When it comes to dry yeast, name confusion is universal.

Despite the fact that there are only two basic types of dry yeast, manufacturers have managed to coin more than enough names, including:

 - active dry yeast
 - instant dry yeast
 - bread machine yeast
 - fast rising yeast
 - rapid rise yeast
 - quick rise yeast
 - and so on...

In short, the two main types of dry yeast to be aware of include active dry yeast and instant dry yeast.  We've broken down the differences below to clear up some confusion.

NAME CONFUSION:

Active dry yeast is its own thing.

Instant dry yeast = bread machine yeast = fast rising yeast = rapid rise yeast = quick rise yeast

PHYSICAL DIFFERENCE:

Although both types of yeast are similar in color and are both granular, active dry yeast granules are larger than instant dry yeast granules when they're compared side by side.

HOW TO USE:

If you're used to proofing your yeast with warm water and sugar before using it in a recipe, you've been using active dry yeast.  The reason for proofing is to essentially wake up your yeast, since the outer coating of active dry yeast granules are not alive due to the drying process that is used.  Generally speaking, all you need to do is add twice the yeast's volume of warm water (115° F) with a pinch of sugar, and wait for 10 minutes.  If a decent number of bubbles form, your yeast is alive and well.  If not, it means your yeast has been sitting on the shelf too long and should be tossed.

Instant dry yeast on the other hand, does not require (and should not undergo) proofing (hence the word 'instant').  Instead, just make sure to mix it in with your flour before adding any liquids.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

If your recipe calls for the kind of dry yeast that you don't have at home, one can easily be substituted for the other using the fact that 100% fresh yeast = 40% active dry yeast = 33% instant dry yeast.  In other words...

(instant dry yeast amount) * (1.2) = (active dry yeast amount)
(active dry yeast amount) * (0.8) = (instant dry yeast amount)

Note that less instant dry yeast is needed to equal the leavening power of active dry yeast  This is because instant dry yeast is a bit more powerful than active dry yeast, because it's not coated in anything.


We hope this clears up some confusion when it comes to dry yeast.  Please leave any additional questions in the comment section below, or feel free to e-mail us anytime!

Whether you're new to the vegan lifestyle, or have been vegan forever but have avoided the kitchen like the plague due to a fear of cooking, cooking can be an intimidating topic to talk about.  Where do you even start?

Image from vitamix.com

Besides the obvious of having great recipes for inspiration, we feel like owning a few good kitchen appliances helps tremendously in gaining confidence and excitement with cooking.  In general, vegan recipes tend to rely on appliances slightly more than recipes you might be used to cooking while on the S.A.D. diet.  For this reason, it might be easier to just eat out or else limit yourself in the kitchen.  But we're here to tell you that it doesn't have to be this way.  Assuming you have the basics at home (a good Chef's knife, cutting board, mixing bowls, vegetable peeler...you get the idea), we've found that only two or three larger appliance purchases might be necessary to be able to cook almost any recipe out there.

Now the first thing you might be thinking is 'money', but keep a few things in mind.  First there are ways to get around the ridiculous prices that some companies are charging [see below].  And second, the items on our list are meant to last.  They will give you the freedom to really create in the kitchen, and in the big picture, can be seen as one-time purchases.

So with that, we present you with a short list of suggested kitchen appliances for the vegan foodie.  [Side note:  The Mint Bunny is not affiliated with any of the products mentioned below.  We're just satisfied customers spreading our recommendations].

1. High-speed blender ($300 - $400).  Although vegan cooking is possible without a quality blender, we find that it limits the amount of dishes you can produce simply by not having one.  Besides the obvious use of making smoothies, high-speed blenders are equally as handy for savory dishes.  We use it to turn raw cashews into cream for sauces, make sour cream for our favorite Mexican dishes, make vegetable-based cheese sauces, thicken up soups, create peanut butter from nothing but peanuts, as well as create a silky smooth base for mozzarella cheese.  In addition to wet mixtures, high-speed blenders also do wonders on dry ingredients, such as turning oats into oat flour in a matter of seconds.  To get the best of the best without going broke, we recommend getting a certified reconditioned Vitamix.  We went with their standard model (pictured above), and haven't had a single complaint.
2. Food processor ($180 to $200).  A food processor is something you'll either absolutely fall in love with, or hate with a passion, depending on the size and quality that you end up with.  You might have seen cute little models that start at $40 or so...but steer clear!  Trust us on this...  A food processor worth purchasing needs to have three things going for it.  First, it needs durable and sharp blade.  Think of it as a mini Chef's knife.  If it's dull, you'll just bruise whatever veggies you attempt to chop.  Second, it needs enough power.  The best test for this is to see if it's strong enough to knead dough without jamming or overheating.  Lastly, the bigger the bowl, the better.  There's not much explanation needed for this point; it's just a fact that when you have more space, you can accomplish more is less time.  We use our food processor for whipping up hummus, making pizza dough, making raw dessert crusts from dates and nuts, as well as chopping and dicing herbs and veggies for things like falafel and soups.  We recommend going with the Cuisinart Custom 14 Cup food processor.  [Side note:  Being familiar with restaurant-grade food processors such as the Robot Coupe (which will set you back at least $1,200) the model we recommend is totally comparable on all levels (except price!)].
3. Air fryer ($70 - $90).  This last one we initially held off on including, solely because we lived years without one.  But ever since we purchased our air fryer earlier this year, we've found ourselves using it almost on a daily basis.  We have never deep fried anything at home (part health-based and part not enjoying our house smelling like oil for weeks—hah).  But because of this, we either held off on recipes that required frying, or else used our oven to make food crispy.  With the air fryer, you still get that crispiness that deep frying achieves, only you use so much less energy and little to no oil.  We use ours for french fries, veggie burgers, falafel, warming up pita bread, roasting veggies, and so on.  And we still have our fair share of experimentation coming up, which hopefully will include yeast donuts, cauliflower wings, and homemade seitan chick'n tenders.  After a decent amount of research, we landed on the GoWISE USA 5.8 Quart model.

If you've ever worked in a restaurant or managed a professional kitchen, you were probably required to take some type of food safety course to get proper certification.  Through this training, cooks learn the most efficient way to cool down large batches of soups, how hot foods on the line should be kept at, and how long is okay for a cold dish to be sitting at room temperature.
But for the rest of us who haven't had any training, it comes down to what we've been taught from others growing up.  Most of us know that pasta salad shouldn't be sitting in the sun for five hours on a summer day and then eaten.  But where do we draw the line?  30 minutes?  One hour?  Does it have to do anything with time at all?

After today's post, we hope that readers will feel more confident knowing what to do when it comes to cooling, reheating, thawing, and holding food.

The general rule to keep in mind is that food is at risk anytime it is left at temperatures between 41°F and 135°F for too long (more than 4 hours).  [Side note:  This applies to foods such as baked potatoes, tofu, sliced melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens, cold salads, hot dishes, and so on.  Obvious foods like whole apples, whole onions, whole raw potatoes, etc. do not apply to this rule].  In the restaurant world, this temperature range is referred to as the danger zone.  It's actually standard practice for cooks to constantly be checking hot and cold items on the line every hour, and to keep written records of these temperatures.  Obviously this is a bit extreme at home, but do be aware of this general range of temperatures to avoid for too long.

So...you're probably wondering now, "how long is too long?"

Today we thought we'd switch it up, and rather than post about a specific recipe or topic related to veganism, start a new series that gives quick cooking-related tips.

Our first post of the new series deals with stocks.  We're all for creating your own stock, but what do you do when one of your favorite dishes calls for chicken stock or beef stock?  When one first starts to make the transition form a standard American diet to a vegan lifestyle, it's easy to see vegan cooking as "limiting".

"I can't have beef chili anymore..."
"I can't have chicken noodle soup anymore..."
"I can't have creamy beef stroganoff anymore..."

And then there are recipes out there that traditionally use animal-based stocks (but are less obvious), such as Mexican rice (which uses chicken stock).

There are so many dishes where you can't simply substitute for vegetable stock due to the huge difference in flavor profiles.  Because of this fact, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or even depressed when it comes to cooking (for someone who is transitioning).  Comfort foods that we might have grown up with are no longer an option, so a connection with cooking and food gets lost.

As you might have guessed, there's no need to fear!

There ARE options out there, and the folks at Better Than Bouillon have done an amazing job creating flavorful bases that can allow us to cook all of our favorite dishes that we might have grown up on.  There are four flavors that are vegan-friendly:

1. seasoned vegetable base
2. roasted garlic base
3. no chicken base
4. no beef base

Images used from https://www.betterthanbouillon.com