What is actually Gluten?
Gluten means “glue” in Latin. It is a general name for the protein that’s mainly found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye).
Gluten provides nutrition and gives dough its elasticity. It gives shape, strength, and texture to bread and other grain products.
- Wheat is commonly found in:
- Breads
- Baked goods
- Soups
- Pasta
- Cereals
- Sauces
- Salad dressings
- Roux
- Barley is commonly found in:
• Malt
• Food colouring
• Soups
• Beer
• Brewer’s Yeast
- Rye is commonly found in:
- Rye beer
- Cereals
- Triticale is commonly found in:
Triticale is a newer grain, specifically grown to have a similar quality as wheat, while being tolerant to a variety of growing conditions like rye.
- Breads
- Pasta
- Cereals
What does gluten free mean?
Gluten free is food that contain no gluten. Gluten free products are best for people with celiac disease (about 1% of the population), because gluten can damage to the lining of the small intestines.
Many foods are naturally gluten free, examples :
- Dairy products
- Nuts
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Raw, plain meat, poultry, fish and seafood
- Rice (white and brown)
Other alternative for wheat :
- Quinoa
- Cassava
- Corn or maize
- Soy
- Potato
- Rutabaga
- Tapioca
- Beans
- Sorghum
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Arrowroot
- Teff
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat groats or kasha
- Amaranth
- Flax
- Chia
- Yucca
Other gluten-free foods are processed to remove gluten or processed without gluten-free containing ingredients.
An example of gluten free pasta would be brown rice pasta, sometimes gluten free cakes are made from almond or coconut flour.
