Keeping the Traveling Celiac Safe--Two Near Disasters

This past week, Rick and I took a mini vacation to the beautiful Smoky Mountains. When traveling with a loved one who has a serious dietary constraint, aka, Celiac, traveling can be anything but enjoyable, especially when eating at unknown food establishments. I tend to go either into a panic mode or an attack mode.

Gluten Free Dry Measures Made Simple

Hey! Listen up! I have a secret for you! Measuring gluten free products is no different than measuring gluten containing flours and products. I'm very serious; I would not kid you. 

Seems that the gluten free community takes a great deal of pride in making something as simple as measuring dry ingredients complicated. I am going to show you through a series of pictures exactly how I measure all of my gluten free dry ingredients. As a side point . . . my kitchen is totally gluten free with all dedicated gluten free equipment.

Ready? Okay; here we go!

 

Step 1

Step 1: Very gently spoon the dry ingredient into the correct measuring cup. Be sure to not tap the side of the measuring cup with the spoon. Why, you might be wondering? Tapping the side of the cup will cause the ingredient to settle, resulting in the amount in the cup being more than the desired amount.

Step 1, Continued

Step 1, Continued: Continue until the cup is filled to just a little be over the top.

Step 1, Continued

Step 2

Step 2: Using a flat spatula (the one I am using here was bought when I was a home economics education major at The University of Montevallo, Montevallo AL), make two to three cuts perpendicular through the dry ingredient, allowing the edge to come to rest on the sides of the cup. DO NOT TAP spatula against the sides of the measuring cup.

Step 3

Step 3: Place spatula across the back of the cup close to where your thumb would be resting. Gently slide spatula to the front of the cup while keeping spatula in contact with sides of the measuring cup. Be sure to have a container or piece of wax paper below the cup to catch the excess.

Now, that cover things that can be measured in measuring cups. What do you use and how do you measure dry ingredients in smaller amounts, say 1 tablespoon or less?


Simple, following the exact same process. Pictured below are snapshots of my measuring Xanthan Gum, which I keep in a small, air tight canister. The only difference--and I do mean the only difference--is that instead of spooning the ingredient into a cup, you simply use the measuring to scoop up the ingredient. Then, using your flat spatula, level the ingredient off.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 3, continued

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Back to Basics--Proper Measuring Equipment

At the risk of boring you to death with stuff you already know, please bear with me!! Daily I watch folks professional chefs measure ingredients incorrectly.  The finished product they show their viewers is always perfect, and it should be with enough photographic touch ups.

Teaching my high school home economics students how to measure correctly was the spot we always began semester after semester. We will revisit how to read and analyze recipes a little later. But, for now let's look at just the equipment needed.

There are three basic types of measures required for cooking:

1. Liquid
2. Dry
3. Weight

#1 For me, I relay on 3 basic liquid measuring cups: a 1-cup, a 2-cup and a 4 cup measure. I do have 8 and 12 cup batter bowls which look like a regular measuring cup on steroids, but the basic three are more than sufficient for the basic three. 

Basic 1-cup measure

Basic 2-cup measure

Basic 4-cup measure

What do you measure in liquid measuring cups? Just that, anything liquid. We will talk more about the correct way to do this in the next post. KEY POINT: Never, but never, measure anything that is dry in these cups.

#2 I rely on a 4-piece stainless steel set of dry measuring cups. Actually, I have several, but I cook a lot!

4-piece dry measure set

What type of ingredients can be measured in these? Anything that is dry--flours, meals, sugar, gluten free rolled oats, ground gluten free cookie crumbs and the list goes on and on and on. We will talk about this such as shortening, butter ad brown sugar in a later post. 

#3 I keep a set of accurate kitchen scales in my kitchen. Occasionally, a recipe will call for a specific weight, which is actually the most accurate method of measuring. Come on now--wouldn't 6-ounces of chopped onions be easier to measure accurately than say 1 small onion chopped, whatever that means.

Weight measure

#4 Measuring spoons are another tool required for accurate measure of dry OR liquid ingredients. For example, dry ingredients such spices and herbs, salt, leavening ingredients like baking powder or baking soda can be precisely measured as can liquid ingredients such as flavorings, olive oil and such. I prefer the longer handles, standard versions. 

Measuring Spoons

 The next post will describe with pictures how to use each of these, plus add a couple more measuring equipment that are needed to do a really good job.

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Staying Safe at The Grocery Store

One of the scariest times for me is buying products that you need such as say mustard, but don't want to make for that tablespoon or so that you need for a recipe. There are no ingredients on the list that seems to be a problem, BUT there is no certified gluten free label posted anywhere on the label either. So what do you do? 

Here is what I do:

I call the company if there is a number on the panel anywhere and ask the following?

1. Is there gluten in this product? If they cannot answer definitively, put the product back on the shelf and keep shopping.

2. If the answer is no, then ask:

• Was this product produced is a gluten free facility? If the answer is no, then ask:
• Was the product produced on dedicated equipment?

3. If the product is made on dedicated equipment, but in a facility that also manufactures wheat containing products, ask:

• What steps are taken at the facility to prevent cross contamination?

4. If you are satisfied that the product is safe up to this point, then ask:

• How often is the final product tested for gluten?
• What standard do they use (which should be below 20ppm)?

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