Last week, I summarized the results of our survey on “The Gluten Free Kitchen” and the efforts that people who live gluten free make to keep all food safe. I listed fifteen common recommendations and gave people the opportunity to tell whether or not they follow those precautions. Many excellent comments were included with the survey and — in addition to the statistical summary — I wanted to give you the opportunity to read the comments. Here they are unedited:
1. My counter is on one side of the kitchen and my husband’s is on the other side. I label the margerine tubs since we use the same brand. But mainly, I do not prepare glutenous foods anymore. My husband eats wheat bread and I have to toast it in his toaster and then wash my hands well. I use paper plates to cut up vegetables on.
2. The only baking done in our kitchen is gluten free. The basic cooking is gluten free. which explains why there aren’t 2 sets of cooking supplies, except for the toasters and cutting boards. Cooking whole foods, not processed has eliminated the need for seperate everything.
3. separate tubs of butter, peanut butter
4. the only gluten based foods I buy are crackers and bread (for my husband). I don’t believe (unless you are very sensitive) that there is a problem with cooking equipment if washed well after use.
If we need to make breakfast or lunch at the same time and are not eating the same food, I sometimes use paper plates. Mostly my husband eats gluten free to save frustration.
5. Most meals are made gluten-free and eaten by the one with celiac as well as the one with a wheat allergy, as well as the ones who can tolerate gluten.
Simplify! All eat the same way.
6. My husband, who eats gluten foods is careful not to re-dip his knife into the mustard or mayo after spreading on bread.
8. We have separate colanders for g/f and non g/f items. We do not put knives, spoons etc back into any container (butter, creme cheese, peanut butter, etc) to prevent any crumbs from getting in. In other words, we take out a big enough scoop to do the whole job. While we do not have full sets of separate pots and pans, we do have a baking dish, pot and pan used only for gf items.
9. My hubby, who doesn’t have to eat GF, makes sure that, when he’s making a sandwich, he washes his hands immediately after handling his bread. That way he doesn’t cross contaminate the bag of lunch meat when he sticks his hand in it.
10. Very few gluten containing items in our kitchen. Never consumed while the gluten free person is there, and strictly cleaned after
11. Any utensil or pan used with a gluten containing item is washed in the dishwasher before used again.
12. We prepare gluten foods on only one specific area of the kitchen and wash all utensils in the dishwasher. Then clean and sanitize the area and wash hands before preparing any gluten free foods.
13. I have my own separate prep area.
14. One counter only is used for non gluten items. I mostly cook only GF foods, but my daughter does take nonGF foods to school.
15. We have a dedicated “Gluten Toxic Foods” zone in our kitchen….a counter where the regular bread can be used to prepare sandwiches with separate condiments from the gluten free ones. We have totally eliminated wheat flours in our home but still purchase some premade gluten foods but not for me!
16. When camping with gluten foods, we keep pans and utensils separate, store foods in separate bags, and wash gluten dishes last.
17. My husband uses “regular bread” and has his own toaster. He also has his own gluten containing cereal kept on a separate shelve. Otherwise we usually prepare only gluten free items. Occasionaly he does like beer brats and is very careful to not cross contaminate my GF brats.
18. We check everything in the supermarket before buying and have nothing in the house that has gluten. Even the family members who are not gluten-free are happily living with the healthier diet. (Only 1 out of the 4 in our family is celiac)
19. All foods are prepared on a clean plate or paper towel, never on the counter top
20. We do not serve gluten foods at our dining table, and we do not prepare gluten baked goods. We do not have a dishwasher so we have two different kinds of containers for taking lunches. When we wash and re-use plastic bags the gluten ones go in their own spot. We have visually different sponges for cleaning the gluten and the non-gluten dishes. The gluten people have their own re-usable water bottles and the gf people do not use them. Ditto thermoses. However if you have a dishwasher, you might not have to be so stringent. We have a separate colander for the gluten pastas that are sometimes made.
21. I only cook gluten free in my house. Once in a while my husband will bring home a bagel or pizza for him to eat.
22. Although we use separate toasters at home, our small RV has room for only one toaster. So the right slot is ALWAYS gluten free, and the left slot is for gluten items. Not ideal, but the best we could do.
