Nutritional Yeast flakes vs Brewers yeast flakes

I am writing this post so my readers do not make the same mistake that I did. I was given a recipe on how to make home made seitan. In it one of the ingredients was for nutritional yeast flakes. I went to the store to find it and asked where it was. I was pointed to an aisle and told it was in a big can. So, I came across Brewers Yeast flakes and thought this was it. Well, It is not. When I went home and tasted it, it did not have a cheesy taste like some say it has. So, I went online and did some research and learned that brewer’s yeast flakes is not nutritional yeast. Below you will find articles from the web-sites where I found information about this topic. I have also included a website to show you a company that makes it and what it will say and look like.

Article one-
NUTRITIONAL YEAST FLAKES ("GOOD TASTING" YEAST FLAKES)
Nutritional yeast is a very important ingredient for most vegan cooks. It is NOT the same thing as brewer's yeast or baking yeast. Nutritional yeast flakes, available in health food stores, in bulk or in packages, have a cheesy taste when used alone, but they can also add an "egg yolk" taste to tofu egg substitutes, and a chickeny taste when used with soy sauce .
Nutritional yeast is not a live yeast. It is a very concentrated source of protein, B vitamins (including B12, in the case of Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula), and minerals. It should NOT be refrigerated, but can be kept in a covered jar in a cool, dark, dry place and will keep for a very long time, like most dried foods. If you can only find the powdered form (called “Engevita yeast” or “Bio-yeast”), use half as much as the amount of flakes called for, as it is more concentrated. "Engevita yeast , produced from a selected strain of yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
According to Joanne Stepaniak in "The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook:
"Red Star derives its primary grown nutritional yeast from pure strains of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae grown on mixtures of beet and cane molasses."
AND she further states:
"Many people confuse nutritional yeast with brewer's yeast or Torula yeast. Brewer's yeast is a byproduct of the brewing industry, and Torula yeast is typically grown on waste products, such as those from the wood pulp industry."

Source- http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/628669.htm#9012
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/628669.htm

Site to show you what nutritional yeast is-
red star vegetarian support formula-
http://www.nowfoods.com/?action=itemdetail&item_id=3476

Excerpt two-

Definition: Yellow in color and with a nutty cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is a favorite amongst many vegans because of its unique flavor and similarity to cheese when added to foods. Sprinkle some on hot popcorn or garlic bread, or add a generous spoonful to a stir fry or pasta sauce. Nutritional yeast is also the only reliable food source of vitamin B12, so if you’re vegan, it’s a good idea to add some to your food regularly. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk foods or supplement section of your health food store. You can look for either nutritional yeast flakes or powder, but be sure you don’t get brewer’s yeast by mistake, as its quite similar in appearance.

Source- http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/nutyeast.htm

This is a site to tell you about Brewers yeast and it’s uses:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/brewers-yeast-000288.htm

This is a site that gives you some recipes for using nutritional yeast:
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/cheese.htm

One last note- If you can not find nutritional yeast then go to my first post “welcome to my vegan journey” and you can order it from the online grocery stores.

Happy Vegan cooking

Thank you for coming to my blog. I hope to see you soon.

Gnewvegan