Easy Gluten Free Cooking: Over 130 recipes plus nutrition and lifestyle advice for gluten. Rita Greer
pastas
paste
pastry, pastry mixes
pepper (white, catering)
pickles*
pie fillings
porridge
potato, instant
puddings
salad dressings*
sandwich spreads
sauces*
sausages
snacks
soups (tinned/packet)
soy sauce*
spaghetti
spreads*
sprouted grains
stock powder/paste*
stuffing
suet
sweets*
yoghurts (flavoured)
For a list of gluten-free products see here.
gluten-free?
Legally, manufacturers can label food ‘gluten-free’ even if it contains a little gluten (UK). This depressing state of affairs is due to an old ruling by the World Health Organization(WHO). Other countries, such as Germany and France, have a more honest 100-per-cent gluten-free standard. The ingredient at the centre of the scandal is wheat starch. This is wheat from which most – but not all – gluten has been processed out with most of its other nutrients. Because it is a waste product it is cheap, and it is the most widely used flour for commercial gluten-free baking. The majority of people who eat it have no idea that it is not truly gluten-free and nor do the people who prescribe it for ‘gluten-free’ diets.
Rest assured, all the recipes in this book are at the higher 100 per cent gluten-free (of wheat, rye, barley and oats). Wheat starch is not used at all.
are any types of flour naturally free of wheat, rye, barley and oat gluten?
Yes, there are six major ones: ground rice, corn/maize flour (pure cornmeal/cornstarch), potato flour, chickpea flour, millet flour and soya flour. All these are used in the recipes in this book.
how can you find out which products contain gluten?
There are groups specially for people on gluten-free diets who publish lists of gluten-free foods. Unless such groups are enthusiastic, very active, and publish a new list regularly, the lists tend to be outdated and therefore misleading. Another danger is that some organizations may actually be manufacturers and will deliberately ignore products by rival manufacturing companies, thus giving the gluten-free consumer a limited list of products that are available. By being a member of these groups such lists may be made available to you, either free or for a small fee.
You can also approach manufacturers for lists. The best way is to write a straightforward letter, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope, requesting a list of their products which are gluten-free. The larger firms have these lists printed off ready for such enquiries but some firms do not reply on principle. Here is a sample letter to a firm.
Dear Sir
Gluten-free Products without wheat, rye barley or oats
I am cooking for a gluten-free diet and would be most grateful if you would advise me as to which of your products are gluten-free. I enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
Yours faithfully
It is a good idea to keep a pocket notebook with your own lists of products to avoid. This will prove very helpful when out shopping. Customer service desks in large stores can be helpful, either when you shop, over the telephone or by e-mail, for their own products.
oats and research
In the late 1990s, new research in Scandinavia found some coeliacs could tolerate oats. The protein found in oats is avenin. It is nothing like as effective in baking as wheat gluten and some gluten free dieters find oats to difficult to digest. A medical practitioner’s advice should be sought before allowing oats in a coeliac’s diet. Controversy on the subject goes back many years.
fan ovens – temperature and baking times
As these may vary from one model to another, only guidelines can be given. Generally speaking, temperatures of 20° below those recommended for an ordinary oven and baking times of up to one third less should be effective.
gluten free and healthy?
Bear in mind that not all gluten-free foods are necessarily healthy. There are many brands of sweets, confectionery and junk foods available which happen to be gluten-free. By living just on these a health result will not be achieved. See Chapter 14 for help with balancing a gluten-free diet.
*Check brands to find a possible gluten-free product.
chapter three the kitchen cupboard
Clear out a particular corner or shelf in your kitchen for the special items you are going to need for baking and cooking. Some of the items you can make for yourself and some you can buy. All of them are suitable for the whole family so don’t think it is going to be that difficult to organize.
contamination in the kitchen at home
One of the problems of gluten-free baking is to avoid contamination by gluten-containing flours such as wheat. It can occur by contact with other items in the kitchen and store cupboard such as wheat flour; by using utensils and equipment which are also used for ordinary cooking, e.g. baking tins; and by airborne means such as flour dust from overalls and aprons. Other dangers are wheat flour under the fingernails and wheat breadcrumbs in the toaster.
If cooking for an acutely allergic person, separate baking tins and utensils are essential. If cooking for a not-so-allergic person, ordinary tins etc. can be used if they are kept scrupulously clean. However, there will be a slight risk of contamination and perhaps the answer would be to line the tins with baking parchment, to be on the safe side.
gluten-free essentials for the kitchen cupboard
Black peppercorns
Canned salmon, tuna, sardines in oil (not sauce)
Chickpea flour*
Cooking oil (sunflower, soya, corn, olive)
Cornflour (cornstarch)
Dried yeast, instant yeast, easy