Gluten-free cooking is just as involved — and just as enjoyable — as cooking with gluten. A gluten-free diet means you must avoid certain foods and grains, but it doesn't mean boring recipes and stress-filled meal planning. You can cook delicious, gluten-free meals if you know which foods and grains to avoid, how to make food substitutions, and which basic ingredients to keep in stock.
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Grains to Avoid on a Gluten-Free Diet
If you're sensitive to gluten, you may know to avoid all forms of wheat in food. Cooking the gluten-free way also means avoiding other grains that contain gluten — grains that you may not be too familiar with. Consider this list of the grains you need to avoid:
Wheat and almost anything with the word wheat in its name. You also need to avoid hydrolyzed wheat protein, wheat starch, wheat germ, and so on, but you may not realize that you need to beware of aliases like flour, bulgur, semolina, spelt, frumento, durum (also spelled duram), kamut, graham, einkorn, farina, couscous, seitan, matzoh, matzah, matzo, and cake flour.
By the way, wheat grass, like all grasses, is gluten-free.
Wheat starch is wheat that's had the gluten washed out. In some countries, a special type of wheat starch called Codex Alimentarius wheat starch is allowed on the gluten-free diet — but standards vary from country to country. Codex Alimentarius wheat starch isn't allowed in North America because some people question whether the washing process completely removes all residual gluten.
Barley and its derivatives. Most malt is derived from barley, so unless it states otherwise, you need avoid malt and malt flavoring as well as barley in its pure form.
Rye isn't really hidden in any ingredients, so the pure form of rye — usually found in rye bread — is what you need to avoid.
Triticale, which most people have never heard of. It's a hybrid cross between wheat and rye, and was developed to combine the productivity of wheat with the ruggedness of rye.
Derivatives of gluten-containing grains. If you thought you were done with derivatives when you finished your calculus class, you were wrong. You need to avoid derivatives of gluten-containing grains, and the most common one to watch out for is malt, which usually comes from barley. Malt, malt flavoring, and malt vinegar are definite no-nos. If malt is derived from another source, such as corn, it will usually say so on the label; for instance, "malt (from corn)." That's not too common, though, so if the source isn't specified, don't eat it.
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Foods to Avoid when Cooking Gluten-Free
If you're sensitive to gluten, there's no getting around the need to ban certain foods from your diet: Don't cook with them, don't eat them, and (for some people) don't even touch them. The following list shows foods that usually contain gluten, so avoid them unless they're specifically identified as gluten-free:
Beer
Good news: Some great new gluten-free beers are available. Not only are smaller, specialty breweries making them, but even the big boys like Budweiser have come out with a gluten-free beer that you can buy just about anywhere beer is sold.
Bread, bread crumbs, biscuits
Cereal
Cookies, cakes, cupcakes, doughnuts, muffins, pastries, pie crusts, brownies, and other baked goods
Cornbread
Crackers
Croutons
Gravies, sauces, and roux
Imitation seafood (for example, imitation crab)
Licorice
Marinades (such as teriyaki)
Pasta
Pizza crust
Pretzels
Soy sauce
Stuffing
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Basic Ingredients for Gluten-Free Cooking
Cooking gluten-free meals is easier if you stock your pantry with some basic gluten-free ingredients. Here's a handy list of the staples you should always have on hand — plus a recipe for a versatile, gluten-free flour mix — to help you prepare delicious and healthy meals.
Gluten-free flours — the wide range includes potato, tapioca, and rice flours, as well as amaranth and sorghum
Xanthan gum
Guar gum
Quinoa (great to toss into soups and other foods)
Rice (brown rice is best for nutrition)
Gluten-free bread crumbs (which can be ordered online)
Gluten-free crackers (which you can crumble and use as coatings on foods, fillers in meatloaf, and in soups and salads.)
Gluten-free snacks (which are great for to have around for kids)
A premixed batch of gluten-free baking mix — the recipe follows
Gluten-free flour mixture
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 5 cups
2-1/2 cups rice flour
1 cup potato starch flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2-1/2 tablespoons xanthan gum
Sift all the ingredients into a large bowl.
Stir ingredients together with a whisk.
Spoon the mixture into a self-seal freezer bag and freeze until needed.
Per 1/4 cup: Calories: 138; Total fat: 0g; Saturated fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 1mg; Carbohydrates: 32g; Fiber: 2g; Sugar: 0g; Protein: 1g.
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Substitutions for Gluten-Free Cooking
Making food substitutions is common in any type of cooking, including gluten-free cooking. As you adjust to gluten-free cooking, you'll realize that you can choose from a wide array of gluten-free ingredients to substitute for gluten-laden ones. Here are some savvy substitutions for some of your favorite ingredients:
Flour: If your recipe calls for flour, consider using cornstarch or a gluten-free flour or mix. Experiment with the many new flours available, like bean flours, sorghum, and amaranth. They're nutritious and add flavor, and oh yeah — they're gluten-free!
Breading and coatings: If a recipe calls for breading, bread crumbs, flour coating, or a similar preparation, consider using a wheat- or gluten-free mix (either homemade or store bought). Bread and muffin mixes work well for coatings on chicken and other fried goodies. Seasoned cornmeal or corn flour (masa) and crushed potato chips (especially barbecued flavor) are also excellent alternatives.
Thickeners: Cornstarch, arrowroot flour, and tapioca starch make great substitutes for flour and other thickeners. Dry pudding mix works well for sweet recipes, and bread or baking mixes work well for just about anything.
Binders: Consider using gelatin, xanthan gum, or guar gum.
Pie crust: People think that if something calls for a pie crust — say a quiche or — well, let's say a pie — then it's off limits unless they make a really complicated crust from a really complicated recipe. Think again! First, consider making the dish without the crust. But if you really want to make a gluten-free crust without a complicated recipe, crush a couple of handfuls of gluten-free cookies or a sugary gluten-free cereal, add some butter or margarine (a glob or a dopple, whichever you prefer), and press the stuff into a greased pie pan. Then follow the baking instructions for a regular pie.
Bread crumbs: Many gluten-free breads turn to crumbs when you look at them. And certainly, there are always plenty of crumbs in the bag; just use them as extras for cooking. Or crumble some bread slices, and toast or broil the crumbs to make them crunch.
Croutons: Cut fresh, gluten-free bread into cubes, deep fry, then roll in Parmesan cheese and spices. Some people suggest letting the bread get just a tad stale (not moldy) before making croutons this way.
Granola: If you can find gluten-free oats, you're set. But if you can't, you can still make granola. Toss together toasted nuts and seeds, and then mix them with gluten-free cereal, honey, vanilla, a tiny bit of oil, and spices or seasonings. How much spices and seasonings? A smidge or so, till it tastes like you like it. Bake at 300 degrees F for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Add dried fruit (that's been soaked in water for 10 minutes), let cool, then refrigerate or vacuum seal and freeze.
Trail mix: Lots of trail mixes that are available at the stores are already gluten-free, but if you like to make your own, mix some peanuts, raisins, dried fruit, and gluten-free chocolate candies or chips.
Oatmeal/hot breakfast: Try corn grits. Prepare them like oatmeal and top with butter, cinnamon, and sugar, or fry them. Hot cereals are also available from the producers of gluten-free flours. Some new amaranth and quinoa hot cereals also are available that are nutritional powerhouses.
Buns and flour tortillas: Substitute lettuce, gluten-free bread, corn tortillas, or rice wraps (found in Asian markets and often used in Thai cooking). If you like nori (the seaweed wrap on sushi), you can use it as a wrap with anything stuffed inside.
Soy and teriyaki sauce: Asian markets carry some absolutely amazing Asian sauces that are gluten-free, but you have to read labels carefully (and sometimes that requires a crash course in another language). If you can't find a gluten-free soy sauce, you can substitute Bragg Liquid Aminos. You can find Bragg in the health-food aisle of your grocery store or at a natural-foods retailer. To make your own teriyaki, add equal parts of sugar and wine to your favorite soy sauce substitute.
When in doubt, leave it out. And really, what's the harm in leaving it out, anyway? If your soup recipe calls for a tablespoon or two of flour, try leaving it out and see what you think.
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dummies
Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/glutenfree-cooking-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html
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