Easy Gluten Free Cooking: Over 130 recipes plus nutrition and lifestyle advice for gluten. Rita Greer
Fruit juices (pure)
Gelatine crystals
Gram (chickpea) flour*
Ground rice
Honey (pure)
Millet flour*
Potato flour (farina)*
Pure almond and vanilla flavourings
Rice paper
Sesame seeds
Soft, moist sugars e.g. demerara
Soy sauce (thin, Tamari-type, gluten-free brand)*
Spices (ginger, nutmeg, mixed spice – gluten-free brand – allspice, ground cloves, cinnamon etc.)
Sunflower seeds*
Wine or cider vinegar
note
Always check food labels before classing any food as gluten-free. Cornflour (cornstarch) should be pure maize. Some foods will actually be labelled ‘gluten-free’.
general items
(Available at supermarkets or grocery stores.)
Bicarbonate of soda
Cooking oils (sunflower, soya, extra virgin olive oil)
Cornflour (cornstarch)
Cream of tartar
Fruit juices
Ground rice
Instant yeast/‘fast action’ easy blend yeast
Spices (pure)
Wine or cider vinegar
specialized items
(Probably available at health stores, delicatessens or large chemists/drugstores.)
Rice bran
Gram (chickpea) flour
Maize flour (cornmeal)
Millet flour
Potato flour (farina)
Soya flour
gluten-free pasta
special gluten-free baking powder
Commercial baking powders are designed to work with gluten, and gluten-containing grains are often used in their manufacture. In a gluten-free diet, special baking powder is required. This can be bought in health stores or from the ‘Free-from’ section in supermarkets. If you prefer to make your own, here is a recipe:
| 7g/1/4oz/2 tsp | bicarbonate of soda |
| 115g/41/4oz/3/4 cup | potato flour (farina) |
| 15g/1/2oz/1 level tablespoon | cream of tartar |
Mix these three ingredients together and store in a screw-top jar. Use as required. Try the chemists or drugstore for the first ingredient.
pepper
A word of warning about the use of pepper. It is common practice in commercial catering to add wheat flour to ground white pepper to ‘stretch’ this expensive commodity. It is therefore a good practice to use only freshly ground black pepper when you are eating out.
margarine
Some ‘fancy’ margarines have wheatgerm oil added. Check your labels as this is not gluten-free. (Butter is gluten-free.) Not all margarines are suitable for use in baking, as they are merely spreads. Check label before buying/using.
soy sauce
Most soy sauces are made from soy beans and wheat so are not gluten-free. Look for Tamari-type soy sauce which is made from soy beans and rice. This will be gluten-free. Your local health store is the most likely place to find it. Check the label carefully before buying. Get the store to order in several bottles for you. It keeps for years. N.B. Tamari is not a brand name.
* Buy from health stores or ‘free from sections in supermarkets’
chapter four gluten-free in a hurry
Just to give you a practical helping hand to start, here are some emergency menus that can easily be followed until you have found sources of the few special ingredients and products you will need for a new and interesting diet. Note: Some coeliacs are told avoid milk and food made from milk as they need to be lactose free. Special lactose free milks are available from supermarkets and health stores also a range of non-dairy nut and bean milks, and products.
adults
Eat only the foods specified. They are easily obtainable and most will already be in the store cupboard or refrigerator. Use sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning. Put polyunsaturated margarine or butter on hot vegetables. Drink tea or coffee with milk. Wine, port, sherry and brandies may be drunk, but no other types of alcohol.
breakfast
• Gluten-free cornflakes or rice cereal (from supermarkets or health stores), milk and sugar
• Grilled bacon, poached or fried egg, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms
• Pure fruit juice
Don’t be tempted to eat bread or any other breakfast cereals. If Kellogg’s Rice Krispies or Cornflakes are unobtainable, serve a banana, or add grilled mashed potato to the cooked dish, or make a muesli-type cereal yourself from 1 to 2 heaped tablespoonsful of cold cooked brown rice (boiled the previous day), a sprinkling each of raisins, sesame and sunflower seeds, an eating apple (grated), a little liquid honey to sweeten and milk or fruit juice to moisten.
midday meal
• Boiled or baked potatoes
• Fresh salad of tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot
• Tinned salmon, tuna or sardines in oil or water
Make a dressing from 2 teaspoonsful sunflower oil (or similar), a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a pinch or two of sugar, sea salt and