Gluten free food

FOR several years I have had repeated requests to write a cookbook with delicious recipes for coeliacs people who can't eat the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye.

So now our book Healthy Gluten-free Eating is in the shops. My co-author Rosemary Kearney, originally a student and later a teacher at the Ballymaloe Cookery School, has been a coeliac all her life. She and I spent over a year collaborating and researching, egged on by the students on the annual coeliacs' courses at the school.

The number of coeliacs and people with wheat intolerance is growing at an alarming rate. At present 7 per 1,000 of the population have been diagnosed as coeliacs.

It is gluten that gives bread is elasticity and cakes their spring. Unfortunately, even the tiniest amount of gluten can cause problems for coeliacs, despite the fact that individuals may not always be aware of the symptoms. The gluten damages an area in the small intestine, causing inflammation and subsequent malabsorption of food and nutrients.

The only treatment required is to follow a completely gluten-free diet. We need to use natural ingredients and be responsible for the food we are eating in order to sustain our bodies. Healthy eating for coeliacs need not mean tasteless, boring meals. Rather, see it as a fresh beginning, an opportunity to try new ingredients and a wide and more exciting range of recipes.

Typical symptoms of coeliac disease:

These include chronic tiredness, lethargy, headache, nausea, vomiting, bloating and cramps, diarrhoea, anaemia, mouth ulcers, thyroid problems, Type 1 diabetes, osteopenia and osteoporosis, delayed or stunted growth in children, poor weight gain, weight loss, problems with fertility and pregnancy.

What to buy:

You will need to stock up your store cupboard with coeliac products and become familiar with their use, so you can whip up some yummy meals in minutes. We have put together a list of products to keep in stock. However, in a household where just one person is coeliac, remember, if it's practical, to reserve a cupboard for their use alone see.

Store cupboard ingredients:

Rice flour, tapioca flour, potato flour, cornflour, cornmeal, soya flour, gram flour, buckwheat flour. Xantham gum, bicarbonate of soda, gluten-free baking powder, bextartar. Milk powder, Lecithin (this comes from soya beans and is available from chemists or health food shops. It is rich in phosphatidl choline, an important nutrient in the control of dietary fat which helps the body to convert fats into energy rather than storing them as body fat. Check that it is GM free). Dried active yeast, Nuts, including ground almonds and pine nuts, Millet flakes, Rice bran, Rice flakes, Dried fruit, Pure vanilla extract, Rice, Rice paper wrappers, Rice noodles fine and flat.

Gluten-free pasta. Dried pulses beans/lentils, haricot beans/chickpeas. Gluten-free icing sugar, Best quality dark chocolate minimum 70% cocoa solids, oils and vinegars, including sesame oil, Dijon mustard. Whole spices including black peppercorns/white peppercorns (ensure that you use pure white pepper as some brands are bulked with flour), Japanese tamari soy sauce, Nam pla (fish sauce), Gluten-free poppadums.

The following foods may include gluten without you realising it

Baking powder, Communion wafers, Corn Tortillas.

Frozen chips flour may be present to keep them white. Stock cubes/powder. Vegetable soup may contain pearl barley. White pepper may be 'bulked' with flour. Inferior brands of ground almonds may contain breadcrumbs. Seasoning mixes, mustard powder. Packet suet may have flour in it to stop it sticking together. Packets of ready-grated cheese may contain flour. Cheese spreads. Commercial salad dressings and mayonnaise.

Soy Sauce (there are gluten-free brands available, eg. Japanese tamari.)

Dry-roasted nuts, Pretzels, Bombay mix. Scotch Eggs. Food that has been deep-fried with other gluten-containing food, eg battered fish and chips.

Processed meats, eg ham, may be injected with a cereal 'filler' to increase their protein content or thinly sliced meats may also have 'fillers'. Flavoured crisps. Some fizzy drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) may contain barley flour to give a cloudy appearance.

Always check the source. Coffee from vending machines. Malted milk drinks. Barley water or flavoured barley water. Beer, lager, stout and ale are all made from grain. Some tablets contain flour as a binder or filler. Children's 'pick & mix' sweets may be coated in flour to stop them sticking together. Brightly coloured modelling dough used by children is not a food, but strangely enough it can sometimes get into their little mouths and you should be aware that it is made from wheat flour.

Check all brands and processed foods as they may contain added ingredients that are not gluten-free.

Much of this hidden gluten is contained in processed foods which is another good reason for coeliacs and non-coeliacs alike to cook with fresh, natural ingredients.

Healthy Gluten-free Eating, by Darina Allen and Rosemary Kearney, published by Kyle Cathie; €17.99. Darina Allen runs the Ballymaloe Cookery School.