Cooking and Baking Gluten Free.
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Adjusting to cooking gluten-free can seem daunting, but it will quickly become routine. I searched websites and gleaned information from whomever I could and these are some of the things I do to try to remain healthy.
I have a friend who is allergic to poultry, who says she just stopped eating anything prepared at anyone else’s house; the possibility of cross-contamination is just too great to take the chance. I agree. With only a couple of exceptions, even though the food would be considered gluten free under normal circumstances, e.g salad, it just isn’t worth the risk. I don’t know the conditions under which it was prepared and there are so many ways in which it could have been cross contaminated.
Unless you are going to have a completely gluten-free kitchen, don’t eat food or use utensils that have touched the counter top. When cooking or baking, I get out a small plate on which to set measuring cups, spoons, etc. Baking ingredients, such as sugar and baking powder, can be contaminated by a measuring cup or spoon, so, even if you are baking for someone else, never put a utensil into them that has touched the countertop. If I am baking for someone else using wheat flour, I measure all the other ingredients and then cover them and put them away before I open the flour. It can take 24 hours for flour dust to settle, so I cover anything that I don’t want to be contaminated during that period. I have a separate set of gluten free cutting boards and a gluten free knife for cutting vegetables, chicken, etc. And be careful about sharing a hand towel with anyone eating foods containing gluten. I am sure I sound like a fanatic when I say that I try not to touch my food with my hands when I eat it, but I have suffered too many times from cross-contamination.
Metal pans that have been washed in the dishwasher are safe to use, but I love to bake in stoneware. I am hoping to someday have a complete set of gluten-free stoneware, but in the meantime, I cover all my pans and baking stones with parchment or wax paper. And until my children bought me my own stoneware muffin pan, I used cupcake papers to bake the muffins and biscuits that have been a staple of my diet for the past year or so.
READ EVERY LABEL!! I can’t stress this enough. And be sure to follow up on any asterisks. Look for disclaimers that say that the food was processed in a plant or on machinery that also processes wheat, rye or barley products.
There are a couple of things that I learned from the owner of a great little store here in Salt Lake City:
The word “malt”, when standing alone, indicates a substance made from barley and needs to be avoided. When used in a longer word, such as “maltodextrin,” it indicates something else entirely, and is safe.
Any vinegar is safe to use. You don’t have to look for “distilled.”
The word “malt”, when standing alone, indicates a substance made from barley and needs to be avoided. When used in a longer word, such as “maltodextrin,” it indicates something else entirely, and is safe.
Any vinegar is safe to use. You don’t have to look for “distilled.”
From my research, “autolyzed yeast” can be made from either baking yeast, which is safe, or from brewer’s yeast, which is not. You have to call the company to find out which they use in their products. Someone posted on a website that they had called Swanson and the autolyzed yeast in their chicken broth was safe. I have not worked up the courage to try it, yet. Pain has made me wary…or cowardly.
One of the most important things you need to do is to think about all the things you CAN eat and not dwell on what you can’t eat. And find ways to enjoy the same flavors you enjoyed before, but in gluten free form. For her birthday cake this year, my seventeen-year-old granddaughter requested the chocolate cheesecake I created because I LOVE chocolate cheesecake and wasn’t willing to live without it. Be positive, be creative, and please share with the rest of us.
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