Gluten-Free
What is Gluten?
Gluten is a protein most notably found in wheat, but also present in a number of other common grains. It permits the flexibility of wheat flour as a baking material. Gluten's elasticity allows the cells that form in bread, and keep baked goods from crumbling. The elasticity of gluten increases when it is worked and decreases if it is permitted to rest.
Where is it present?
Gluten is present in the following grains: wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt and triticale. It is also present in any foods made with these grains. Gluten may be present in many unexpected places. Fermented, undistilled, alcoholic beverages made from grain do contain gluten, as may such seemingly innocuous products as cold cuts, soy sauce, or hard candies.
Another place you will find gluten, though not obvious, is in the production of many foods that do not contain wheat or substances in their ingredients. One common example of this are foods that do not contain gluten in their recipe, but the conveyor belts where the food is processed is dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Many "energy bars" fit this description.
There is no other way to know if this is the case by reading the label, you must call the vendor to be sure.
Why Gluten Free?
Gluten intolerance are a problem for Celiacs, or people with allergies. Some people find that a gluten-free diet is beneficial for children with autism.
It is important to note that Gluten intolerance is NOT an allergy, but an auto-immune disorder, whereby the body rejects the gluten peptide as a foreign substance and produces antibodies that are used to "fight" the gluten peptide. In essence, the body is fighting itself, in the presence of gluten, and doing permanent damage to your small intestines in the process.
How can gluten be avoided?
Careful and constant reading of ingredients can allow you to purchase gluten free foods. If flour, starch, malt, or any grain containing gluten is present, do not purchase the food.
A gluten-free diet can only be achieved by complete removal of all gluten from your foods and medicines. Reducing the amount of gluten you ingest does absolutely nothing to reduce the effects of the disease. You are still doing irreversable damage to your small intestines by ingesting a single peptide of gluten.
Cooking gluten-free
To cook appetizing gluten-free meals, it’s a good idea to be aware of what function the flour is performing in your recipe before you attempt to replace it. Wheat flour can perform multiple functions: thickening, binding, adding flavour, changing texture, and absorbing moisture. No alternative to wheat flour can do all these things in the same way as wheat flour. The most difficult behaviour to replicate is gluten's binding ability.
For this reason it is commonly advised that you mix several flours or starches when substituting for wheat. Different mixtures are suggested: no one mixture is ideal in all cases, and experimentation and customization are advised.
Many, if not all, gluten-free products do not have preservatives, so it is important that they be kept frozen or used soon after purchase. Do not store cooked gluten-free breads, cakes or confections for days at a time, or they will rapidly degrade and mold.
Other useful starches and ingredients
Corn starch
Corn starch is ideal for thickening, but does not have a pleasent flavour. Too much corn starch in a liquid sauce will give a jelly-like consistency. In baking, corn starch often gives a more pleasant texture, but can give a very hard, dense, consistency.
Rice flour
Rice flour is closest to wheat flour in behaviour, taste, absorption, and thickening. It lacks any binding ability whatsoever, and will have to be combined with some other starch in many baked goods. Delicate baked goods will fail if attempted with rice flour. It may be difficult to find a fine grind of rice flour; coarser grinds are unpleasantly gritty.
Potato starch
A light starch that will rise with egg as the leavening agent. Allows lighter baked goods. Use is limited by the short shelf life of products made using this starch.
Xanthum Gum
A strong binding agent that can be added to any flour in small quantities. Extremely absorbent.
Tapioca starch
A thickening agent often used in Chinese foods, and gum candies.
Tips:
When cooking gluten free, it is often simplest to look for dishes that require the least customization. A pasta dish may only require the substitution of a rice pasta. A pie will require a completely reworked crust, and possibly a new thickening agent for the filling.
Cuisines from cultures that rely less on wheat can simplify menu planning. Although there are no guarantees, dishes from Indian, Asian, South American and Middle-Eastern cuisines may contain no wheat to begin with.
It is far simpler to substitute a baked potato, rice, or gluten-free noodles, than to cook gluten-free bread.
example soya is Gluten Free
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