Gluten-Free Cuisine

Gluten is a protein found in many grains, such as wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and triticale. It is present in many common foods, including breads, cereals, pastas, baked goods, convenience items, condiments, and beverages. When some people eat foods that contain gluten, their immune system damages their small intestine. Individuals who are ‘sensitive’ to gluten may be diagnosed with ‘celiac disease,’ which is also called gluten sensitivity, gluten-sensitive enteropathy, celiac sprue, celiac sprue disease, or non-tropical sprue. The terms ‘celiac disease’ and ‘gluten intolerant’ will be used in this article.

When someone who has celiac disease consumes any gluten, his or her immune system tries to ‘protect’ the body as it might if the person had consumed poison. This immune system response damages the small intestines and causes malabsorption of vital nutrients, such as iron, calcium, and folic acid, and of fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. This reaction can also lead to other medical problems, including continual gastrointestinal distress, such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea; lymphoma of the small intestine; unexplained weight loss; osteoporosis due to calcium malabsorption; constant fatigue or feelings of weakness; depression that does not respond to medications; unexplained anemia; fertility problems; and possibly birth defects. In addition to those symptoms, small children who are unaware that they have celiac disease may develop distended abdomens, unexplained discoloration of teeth, failure to thrive, and possibly related poor behavioral changes.

How Do People With Celiac Disease Manage Their Condition?

There are more people who have celiac disease than you might think. Recent studies show that as many as one in 144 Americans has this condition. Just search the Internet or cruise the cookbook selections at a bookstore. There are many organizations and support groups for people who are gluten intolerant.

People with celiac disease keep their condition under control by following a strict gluten-free diet. When celiac patients avoid gluten completely, they give their small intestine a chance to heal and more properly absorb nutrients. A gluten-free regime must be followed at all times.

Avoiding gluten is not as easy as it sounds. Many companies process wheat in the same factories as they do gluten-free products. Labels need to be read carefully. Even certain brands of rice may say, “Processed in a plant with wheat-containing products.”

If people with celiac disease are preparing foods from scratch using unprocessed ingredients, then they will be able to prepare items that are gluten- or wheat-free. Arrowroot, cornmeal, soy, rice, tapioca, and potato products should be fine for most gluten-intolerant people. Processed items, such as spice blends, mashed potato mixes, and soup bases, will require celiac patients to read the labels very carefully or even contact manufacturers about their products.

Reading Labels for Gluten Content

When shopping for gluten-free items, you must become an avid label reader, and you will come across many ingredients while on your gluten-free hunt. Here is a short guide to some popular products and ingredients:

• Amaranth - A healthy gluten-free plant similar to grains.
• Buckwheat - Despite the name, buckwheat is gluten-free. Buckwheat is nutritious and adds variety to the gluten-free diet. It is no more likely to be contaminated with gluten than any other grain. However, buckwheat is sometimes mixed with wheat flour, so don’t assume that all buckwheat products are gluten-free. Always read the label.
• Caramel Color - According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), caramel color can be made from barley malt. U.S. companies tend to use corn because it makes a better product. Check that the caramel color is both gluten-free and vegan.
• Citric Acid - This ingredient is gluten-free.
• Dextrin - Dextrin can be made from corn, rice, potatoes, arrowroot, tapioca, or wheat. Major dextrin-producing companies in the United States say that they use corn, but imported dextrin could be made from wheat.
• Flavors - Flavors are tricky. It is often difficult to find out what is in a flavoring. According to the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association, gluten-containing grains are rarely used in flavoring, except in meat products and products that contain meat.
• Malt - Although there is a slight chance that malt is made from corn, it is almost always derived from barley and, therefore, contains gluten. Malt extract, malt syrup, and malt flour are made from barley. Malt vinegar is often made from barley, and it is not distilled, meaning that it could contain gluten.
• Maltodextrin - When a product in the U.S. includes the word “maltodextrin” on its label, this ingredient may be made from corn, potato, or rice, but it must not be made from wheat. Confusion comes from the name. Malt is usually made from barley and dextrin can be made from wheat, but maltodextrin is gluten-free. Recently, there has been some evidence that wheat might be used to produce maltodextrin. If this is the case, the label will specifically say “wheat maltodextrin” or “maltodextrin (wheat).”
• Mono- and diglycerides - Mono- and diglycerides are fats and therefore gluten-free. There has been concern that food manufacturers might use a gluten-containing carrier to make these fats perform effectively in the manufacturing process. Research indicates that this rarely happens, and when it does, the gluten-containing carrier should be listed.
• Oats - When wheat was identified as a cause of celiac disease, rye, barley, and oats were also included on the list of toxic grains, but in recent years, several well-respected research studies strongly suggest that oats do not belong on the list. Unfortunately, growing conditions and the grain’s appearance make it very likely that oats are contaminated with wheat. Therefore, U.S. celiac experts have not yet approved oats for the gluten-free diet.
• Quinoa - An ancient grain-like plant from South America that is gluten-free. Quinoa is nutritious and adds variety to the gluten-free diet. It is no more likely to be contaminated with gluten than any other gluten-free plant.
• Soy Sauce - Some (but not all) contain wheat. Read the label.
• Spelt - Spelt is a form of wheat. In the past, some spelt producers have labeled their product as “gluten-free,” which is incorrect. Although those who are allergic to wheat may be able to tolerate spelt, it is still a form of wheat and, therefore, not gluten-free.
• Spices and Seasonings - Pure spices are gluten-free. Bottled spices often contain an ingredient to keep the spice free-flowing. Usually, the ingredient is silicon dioxide, which is gluten-free. If a spice container does not have a list of ingredients on the label, the only thing it contains is the spice indicated. Sometimes, the contents of a seasoning are included on the label in parentheses. The FDA has not defined what constitutes seasonings, so they could contain any ingredient.
• Starch - On a food label, starch always indicates cornstarch. That’s the only certainty. Although usually made from corn, modified food starch can be made from wheat. In pharmaceuticals, both starch and modified food starch can be made from wheat.
• Vanilla - Vanilla and vanilla extract are gluten-free.
• Wheat Starch - Wheat starch is wheat with the gluten washed out. A special grade of wheat starch is permitted on the gluten-free diet in some European countries. However, it is not permitted in the U.S. because the washing process is rarely complete, and wheat starch usually contains residual gluten.
• Yeast - All brand-name packaged yeasts sold in the U.S. are gluten-free. Autolyzed (broken down by self-produced enzymes) yeast in a food product is generally considered gluten-free. When brewer’s yeast is a byproduct of beer, it is not considered gluten-free. Brewer’s yeast nutritional supplements, however, can be made from either brewer’s yeast or sugar. If the supplements are made from sugar, then they are gluten-free.

Note: The Wild Oats website has a very informative guide for gluten-free shopping. Also, most Trader Joe’s stores stock guides for gluten-free menus.

Cooking Gluten-Free

For gluten-free baking, you can use flour made from acceptable ground grains, such as corn or rice. You may be able to find flour made from potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca, almonds, and lentils. Xanthan and guar gums are specialty ingredients used as thickeners. They can be used for gluten-free baking.

Many recipes can be made gluten-free. These are some helpful guidelines:

• Focus only on the items in the recipe that need to be adapted. In other words, if you have a vegetable, bean, and pasta soup recipe, you only need to focus on an acceptable exchange for the pasta, not the non-wheat products.
• Choose a recipe with very little flour; sometimes, the flour can be omitted. For example, a vegetable stew may call for a small amount of flour to thicken. Prepared mashed potatoes may do the trick.
• Avoid recipes that rely on convenience foods.
• Compare proportions. Given the same amount of liquid, it takes less cornstarch to thicken than wheat flour. Corn, nut, and lentil flours should take about the same proportion of wheat flour to liquid.
• For breading vegetables or tofu, try cornmeal, potato flakes, crushed potato chips, gluten-free bread crumbs, or almost any mixture of rice, bean, or sorghum gluten-free flours.
• For gravies and sauces, try rice flour or cornstarch. Read the product instructions for proportions of liquid or thickener and the cooking instructions. Remember that starches break down and thin under high heat or during long cooking or holding times.
• To thicken sauces, try potato flakes or potato or rice flour.
• For puddings and pie fillings, try cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca, or arrowroot.

Or simply try some of these gluten-free recipes.