-quality vegan option
If you would like to eat less meat and if you are into tasty vegetarian options, yeast extract provides not only valuable components from the yeast cell, it is also the perfect natural and vegan replacement for the meat-based bouillons used in many dishes, soups and sauces.
Less salt = healthier food
Since a high salt intake is associated with health risks, many nutritional experts advise consumers to use salt sparingly. If you are looking for low salt cooking, yeast extract presents a great solution: thanks to its aromatic and characteristic taste it brings a delicious, savoury note to foods, even those with a low salt content. It has an effect similar to that of a spice and thus helps to lower the salt content without loss of taste. Nutritional experts advise a similar approach when they recommend using aromatic herbs in order to get along with less salt in the kitchen.
Did you know?
Although the taste of yeast extract is similar to that of a meat bouillon, it actually does not contain any ingredients of animal origin. All amino acids come from natural yeast. Yeast extract is therefore a great solution for adding a savoury taste to vegan and vegetarian dishes.
A rich mix of proteins
Due to its savoury taste, yeast extract is only used in small quantities in cooking and its amount of protein is not enough to meet daily protein requirements. Nevertheless, yeast extract contains around 65% of protein. Its origin, natural yeast, is composed of a rich mix of proteins and amino acids that are also found in yeast extract.
It is this protein and amino acids mix which provides yeast extract with its special savoury taste and turns it into an attractive ingredient for a multitude of food products. Some of these components result in a savoury taste, while others help by rounding off the natural taste of the remaining ingredients.
The protein quality of yeast extract is comparable to the reference proteins according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in eggs or in milk. This means that yeast extract contains all the essential amino acids which are necessary for human nutrition in a very absorbable form. Compared to other plant proteins, such as soy gluten or lupine, yeast extract is also safe in terms of allergenicity. Yeast extract is not only a natural but also a safe ingredient. It is a non-genetically modified food product with a long history of safe use. If you are interested in how yeast extract is produced, read more.
