Читать книгу Easy Gluten Free Cooking: Over 130 recipes plus nutrition and lifestyle advice for gluten - Rita Greer - Страница 19

chapter three the kitchen cupboard

Clear out a particular corner or shelf in your kitchen for the special items you are going to need for baking and cooking. Some of the items you can make for yourself and some you can buy. All of them are suitable for the whole family so don’t think it is going to be that difficult to organize.

contamination in the kitchen at home

One of the problems of gluten-free baking is to avoid contamination by gluten-containing flours such as wheat. It can occur by contact with other items in the kitchen and store cupboard such as wheat flour; by using utensils and equipment which are also used for ordinary cooking, e.g. baking tins; and by airborne means such as flour dust from overalls and aprons. Other dangers are wheat flour under the fingernails and wheat breadcrumbs in the toaster.

If cooking for an acutely allergic person, separate baking tins and utensils are essential. If cooking for a not-so-allergic person, ordinary tins etc. can be used if they are kept scrupulously clean. However, there will be a slight risk of contamination and perhaps the answer would be to line the tins with baking parchment, to be on the safe side.

gluten-free essentials for the kitchen cupboard

Black peppercorns

Canned salmon, tuna, sardines in oil (not sauce)

Chickpea flour*

Cooking oil (sunflower, soya, corn, olive)

Cornflour (cornstarch)

Dried yeast, instant yeast, easy blend (check labels)

Fruit juices (pure)

Gelatine crystals

Gram (chickpea) flour*

Ground rice

Honey (pure)

Millet flour*

Potato flour (farina)*

Pure almond and vanilla flavourings

Rice paper

Sesame seeds

Soft, moist sugars e.g. demerara

Soy sauce (thin, Tamari-type, gluten-free brand)*

Spices (ginger, nutmeg, mixed spice – gluten-free brand – allspice, ground cloves, cinnamon etc.)

Sunflower seeds*

Wine or cider vinegar

note

Always check food labels before classing any food as gluten-free. Cornflour (cornstarch) should be pure maize. Some foods will actually be labelled ‘gluten-free’.

general items

(Available at supermarkets or grocery stores.)

Bicarbonate of soda

Cooking oils (sunflower, soya, extra virgin olive oil)

Cornflour (cornstarch)

Cream of tartar

Fruit juices

Ground rice

Instant yeast/‘fast action’ easy blend yeast

Spices (pure)

Wine or cider vinegar

specialized items

(Probably available at health stores, delicatessens or large chemists/drugstores.)

Rice bran

Gram (chickpea) flour

Maize flour (cornmeal)

Millet flour

Potato flour (farina)

Soya flour

gluten-free pasta

special gluten-free baking powder

Commercial baking powders are designed to work with gluten, and gluten-containing grains are often used in their manufacture. In a gluten-free diet, special baking powder is required. This can be bought in health stores or from the ‘Free-from’ section in supermarkets. If you prefer to make your own, here is a recipe:

7g/1/4oz/2 tsp	bicarbonate of soda
115g/41/4oz/3/4 cup	potato flour (farina)
15g/1/2oz/1 level tablespoon	cream of tartar

Mix these three ingredients together and store in a screw-top jar. Use as required. Try the chemists or drugstore for the first ingredient.

pepper

A word of warning about the use of pepper. It is common practice in commercial catering to add wheat flour to ground white pepper to ‘stretch’ this expensive commodity. It is therefore a good practice to use only freshly ground black pepper when you are eating out.

margarine

Some ‘fancy’ margarines have wheatgerm oil added. Check your labels as this is not gluten-free. (Butter is gluten-free.) Not all margarines are suitable for use in baking, as they are merely spreads. Check label before buying/using.

soy sauce

Most soy sauces are made from soy beans and wheat so are not gluten-free. Look for Tamari-type soy sauce which is made from soy beans and rice. This will be gluten-free. Your local health store is the most likely place to find it. Check the label carefully before buying. Get the store to order in several bottles for you. It keeps for years. N.B. Tamari is not a brand name.

^* Buy from health stores or ‘free from sections in supermarkets’