gfjane

Reggie, my partner is celiac (can't have gluten) and am intolerant of dairy and corn, so we do this dance a lot. We've eaten in about every type of place. It depends on her level of sensitivity, but I'd opt for assuming she doesn't/cannot even have a bit of it. We have found that most chain restaurants are immediately out. They rarely know what's in anything as much comes prepackaged. Or, they want to make you a plain salad with no dressing and a dry chicken breast. Jeez, I don't even eat that at home, let alone when I'm paying for my food! Next off the list are places where the staff doesn't speak the language you speak and fluently. The server will nod yes, but has no clue what you said. So, my first piece of advice would be to call ahead at least a week and make sure that the place is willing to help you. I can see how hard it is to handle these things in a restaurant, so appreciate it if someone is honest and say, "Sorry, no can do." At least I know not to try. My next piece of advice is to ask any friends you have if they know of any places that are happy to work with customers with food sensitivities. For example, in Chicago there is a chain of places run by Lettuce Entertain You. They all are extremely careful, so we know we can go to any of them. But, places like that are hard to find. And, related to all of this is the time of day you go: try not to go at 8 PM on Saturday (or whatever the busiest time is in NY). They just are too busy to help. Going early or late or on a weeknight or Sunday may not be the best date time, but it may mean the difference between her eating something she likes or having salad with no dressing. If you have to wing it, here is my take on some of the various cuisines. While dairy isn't used much in some Asian cuisines, soy and salt are. Since woks are not scrubbed, many people with allergies/sensitivities will not eat at a Chinese, Thai, etc. place where woks are the main mode of cooking. To me, much of this area of the world uses soy based sauces that can be hard to avoid, so I'd not even chance it. A sushi place might work, but I wouldn't take someone there unless I knew they liked it. We have good luck at Indian avoiding gluten, but not dairy. Dairy is used in a lot of food (ghee and milk products), so you'd have to ask a lot of questions. Also, a lot of Indian food is simmered for long periods, so there would be many things she couldn't have. Mexican is a possibility, but the sodium would be hard as many things are in sauces that have been premade - and I've even seen soy sauce used in Mexican food. Raw food would actually work well, but again, it's not something everyone likes. When traveling in the US and trying to make sure he doesn't get sick, we tend to stick to the mid to higher priced finer dining, either American or fusion or bistro type place. Iin most large cities in the US and Canada, we can find a good restaurant where the chef or sous chef will come out and actually talk to us, clarify the issues, and often either slightly change the way an entrée is made or make something to order. These are the places that are most likely to "get it" - that this is important and her wellbeing depends on their being careful. So, as you are in New York, that shouldn't be a problem at all. If you can call ahead of time, they might even make a special menu for her (one of the local restaurants here in Chicago does this for me every time we go). This doesn't have to be $100 a plate entrée or higher, but many places where the entrées start at $15-$20 range are this accommodating for us. One other option is to ask her what type of food she really likes or the type of restaurant she'd love to go to. She might really appreciate it that you want to do this right and are ensuring that you get it right. If it were me and I had to avoid those things, I'd want someone to ask me so I could help guide him and avoid any dining disasters. But, this sounds like it's new to her, too, and she might not know. Lastly, there may be an organization in your neck of the woods that helps people with food sensitivities and they may keep a list of restaurants that are helpful/supportive/friendly to people in this situation. When I travel, I often do an online search to find any local celiac organization. This actually might even help you as many celiacs are dairy intolerant initially, so a restaurant list might include that. Regardless, it will include restaurants that are willing to help out a celiac, so are also probably willing to help out your date. And, what a great guy you are to not be daunted by this. As someone with some intolerances, I can remember how hard it was to date and how much explaining I had to do. Often you don't want to have to explain your body's reactions! People can be so insular and not realize how insensitive they are when they expect everyone's life to be like theirs. (stepping off high horse now) Good luck! Hope you have a GREAT time.

Different tongues have completely different experiences with bean flours - soy, garbanzo, navy, fava, etc. In our house, all of us (and our extended family) notice any of them and complain. I have found a way to use some navy bean flour (max of 2 T per cup of flour). I soak the beans first, then dry roast them for about 8 hours. They turn slightly tan in color and the taste is completely different when I mill them. I still can't use lots of it, but I can use it. I do use flax in my breads, but that's about it. I bought some agar agar a few weeks ago to experiment with, but haven't tried it. And, I also found some Methocel by Dow (methylcellulose), but haven't had much luck figuring out how to use it. I posted about it here, but no repsonses yet. Oh, and to clarify, I don't have tough crust at all if I roll once. It's if you need to gather again and combine that I do. And, I've heard many people on GF forums saying they do this all the time without problem - and they are using xanthan. Not sure if they just don't see "tough" the way I do, or what. But, the crust is not at all tough on the first roll. It makes sense to make things "free" of several allergens if providing to multiple people. Since I'm simply providing for the one celiac, I don't have to worry about it. I do, though, try to create recipes that are dairy-free, egg free, corn-free etc. so that if I ever need them for someone, I've got them. We have a dairy-free and gluten free family member, one who it corn-free, and two diabetics. It keeps me on my toes to make things that everyone can have. I wish I had time, I'd experiment with the crust this weekend, but it looks like it'll be at least a week before I can make several crusts side by side and see what happens.

Thanks again. While I love what bean flours can provide in terms of protein, "lightening", and springiness/chew, I don't like the taste at all, so that may be a lot of the difference regarding why gum is more important in my current crust recipe. I tend to use flours that have little or no "stickiness" to them. In pie crust, I used to use a "healthier" blend providing some fiber, but recently have opted for more tenderness with a blend that also had little to keep it together. It stays together for the rolling - it's the cutting and eating that's the problem - it shatters. That's one of the things I find so fascinating about GF baking - ten people can come up with ten results and all work. Chickie, are you using an egg at all for protein and binding? I've developed recipes both that do and that don't. My current preference is for one that does.

Thanks for your thoughts. I definitely use gum as it wouldn't stay together at all without it. Even with enough of a "sticky" flour like tapioca, Expandex (modified tapioca), sweet rice, or mung bean, they still need a bit. I never have a "problem" with tough unless I rework it. But, the accepted wisdom is that GF crusts "can't" get tough. I find that, for me, they get tough with rework, just like a gluten crust. It never occured to me to think the gum would be involved in creating a tough crust, but what I know about gums would fit into a grasshopper's brain. Did you have anything in particular in mind, such as about a specific flour/starch?

When I first started baking without gluten, I spent my time looking at sites of people who'd already worked through it, lol. For eggs, try searching for vegan or vegetarian sites. I think someone else already posted some. There are many and some have great rating systems, so you have an idea of whether it's worth it. I bet you'd find another cake recipe that would work without you having to figure out how to make a regular recipe work. I did a quick search and found a similar cake to this one and in the comments, someone said they took the cocoa out and made it a spice cake with no problems. If it were me, I'd cut the recipe in 1/3 or 1/4 (which ever is easier) and try it. The worst that happens is that you learned it doesn't work. Same site had a yellow cake recipe, too. You may know all of this already, but I thought I'd throw it out in case it helps in some way - either you or another person who needs the information later. Finding recipes that don't use eggs to begin with is a great help, but you can also use things to replace the function of the eggs. People have already mentioned Ener-G egg replacer - it does have limits. To replace eggs, it really helps to know what function the egg has in the recipe. Eggs can add moisture, leavening, binding - or all of these at once. If there is already leavening, adding more baking soda or powder can ruin the taste, though this does work sometimes. If only one egg is used, it's easier to work with the recipe to change it. Chances are it's a binder, though it may be moisture, but most likely a binder. Tofu, ground flaxseed in hot water, gelatine, and fruit puree all work great. The more eggs in a recipe, the harder it is to determine what it does and how to replace it. Lots of sites give replacement amounts, but generally you can use these for one egg (an egg is 1/4 cup in volume): 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons warm water 1 tablespoon unflavored, unsweetened gelatin plus 3 tablespoons warm water 1/4 cup ground soft tofu. 3 tablespoons pureed fruit (applesauce, bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, etc.) I also found this site awhile back when I was looking up info on replacing eggs. It's just tips people wrote in, but there was a lot of info in it.

I have tried many apples and, like others here, do prefer the combo approach. But, I've not yet found the "perfect combo." My preferred method, as another poster alluded to, is a tart, a sweet and one that is more mushy. The tart and sweet I choose for shape-holding abilities, so you get chunks, the mushy I choose for flavor, so the sauciness (and I do use some starch) is really tasty. But, since I haven't followed a scientific approach, sometimes they are too mushy and sometimes too dry. I guess I need to start recoding the ones I put together and how much starch I use, huh I recently tried CI's method of cooking the apples first. "Ehn" was my result. I am always searching for more info on apples. Try this link for the most detailed list of apple varieties, though not enough specific info on baking/cooking. This is another site that has a pretty good description of them. I've seen a Ken Haedrich book on apples, but haven't looked in it. It might be worth a perusal, though, as I think he does go into more info as to why you pick one variety over another.

I read the article a week or so ago and put it on my "to try" list. It sounds like, from what's been posted here, that it works well with the gliadin in wheat flour. I am wondering, though, if anyone has any thoughts about what this will do to gluten-free (GF) dough. Due to celiac disease, all my baking is with "alternative" flours. I make a very decent pie crust for GF, but am always looking for something to make it better. Unfortunately, most discussions involve gluten and trying to enhance or mitigate the effects. Since I don't have any gliadin in my doughs, I'm not trying to do that. For pie crust, baking GF is in some ways easier. I don't have to worry about developing the gluten or using low gluten flours - all my flours are. But, contrary to what you'd think, overmixing or overrolling a GF crust does cause it to be tough. Not sure why... I can, however, use more water in my crusts without problems, so maybe the vodka doesn't help at all. So, just wondering if anyone has any hypotheses around using this technique with GF flours. I will post my results when I get to it, but it will be at least a week or two, given the other things on my proverbial plate.

I posted about this in this Cooking thread about Methocel, simply because I found it first. I've moved the post here and edited the other post to reflect that. I often have more creative ideas than I have practical knowledge. I keep a gluten-free house, as my SO has celiac disease. While cakes are pretty easy GF, I am always looking to find new ways to dupicate the structure and texture of wheat gluten in breads. I bought the Methocel from Ener-G - a company that specializes in "free" products, as is dairy free, gluten free, egg free, etc. Unfortunately, they didn't give me ANY information on using it, nor do I know which forumlation it is, though am guessing A, as this is the better one for breads iirc. I got some sheets from Dow, but they are geared toward a commercial kitchen. None of them helped me much to decide what to do. There is a dearth of info on the Web about using it in baking bread, especially when using it with other gums. I thought I'd be able to use part Methocel and part xanthan or guar or even some pectin. I have no commercial baking experience, and no food science background...I do have a scale, but it just goes to 1 gram - this makes it useless for making 1 loaf of bread, lol, in terms of the 1-3% items like yeast, Methocel, gums, etc. So, anyone have any advice for someone who appears to have my guts than brains, lol? At least I'm willing to experiment endlessly to figure things out...just wish I didn't feel like the person at the pin the tail party who was blindfolded and twirled five times. TIA and looking forward to participating in the forum.

We keep a gluten-free (GF) home due to celiac disease. Our favorite is the San-J Tamari - we get the lower sodium, wheat free version. While they don't state it's GF, rather simply wheat free, we've never had a problem and the celiac has his antibodies tested annually. I do not need to be GF, yet when we go out for sushi, I choose to use the tamari. Not sure if I have simply gotten used to it or if I really prefer it. But, no one would say it tastes bad. I have heard many people say they like the Bragg's Aminos, also. I tried some once and didn't prefer it to the San-j tamari, but it was just a quick finger-tip taste. It's so nice to hear of someone willing to accomodate anyone with any allergy or intolerance. So, kudos to you for applying that creativity.

I'm new to the society and resurrected this thread in hopes of more information about Methocel. I've since realized that my post would be more appropriate in the Baking forum, so I've moved it to this thread.