Very Gluten Free

 Their so-called gluten-free products really aren't. Their facilities that make the gluten-free mixes are only not gluten-free, but they use the same utensils, not even bothering to avoid cross contamination!


...Those of us who eat gluten free did not indulge in the baked goods offered in the closing baking event. The rolling pins, wooden spoons, and spatulas had previously been used to make gluten-full items. One General Mills spokesperson told us that the products had been cleaned and heated to 200 degrees. When she was told that heating didn’t remove gluten, she looked at us like were looney tunes. That was yet another educational piece of the gluten-free pie for General Mills. It was an unsettling moment for sure because if that information is not known or understood, to me it raises doubts about the status of their gluten-free products.


...A General Mills spokesperson addressed their gluten-free processing and talked about the order of processing gluten-full and gluten-free items and cleaning lines. Whoa! Furtive and surprised glances were exchanged among attendees. We were all under the impression that all of the gluten-free products were manufactured in a gluten-free facility. It turns out that some products are manufactured in a gluten-free section of General Mills (with “walls”), but not a dedicated facility. A subsequent check of the wording on the Chex boxes shows that they read, “Manufactured in a dedicated gluten-free environment.” Other gluten-free products are not manufactured in this section/”dedicated environment,” but in a part of the facility with gluten-containing products, hence, the mentionof cleaning lines and processing items in a certain order. I inquired and commented more on the testing of the products and the less than 20 ppm standard, urging the use of the GFCO testing and inspection to ensure I could eat the products safely. My questions were met with quotes on Codex standards and a statement that the GFCO is fine for small organizations. That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.

 This podcast is full of fail, but despite this, I will agree with him on something, claiming a gluten free diet will cure autism or obesity is full of bull, this is not a miracle diet. However...

 This is a case in which a skeptic has obviously not been aware of that many people with people with gluten allergies or food intolerance (or is aware of the allergy and food intolerance community in general), and despite his claim to be knowledgeable about the subject, sensitivities to gluten do exist outside of wheat allergies, ataxia, and Celiac disease. In fact he ignores the fact even despite problems with access to healthcare in the US health care system, diagnosises of Celiac, wheat and gluten allergies have been on the rise, and that the prevalence of these problems have been long underdiagnosed and under estimated, in fact issues with wheat and gluten are now being linked to IBS.

 I'm also puzzled by his inability to understand that meat eaters aren't the only ones avoiding gluten, it's not like being vegetarian protects you from Celiac, wheat or gluten allergies or gluten intolerance. But to him, if you're in to vegetarianism, gluten protein is a great choice, and he also sounds like one of those people who believes nearly all protein molecules are like when metabolized and digested. I may not be an expert in biology, but I do know that even very small biochemical differences can lead to very different effects in outcome (the omega 3's verses 6's are a great example), and this is especially true when comparing plant protein to animal protein.

 And then there is the historic argument, he shows his ignorance there too, there is nothing healthy about gluten grains at all, despite my annoyances with some of the quacks who promote the gluten-free diet, because unlike the anti-dairy people (many if not most of them in the animal rights and vegan community, I've noticed) there is meat in the anti-grain arguments. The ancient Egyptians are an extreme example but a noteworthy one, their diet was very high in wheat and gluten products, and look at the state of their skeletons and lifespan. The fact that this was the ancient world, and even to an extent, bronze age isn't enough of an explanation here, I have read about the examination of ancient skeletons in Eastern Europe in (albeit a flawed book on some of the mythological front) The Early Slavs by PM Barford, where in surprisingly good shape, some people living up to their 60's. Their diet? Certainly not nearly as grain based, with a lot more meat, fats, and dairy products. I'd go in to more detail, but I don't have the time.

 He is right in some ways, this is not an easy diet. But it is getting easier thanks to the growth and plethora of gluten free options out there, and I'm annoyed when people complain about how people who don't have allergies or food sensitivities buy things that aren't marketed to them, as though none of them share things with friends or family, or if it just happens to taste good. I'm also annoyed that this growth in gluten-free products is implied to be solely a health food thing, since even people with allergies and food intolerances need to be able to eat, shouldn't this be a good thing? Does he really not understand that people with medical conditions such as this really need and benefit from nutritional accommodation in order to live and enjoy life?

 More when I have the stomach to listen to again. And unlike him, I'll try to get more references.


Edited to add: I am also bothered by how the host Brian Dunning insinuates that if you just take the right medications, you don't have to worry too much about your allergies. Well I've known people with severe allergies where even meds can't help them from getting extremely sick, if not outright insane or even worse, dead, by exposure to the wrong protein particles. This is very dangerous misinformation, but sadly not surprising, considering how misinformation on allergies and food intolerance is out there, and labeling yourself as a skeptic doesn't make you an expert on anything.

 To make it clear-meds for allergies are not a cure, they're to lesson damage after contact, not a guarantee that you can live worry-free. God I hope he doesn't think it's also acceptable to put anyone with allergies to bee stings in a garden full of bees simply because he or she has access to meds for it.


ETA 2: How could I forget? The occurrence of Celiac in the general population that we know is currently 1:133, Dunning's estimates are misleadingly conservative, to put it mildly.


ETA 3: A good rebuttal that helps me Do The Research.


ETA 4: The hypocrisy is unbelievable, Brian Dunning isn't without products to sell either. I also find it funny how he's intimidated by genuine scientific studies and big words.

There Is No Such Thing As A Macronutrient Part I (Fats) & Part 2 (Carbohydrates). 

Panadgon sees the bright side of Taco Bell misleading consumers about the ingredients in their products. Marcotte is one of those vegetarian lifestyle ideologists that just love looking down on people who eat meat, and while I never thought she would go so far to be that oblivious to those with medical conditions... well I guess this kind of crap shouldn't surprise me. Don't get me wrong, she isn't without good political insights before, but she has the lifestyle related self-righteousness that some left wingers and progressive types (not unlike Mickey Z) that I can honestly understand why the right wing in this country may look attractive to some people.

 Amanda Marcotte, if you have a consience and a sense of shame, you should be apologizing to Celiac, allergy, and food intolerance sufferers. But I'm not holding my breath, because you've already written three posts whining about how the hipsters are oppressed already, so why should you care about people with legitimate problems?

 First let me be clear, not warning your guests that there is beef broth in the vegetable soup if you know they're vegetarian is a dick move. However, I am incredibly bothered by this trend in the blogosphere in which people who choose to avoid animal products lump their issues with those with Celiac, allergies, and food intolerances. It's a false equivalency because vegetarianism is about lifestyle choice, not whether the animal protein will kill them. Yes, there are people out there with allergies and intolerances to some kinds of animal products, but you have to remember this, those health problems aren't a choice either.

 Thus it sickens me that anyone would imply that somehow I as a person who gets sick by even touching a gluten product is somehow having the same problems as vegetarians are having. Hell no. It's an inappropriate (to put it mildly) appropriation of real medical problems, and if anything, plays down the real medical problems that can occur if someone with something like an allergy comes in to contact with the wrong proteins. I believe it's dangerous, because the last thing people like us need are more people lumping allergies, food intolerances, and Celiac with lifestyle choices, I have heard too many horror stories of kids with severe nut allergies dying because their condition wasn't taken seriously by others (including relatives), so I can't help but feel a certain chill when yet another vegetarian acts like they're in the same boat as we are, because they sure hell are not.


Pre-ETA: Just in case anyone wonder, I was vegetarian for years before I quit. 

  So I looked at the reviews for Elana Amsterdam's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook on Amazon.com, and I can't help but assume that most of them are payed for sockpuppets, because from what I know about baking, only most of the negatives can be right. And I don't mean the complaints about higher than usually priced ingredients, that comes with the gluten-free baking territory, so you either buy them or don't, or at least, you know of some good companies online or off that sell them in bulk.

  No, it's the complaints about oily results, and this is what you get when you use an oil in place of a solid fat regardless of what you are baking, and using a liquid sweetener, especially for cookies, really doesn't help either. It's basic baking chemistry, using ingredients that are liquid at room temperature will not give the results solid fats and granulated and/or dry sweeteners can, thus I question how much knowledge she has about wheat based baking in the first place, and believe me, at least having some grounding in that tradition helps you out even if you don't eat those products, because knowledge of baking chemistry is so important for better results. At the very least, buy a copy of Professional Baking (it doesn't even have to be the latest edition),and read it, it discuss the basic but very important things in there-even though it might not be perfectly edited.

On a side note about the agave nectar, I am surprised by the lack of complaints about how sweet the end results are, because I have had it in coffee before. Too easy to make a drink too sugary, especially if its flavored, not something I'd ever want to bother again, much less bake with. Especially drop cookies-and not I'm saying drop cooking because there are some varieties of cookies of out there that can do well with using liquid sweeteners and fats, just not ones like chocolate chip. Does Amsterdand understand these differences between varieties? I really doubt it. (In fact I was floored by one of the cake recipes, how one put a cup and 1/2 in there without hurting someone's teeth?).

 I plan on eventually writing a more long winded piece about baking and substitutions someday, either here or in a different blog, but to keep things short in simple for now-

 Solid items need solid substitutes. If you can't use butter, use something like coconut oil, Spectrum Organics palm oil (it's the only mass sold ethically harvested one I know of), lard, and other animal fats.

 Powdery items like sugar-for the love of God, please avoid substituting it for liquid unless you know what you are doing. I have yet to try out palm and coconut sugar, but they certainly look like better options than agava and honey. If you want a honey (or other kind of cake traditionally made with liquid sugars) cake, please look for other honey cake recipes beforehand.

 While I am sure their gluten-free mixes suck just like most brands of it out there (natural and indy companies included), I have to hand it to them, they really understand what the average gluten-free eater wants. No sanctimonious healthfood recipes. Teaspoons of salt, not a half a gram of it. Sausage cheese balls made out of gluten-free Bisquick mix. Cheesy Steak and Potato Skillet. Banana Bread made with actual sugar and butter. Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Bars. Mexican Chocolate Brownies. They're not even bothering to pretend, and I salute them for it. I want to see more recipe collections like this, not just ones catering to anorexic carrot eaters.

 First off, I'll admit I changed some of the recipe a bit, instead of using oil I used a mixture of melted unsalted butter and Spectrum's Palm Oil (also known as Vegetable Shortening). The texture is pretty damn good despite the fact it uses rice flour, so I couldn't help but wonder, why couldn't the texture be just as awesome in their All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix?

 Problems-like I complained about Glutino's, and thank God/s I played with the mix while mixing before popping it in the oven-use extra salt, trust me. At least half a teaspoon. I would also use a few extra tablespoons of unsweetened cocao powder or about an ounce and a half of melted unsweetened chocolate (for the love that all that is holy, ignore what the know-nothing food writers at Cook's Illustrated say and avoid brands like Baker's like the plague). A shot or two of dark espresso or dark coffee instead of water probably would of improved the flavor my cake too.

 But if you buy the mix anyway despite these problems, follow the mixing instructions as indicated on the label, the cake will be surprisingly good.


Pre-ETA: The mixing technique was inspirational, I might copy it next time I try to make a mix-free butter cake using mostly sorghum flour as the base substitute for wheat flour.

 I modified the tag thing in this community's account to make it a bit more usable for its members.