Gluten-Free Diet

Is Eggnog Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on March 11, 2023 by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

In most cases, the answer is yes. Though they’re harder to find these days (thank goodness!), some ready-made brands of eggnog can contain gluten in the form of wheat. It’s easy to spot wheat on the label so therefore it’s easy to avoid gluten-containing eggnog. Kroger has a gluten-free eggnog in our area. At one time the 365 brands at Whole Foods made eggnog that contained gluten, or at least the label listed wheat in the ingredients. Ingredients often change so the product might be gluten-free now.

For whatever reason, companies don’t seem to use barley or rye when making eggnog. Why any would use wheat is a mystery but I’ll never forget picking up a container of eggnog that listed wheat in the ingredients. This was right after the labeling law changed so I wonder if there really was wheat in the product. More than once the legal departments at large companies have suggested they add wheat to the label of some products that don’t contain wheat ingredients. At one time a blue cheese at WalMart stated “contains wheat” but after running tests, the product was found to be gluten-free and the disclaimer went away. Nothing about the product changed except the label. It had always been gluten-free.

Most store-bought eggnogs won’t contain any alcohol so you need to add your own if you’re so inclined. I’ve seen recipes that call for Brandy, Bourbon, and even dark Rum. Distilled alcohols are considered gluten-free, even though some old outdated information on the subject would have you believe otherwise. It’s been several years since scientists figured out that the distillation process removes the gluten protein. You can check the gluten-free status of your favorite brands at GlutenFreeDrinks.com. Remember to watch out for flavored alcohols that can have gluten ingredients added after the distillation process. I’ve personally never run into flavored alcohol that contains gluten but a few do exist.

An easy way to understand that pure distilled alcohols are gluten-free is to think about the vinegar issue. Many kinds of vinegar are distilled from gluten grains and yet, they are considered gluten-free. The same rule applies to distilled alcohol. Malt vinegar is often made from barley, a gluten grain, but since it’s usually not distilled, it is not gluten-free. Malt vinegar is made from corn in some cases and that product is indeed gluten-free.

It would be hard to imagine anyone making eggnog from scratch that would contain gluten but anything is possible. If you attend a party where it’s being served, it’s best to check with the person who made it before consuming it. Cheers to all for a happy, healthy 2010!

What Flour Should We Use For Fried Foods?

Last Updated on March 5, 2023 by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

The person who sent this question in used plain rice flour to fry something and apparently it didn’t work out too well. The batter kind of dissolved and fell apart. This is a common problem when using gluten-free flours in hot oil.

Gluten-free flour blends that contain both cornstarch and tapioca starch seems to hold up well for fried foods. The Domata Living Flour works well for several things like chicken fingers and fried fish. For Thanksgiving this year we used Jules gluten-free Flour for fried onions and they were the best we’ve ever made with any type of flour.

The Jules flour blend works well in most every recipe we’ve tried it in so far. From quick breads to battered and fried items to pizza crust. It’s the only flour that performed like wheat flour for fried foods. None of the batter came off in the pan, which is a problem with every other gluten-free flour blend we’ve used.

Many people like making their own flours but some of us don’t care to measure all those flours and then store the left over bags. If you’re cooking for a household you can save quite a bit of money by buying different flours and mixing your own blend. If you’re cooking for one or two people, you’ll likely end up throwing flour out when it goes rancid before you get around to using it all.

Carol Fenster’s website, Savory Palate, has several gluten-free flour blend recipes. Anyone looking to mix their own flours up will do well to start with Carol’s great recipes for various flour blends. Carol’s #2 or #3 blend recipes would probably work best for fried foods.

How Can I Determine What is Gluten-Free at a Buffet Dinner?

Last Updated on March 11, 2023 by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

It would be great if there was an easy answer to this common question. Unfortunately, there is not only not an easy answer, there is really not a very good one either. In the almost four years that I’ve been gluten-free, the only buffet meals I’ve been able to enjoy much were gluten-free events. The exceptions were parties where I spoke to someone from the catering company to determine what was gluten-free beforehand.

Holiday dinners or potluck events in the South tend to be heavy on casseroles made with Campbell’s soup. Presently, Campbell’s does not consider any of the soups to be gluten-free, even though in the past they listed five of them as safe for people who can’t tolerate gluten. Most desserts at buffet dinners or potlucks also tend to contain gluten, as would be the case in most areas.

At a buffet meal where you are the only gluten-free guests and no one knows about your dietary needs, you’ll be lucky to find safe meat and possibly some potatoes or rice. Don’t assume these things are safe but at least ask whoever brought them if they can tell you exactly what is in the dish. Keep in mind that in the case of mashed potatoes, the cook using butter from a contaminated container is a concern. When asking about rice, remember to ask if chicken (or another) stock was used to cook the rice. Stocks can contain gluten. Recently, College Inn recalled some stocks that had undeclared wheat in them.

Possible safe snacking options might include fresh veggies – just remember to ask about any dip being served with them. Also, plain fruit is OK but a yogurt fruit dip could contain gluten. You might assume a bowl of nuts would be safe, but only if you can verify the gluten-free status by checking the package. Don’t ask why some flavored nuts contain gluten as that is a question for the companies that make them that way. All pure unadulterated nuts are gluten-free.

Before going to a social event where there might not be much for you to eat, consider eating something beforehand. Additionally, you can pack your own emergency food kit. Easy items to take are small packs of nuts (Ingles and Trader Joe’s sell gluten-free versions of these), energy bars, candy, snack-size cheeses, and small bags of chips. As always, check all emergency food kit products for their gluten-free status before purchasing.

If you take a gluten-free dish to share, consider putting some of it in a separate container for yourself before others get the chance to slip into a gluten-serving utensil by mistake. Earlier this year, I attended a potluck where the only things I could eat were the items I brought and the chili the hosts made gluten-free specifically for me. There were about 50 people at the party and they all brought food or wine. The best part for me regarding the food was that no one knew the cake I brought (thanks to Mark Fitchpatrick!) was gluten-free. The guests just scarfed it down and after they raved about it I quietly explained it was gluten-free. I would not want others to overhear me and make a point of avoiding the cake like the plague. Almost every guest I told about the cake looked at me like I had three heads. “That cake was gluten-free?” someone said, pointing to the scalded milk cake. They thought I was talking about something other than what they’d just devoured.

Are All Nuts Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on March 4, 2023 by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Nuts in their pure form are gluten-free. Peanuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, cashews, Brazil nuts and all other natural nuts are gluten-free. Sesame seeds and sunflower seeds are also gluten-free. The thing you have to watch out for with nuts is packaged nuts that have flavors added. Many of those are gluten-free but several brands make nuts with wheat added into the seasonings that have been added to the nuts.

Blue Diamond and Planters both make many flavored nuts that are gluten-free. Read the label to determine the gluten-free status of any nuts. Typically, any nuts that contain gluten do so in the form of wheat, not barley or rye. Nuts are one food category that has fairly easy to read labels, making it simple to determine the gluten-free status of the products. Candied nuts are also an area of concern when it comes to gluten. Some brands are gluten-free and others are not. Naturally Fresh Salad Toppings nut products are all gluten-free, according to the Atlanta based manufacturer.

Candied nuts in restaurants contain gluten more often than not. For whatever reason, the Chefs at many places add flour to the coating mixture for candied or spiced nuts. Often times I’ve ordered salads that come with candied nuts, only to be advised that I can’t have the nuts due to them containing gluten. It’s extremely easy to make both candied and spiced nuts without any flour whatsoever – gluten or otherwise. Here are a few tasty recipes from Recipe Zaar, in case you want to make some for the holidays.

Candied Spiced Nuts
MAG’S Extra Special Delicious Candied Pecans
Candied Cinnamon Pecans (Copycat Outback Steak House)

Nuts are something you have to read the labels of, just like every other item that is not labeled gluten-free. The main thing to remember is that plain, unadulterated nuts are gluten-free and all others need to be checked for their gluten-free status. Any time I’m ordering a dish with nuts when dining out, I double check with the server, asking them to double check with the Chef that the nuts are indeed safe for me to have. For some reason, nuts are one of those things that are often overlooked when dining out, in regards to gluten. When looking for safe foods to enjoy at holiday parties, remember not to assume the nuts on the table are gluten-free.

Have a question about the gluten-free diet that we haven’t covered yet? You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)

Are Pickles, Mayo and Mustard Gluten-Free?

Last Updated on March 12, 2023 by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Condiments in general seem to stump some people on the gluten-free diet due to some old information about vinegar floating around online. Several years ago, vinegar was finally proven to be gluten-free as long as it was 1) not made from malt vinegar and 2) it was distilled. Malt vinegar is made from barley. It is not distilled and it is not gluten-free. It is not true that only apple cider vinegar is gluten-free.

Most pickles, mayos, and mustard are made with vinegar. The vinegar is often distilled from gluten grains and the distillation process renders it gluten-free. Since this news is less than ten years old, you can find online warnings about vinegar containing gluten all day long. That is why I highly recommend people on this diet for health reasons invest in Shelley Case’s book on the subject.

Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide is exactly that – a truly factual, comprehensive guide regarding all things related to the gluten-free diet. The book covers ingredients, hidden gluten, products, and labeling laws in the U.S. and Canada. There is a section explaining what nutrients one eating a gluten-free diet might be deficient in and how to rectify that. There is a listing of gluten-free stores and 100% gluten-free restaurants – yes, a few do exist!

It’s very hard for people to learn this diet and lifestyle and it does not help when so much incorrect or outdated information will just not go away. Instead of trusting someone on a message board who tells you that you have to drink potato vodka (not true, by the way), why not go directly to the most trusted guide about this challenging-to-learn diet? Shelley’s book is the best investment anyone can make when trying to learn the many intricacies of this diet.

Generally speaking, pickles are gluten-free but label reading is required with those and all products not marked gluten-free. There are some mustards that list wheat as an ingredient. They tend to be high-end gourmet products and there are only a few of them, but they do exist. French’s, Heinz, and Hellman’s make some gluten-free mustards but at last check, only Hellman’s was labeled gluten-free. Hellman’s mayo is also labeled gluten-free. Most mayos in the stores are gluten-free but you can find homemade mayos in restaurants that can contain gluten. Don’t ask how they get gluten into the mayo but they do it somehow. As always, READ the labels of every product you buy that is not labeled gluten-free.

References: gluten-free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic.