Description

Torula yeast is a primary grown, dried inactive yeast specialty product. It is designed to impart savory notes, enhance texture and nutritional characteristics in foods. Torula yeast provides food enhancement benefits. Torula yeast can also be used for its emulsification and flavor enhancement properties. Torula yeast can be sprinkled into food. It can be mixed into sauces or dressings or sprinkled onto cooked grains, veggies, snacks, popcorn, or other dishes. It adds a meaty flavor, so it is often included in premade meat-free burgers or meat-free sausages. Torula yeast has a strong, rich flavor. It is known as an umami-rich flavor, which is known as a savory taste. Because this yeast is consumed in a powder format, it needs to be added to other foods to be enjoyed. It has a smoky, umami flavor in cooking.

Torula Yeast contains a number of B vitamins as well as minerals such as iron, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, maganese and magnesium. It contains vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and B7. Torula Yeast has five times more iron than spinach or raisins; excellent source of protein.

Torula yeast is a terrific replacement for MSG and is often now used as a food additive due to its property of producing glutamic acids which when combined with nucleotides lend foods a strong savory character.

Torula yeast can be found in manufactured foods such as soups, pasta, rice mixes, snack food, salad dressings, processed meats, gravies, and sauces. Torula is not derived from wheat, barley or rye and because it is not made from these grains it is a naturally extracted gluten free yeast.

Vegan Lentil Meatballs with Gluten Free Flour (from Spruce Eats)

Lentil meatballs are just as good as “real” meatballs, but they have the added bonus of being nutrient-rich and just as yummy. This vegan recipe for lentil meatballs is not only dairy-free but egg-free as well. The use of gluten-free flour adds yet another layer of protection if you are on a restrictive diet. While there are a number of different vegan meatball recipes that use other ingredients, such as chickpeas, brown rice, cauliflower, tofu, tempeh, and seitan to name a few. This recipe keeps it simple making the meatball out of mushrooms, flax seeds, lentils, and gluten-free powder.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups red lentil, rinsed
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, more as needed
  • 8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 cup finely ground flax seeds, or flax meal
  • 1/4 cup gluten-free flour, such as sorghum or rice flour, more as needed
  • Salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It

  1. In a medium-large pot, combine the lentils, vegetable stock, onions, and garlic and bring to a boil.

  2. Turn down the heat, and let the lentils simmer, covered, for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until very soft.

  3. Remove from heat and mash well with a potato masher or fork.

  4. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.

  5. Add the mushrooms and thyme and saute until the mushrooms are very soft, about 4 to 6 minutes.

  6. In a food processor or blender, combine half of the lentil mixture with the mushrooms, ground flax seeds, and nutritional yeast and process until smooth.

  7. Add the processed mixture to the remaining lentil mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

  8. Gradually stir in the sorghum flour or rice flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture holds together. Allow the mixture to reach room temperature before forming into balls.

  9. Cook the lentil balls. Heat a small amount of oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.

  10. Add the lentil balls to the hot oil, cooking only as many at a time as will fit without touching one another.

  11. Cook, flipping the lentil balls to brown them on all sides until they’re golden brown, about 4 minutes.

  12. Repeat until all of the lentil balls are cooked.

    Tips:
  • When gradually adding the gluten-free flour, just add enough so that the mixture holds together.
  • While some people prefer to cook their meatballs through in the sauce of their choice, these really work infinitely better when they are first seared or lightly sauteed in a pan, as it will keep them from falling apart.
  • The lentil meatball mixture can be made up to one day in advance and then formed into balls and cooked.
  • These vegan meatballs made with lentils are easy to prepare and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways: over spaghetti with store-bought or homemade sauce, on dairy-free sandwich bread as a meatless meatball sub, in a wrap, or just on their own.