9 Surprising Uses For Yeast That You Might Not Know About

Yeast is something that’s commonly associated with bread and baking. As a bread-lover, trust me when I say that those are very good uses for the ingredient. However, there are surprisingly many other ways you can use yeast; some going beyond the kitchen.

So the next time you buy some yeast at your local grocery store, maybe you can take the chance to expand your horizons on how you use it.

1. Brew Beer

Yeast can be used in the process of brewing beer, to ferment the mixture and make it alcoholic. (Along with the additional flavors of hops, that can vary the tastes of different types of beer.)

2. Make Chocolate

Similar to the process of making beer, there is yeast in chocolate when the cocoa being fermented.

3. Treat Your Hair

Whether you’re dealing with hair loss, or just want an extra bit of shine, this recipe allows for a yeast-based treatment to apply directly to your hair.

4. Produce Wine

When fruit is fermented to make wine, it produces yeast that breaks down the sugar in the grapes and create the alcoholic ethanol in the beverage.

5. As A Skincare Treatment

Yeast can contain some of the minerals, amino acids and vitamins that your skin may be missing. Use it as a skin treatment by adding some baker’s yeast to your skin cream. (And no, it’s not like baking bread.)

6. Add Protein To Your Diet

Two tablespoons of yeast can offer the same amount of protein as a cup of milk or one ounce of beef. Easily add it to your diet by mixing it in with popcorn or using it as a topper for pasta.

7. As A Skin Moisturizer

Yeast can work beautifully together with collagen, a major protein in skin that is responsible for its firmness. The proteins in yeast can help fight skin laxity and wrinkles, as yeast is already in several types of skin moisturizers.

8. To Fortify Nails

Brewer’s yeast is rich in Vitamin B, which can help make chipped nails come back even stronger. Take Brewer’s yeast in the form of capsules and watch them grow again.

9. As A Parmesan Replacement

It’s becoming more common to see yeast on restaurant menus. But before you decline, it isn’t in the form of fungi. Yeast can be used as a topping or parmesan replacement in a form similar to grated cheese on foods like salad, pizza and pasta.

Photo by treehouse1977