A Question about brewer's yeast....

Question

Can I substitute active dry yeast for the brewer's yeast in the recipe?

Here is the recipe that I want to use it for:

Moist Kitty Morsels

1/2 pound ground beef or turkey

1 small carrot, finely grated

1 tablespoon grated cheese

1 teaspoon brewer's yeast

1 teaspoon dried catnip

1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, combine the meat, carrot, cheese, brewer's yeast, catnip and breadcrumbs. Add the egg and tomato paste and mix well.

Using your hands, roll the mixture into walnut-sized meatballs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are brown and firm. Cool the meatballs completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. These freeze well.

This recipe from CDKitchen for Moist Kitty Morsels serves/makes 2 dozen

Answer 1

Is this for cats or people?  If for cats.. whoa.. this stuff will totally change the pH of the cat's urine and cause tons of problems down the road.  Cats are obligate carnivors.. they do not eat tomatoes, carrots, etc.  They do not eat wheat.  This is setting kitties up for some bad UTI's and other conditions.  

You want to make kitty something good?  Puree some sardines, add taurine and a little salmon oil.  Or puree salmon.  

You have to love your kitty very much to want to make something special.  Kudos for you!!!  But good intentions can be bad ideas.  For more info on how a cat's insides work, and the latest in the pet food world  see:

http://petfoodpitfalls.blogspot.com/

:-)

Answer 2

Yes, you can but you should "kill" it first so it doesn't react with the other ingredients and make your morsels ferment.  You can kill it by heating it a minute or two in a 250 degree oven.

Bert

Answer 3

yes, use 1/2 tsp dry yeast. Actually the formula is 5 ounces of dry yeast to 1 pound of fresh yeast.