Yeast is something that confuses people. Is it a plant, an animal, or something else? Is yeast vegan? As I explain in this post, yeast is from the fungus family, like mushrooms.
When I was a kid, there were always stacks of old comics around the house. Little Lulu, Archie, Richie Rich…
And in the back of the comics was my favorite part – the advertisements.
In my fantasies I’d shop amongst those last pages buying X-ray glasses, hand buzzers, Sea Monkeys, and a machine that you could use to make your own money.
That one seemed the most useful. After all, with that, I could buy everything else on the list.
There were just two problems.
One, these comic books were very, very old. Most likely, they weren’t even selling those items anymore.
Two, my mom wouldn’t give me any money to buy my own dollar-making machine.
Didn’t she understand you have to spend money to make money? Without the extra cash, how could I hope to raise a small Sea Monkey family of my own?
I made my pitch. For only $1.25 I could raise a barrel of… crustaceans.
For a mere 50 cents more, I could get them rushed to me in case I was suffering from a Sea Monkey-related emergency.
I’d feed them a steady diet of spirulina and eagerly watch their antics. But my mom wouldn’t hear of it. Even showing her the well-accessorized mom, dad, and two adorable kids depicted in the ad didn’t help.
Coincidentally, do you know what else they put into the Sea Monkeys’ food packet, in addition to spirulina? Yeast.
That brings me to today’s question, which surprisingly enough, does not involve brine shrimp. It is instead…
Is yeast vegan?
Perhaps it is dreams like my childhood one involving Sea Monkeys that confuses people where yeast is concerned.
Maybe they imagine getting a little packet of yeast, adding some food of sugar and warm water, and watching the contents come to life.
“Surely,” they say, “there are some microscopic Yeast-A-Beasts down there wearing tiny red bows of their own.”
But unlike Sea Monkeys and their crustacean brethren, yeast is from the fungus family, like mushrooms.
Even though when yeast is given sugar and warm water it looks like they’re throwing an impromptu foam party, it’s just an illusion.
They don’t even have a central nervous system, let alone the ability to put together a good dance mix.
While most cooking mavens refrigerate food to prevent fungus growth, when a baker is using this fungus for bread, warm water is best.
Yeast feeds on sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide. That carbon dioxide makes the bread rise.
Cooking destroys the alcohol and yeast. The bubbles that are left behind make the bread soft. Yeast gives bread part of its signature flavor and delightful smell.
In addition to bread-making, yeast is also used in fermenting beer, wine, and soy foods like tempeh and miso.
Of course, nutritional yeast flakes (an inactive form of yeast) are a staple in many vegan kitchens.
(What is nutritional yeast? <—— Read this post to find out.)
For those among you who are still dreaming of a little plastic home for your Yeast-A-Beasts, you could build a Sea Monkey-style dwelling for your microscopic fungi. But I think they just call that a terrarium.
This series on misconceptions around veganism continues with: Are Vegans Privileged And Out Of Touch?
Abby
That’s something I’ve never really thought about, most likely because I never make my own bread or baked goods. Ezekiel bread is basically the only bread I buy and I love the stuff, but I’m also aware that many others contain eggs or butter at times (hence, I adore Ezekiel bread not only for the taste, but for the security.) It’s worth the extra money to me.
Look forward to your next post!
Cadry
I don’t make my own bread either. I picked up a bread machine at a garage sale a couple of years ago with the thought that I might start. Instead, it’s hanging out in my hall closet.
My local co-op has a stellar bakery, and so it’s easy to get fresh bread there without any clean-up or baking required on my part. The majority of the bread they sell is vegan, and so that makes it easy. However, Ezekiel used to be our go-to brand, and we’ll still get it on vacations and whatnot.
Somer
You “knead” to break that baby out! Making homemade bread with the bread-maker is so ridiculously easy that it puts going to the grocery for a loaf to shame 🙂 🙂 🙂 I have a one hour whole wheat loaf recipe somewhere. I’ll shoot it your way if I find it!
Cadry
Please do! The one and only time I made bread in it, the recipe turned out less than perfect. I’d love to try your go-to recipe!
Sarah
My husband always teases me about yeast and says “isn’t it alive?” Ugh!
Thanks for a cute post 🙂
Cadry
You’re welcome! Thanks, Sarah! 🙂
Andrea
You scared me for a minute — I always thought yeast was vegan but was afraid I’d overlooked something! And by the way, my brother got the sea monkeys, and I can tell you you didn’t miss anything.
Cadry
I’m somehow not surprised that the experience wouldn’t have measured up. I’ve seen actual pictures of brine shrimp, and it’s clear that the artist who drew the Sea Monkeys took some significant liberties. 🙂
An Unrefined Vegan
I had no idea that anyone thought yeast was some kind of living (albeit a seriously dried-out) creature. Wow.
Thanks for bringing back memories. We also had an ancient stack of comic books that I could contentedly read over and over again. We kids were able to convince our mom to let us buy the Mexican Jumping Beans…
Cadry
Maybe some of the confusion comes when people say that you can “kill” yeast with water that is too hot. You can kill plants too, but people think of using that term more often with animals.
That’s sweet that you also had an ancient stack of comic books you’d read again and again!
Bianca- Vegan Crunk
Thanks for addressing this! People ask me all the time if yeast is vegan, and I say, yes….but then I can’t really explain why. Now I can just send them this blog post!
Cadry
I’m glad to hear that there’s someone else out there getting this question, Bianca! I was beginning to think I was the only one! 🙂
luminousvegans
Yeah, I’ve gotten that question a lot….”what about yeast..isn’t it ALIVE?”. So, what exactly are sea monkeys? I had those as a kid too.
Cadry
I learned a lot about Sea Monkeys while I was writing this post. They’re brine shrimp. In the packages, they sell the eggs, which hatch. Then the shrimp can mate, and the female can either lay eggs or give birth, depending on her health.
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
Who wouldn’t go for a yeast-a-beast? They look so much more friendly and snugly than the sea monkeys!
Yeast is a new one for me, but I get the “is this vegan” question all the time, so I’m sure it will come up soon. The questions usually come from a good place, but I often have to suppress a laugh. In the last few days someone asked me if tofu was vegan and another person found my site by asking whether “peanut butter and banana for breakfast” was vegan. I sure wish I knew who they were so I could warn them that it’s only cruelty-free after three 😉
Cadry
Yes, if there’s one thing you can say about Yeast-A-Beasts it’s that they love to cuddle! 😉
Wow, someone asked if tofu was vegan? That seems like the quintessential vegan dish in so many people’s minds.
So many times I wish that I could write people back who find my blog through random search questions! If only you could have warned them that PB&B is the Gremlins of the vegan world. Don’t get them wet and don’t eat them after midnight! 😉
Richa
those yeast-a-beasts have a permanent home in my house. i have 2 lb package in the freezer. I might have to look at it and see if there is party going on..
I looked this up long time back because i bake so much of my own bread. Even though i knew it, it was good to confirm :))
Cadry
Somehow I’m not surprised that your Yeast-a-Beasts get their own spare room! With all of the baking you do, you need the back-up! 🙂
Maggie Muggins
Ha! I used to love those ads, I use to dream about my very own sea monkey family too, until I found out they were nothing like the ad would lead me to believe. Talk about crushing some childhood dreams! lol
With all the beer and bread me and my husband make, I’m pretty sure our house is perpetually filled with yeast. I never really got the whole “yeast isn’t vegan” thing, but I have have been asked if things like coconut milk and peanut butter were vegan, so yeah, it doesn’t really shock me that someone would make that assumption.
Cadry
I’m sure there were many disappointed kids who were surprised at how very different brine shrimp look from the drawing on that ad!
Katherine
I was never really sure what yeast was made out of- but I did wonder whether it was being taken from some animal or plant or what it was made out of.. I recently also began baking and making goodies and next on my list was bread. I knew that there are many people who use eggs/milk in baking, therefore I had to find out first if bread was even vegan, and whether yeast was also vegan.. good to know that they both are 🙂 I bought some a few days ago… and will be baking some bread in the next few days! YummM! 🙂 I look forward to it!
Jenn
I got a little nervous there for a minute before I actually read the whole post. 🙂 Thank goodness!
Cadry
Ha! Sorry to scare you! 🙂