Question
A friend of mine has recently discovered that she has a gluten intolerance, and thus she now has to avoid foods. It is somewhat challenging to find good tasting recipes or alternative products in grocery stores, especially because the labels are not always clear about gluten contents of products.
What are some good places for gluten-free resources, and recommendations on particular products or brands which are the best alternative to typical products?
Answer
I'm a coeliac from Australia and so my tips come from my experience here, but they should hopefully be useful regardless.
The first thing I suggest is joining your local society which can be invaluable in terms of support, information and even training. The training covers for example how to read ingredient lists to determine whether something is gluten free by ingredient.
As a general rule you need to avoid products containing [wheat, barley, rye, malts and triticale][1]. There are a few exceptions such as glucose syrup, caramel colour and dextrose derived from wheat where the ingredients are so highly processed that they contain no detectable [gluten][2].
Cross contamination and hidden sources of gluten can make it hard to ensure a gluten free diet. In my experience the hardest replacements are the bread based ones. They generally do not come close to the texture and taste of traditional breads. Baking your own bread may be the best option using gluten free bread mixes.
Eating out can become a bit of chore because many restaurants use gluten containing products such as sauces and fillers. I recommend contacting the restaurant beforehand.
The following products are some of the better gluten free alternatives I've found (couldn't post links because I don't have enough rep):
- Zehnder Bread
- San Remo Pasta
- BuonTempo Pasta
- Schar Products
- Neumarkter Lammsbräu beer
References:
- [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet
- [2] http://glutenfreefamily.com.au/2010/07/glucose-syrup-gluten-free/
Check more discussion of this question.
No comments:
Post a Comment