"gluten free" news and stories

Unfortunately for those who are gluten-intolerant, the standards for gluten-free foods aren't exactly standard, so it can be risky when buying many foods, especially processed foods, at the store. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in charge of regulating the nutritional information that gets put on food labels and they have drafted a proposal that would set a standard definition for the term "gluten free" and set standards for food producers to follow to meet it.

"Currently there is neither a regulatory definition of the term 'gluten free,' nor is there agreement among manufacturers or consumers as to what this term means," said the FDA. Their new rules state that "gluten free" foods must not have any type of wheat, rye or barley, including hybrid grains that use them. They allow for the use of such grains if the gluten is completely removed before processing, however. The terms that will be imposed on those who violate the new guidelines, assuming that they are accepted, has yet to be determined. The FDA will take comments on the proposal (PDF) for several weeks before revising it and making their final ruling.

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Shauna, the Gluten-free Girl has been living with Celiac disease her entire life, but has only been eating gluten free for just over a year and a half. In that time, she has felt better than she ever did before and she has definitely learned more about gluten-free cooking and baking than she ever thought she would know. By her own admission, she does not make gluten free baked goods all that often, in large part because it is more complicated than a standard muffin and the pre-made mixes are usually just as good. This particular batch of Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins, however, she made completely from scratch. In her post, Shauna explains how she developed a feel for using gluten free flours - sweet white sorghum flour, white rice flour and tapioca flour in this case - to achieve the familiar consistency of a muffin made with wheat. To the inexperienced, gluten free baking sounds like a challenge, but as with anything else, familiarity makes things easier and Shauna's successful muffins prove that point.

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Back in August, we started looking at a category of beer that is getting increasingly popular as awareness of celiac disease and gluten intolerance grows: gluten free beer. At the time Anheuser-Busch was just starting to test their own gluten-free brew, but it must have been a success because the company is now ready to release their newest product. Redbridge beer is completely wheat and gluten-free and is described as a "full-bodied lager brewed from sorghum for a well-balanced, moderately hopped taste." It contains 4.8% alcohol per bottle and will be sold in six packs at higher end grocery stories (described as "stores carrying organic products) and in some restaurants.

This marks the first truly mainstream GF beer on the market, as others like Bard's Tale Beer's Dragon's Gold and Ramapo Valley Brewery's Passover Honey Beer are all produced by small breweries in small batches and are not available everywhere.

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Protons are the first crunchy tofu soy snacks on the market. They are high in protein and calcium, have soy iso-flavones, iron, and fiber. They're also low in carbs and sodium and have no cholesterol and zero trans fats. Their also natural, organic, vegan, dairy free, gluten free, non GMO, and have no preservatives. WOW! Can you put any more healthy tag words in one paragraph? I'm feeling great just typing this.

They come in six tasty flavors, three sweet and three savory: Backyard Bar-B-Q, Tomato Herb Garden, Chili Lime Fiesta, Lemon Meringue Pie, Maple Syrup Waffle, and Cinnamon Toast. You can eat them plain for a snack, use the savory ones like croutons on soups or salads, and some folks even eat the sweet ones like cereal, in a bowl with milk or soy milk. Mmmm... Mmmm. Sounds mighty tasty to me. Just don't accidentally mix the sweet and savory or you'll be having tomato soup with lemon meringue pie croutons for lunch, and Backyard Bar-B-Q cereal for breakfast. Oh, I'm sooo confused. Just pass me some protons.

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There are a lot of gluten-free bread mixes on the market from a number of different companies, but Bob's Red Mill is one brand that I see most often, as they carry it prominently at Whole Foods. Reading the packaging on some of their yeast mixes, I noticed that they gave instructions for making the dough in a bread machine and I couldn't help but wonder if the dough would develop properly under such conditions, as even though the yeast will thrive in the bread machine environment, the ingredients are quite unlike the typical flours used in bread. Odds are, they probably work out reasonably well or the company would not continue to instruct people to use the machines. If you want to make GF bread on a regular basis, however, you might want to consider switching to a machine that has an actual gluten-free cycle programmed in to it. The Breadman TR875 is the first one that I've heard of that is equipped with such a feature. The stainless steel machine can handle up to 2-pound loaves and also offers pasta, jam, and pizza-dough cycles.

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