One of the first things you’ll want to do
after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease is to set up your kitchen
in a way that minimizes chances of cross contamination
between gluten and gluten-free foods. While some
Celiacs feel it’s necessary to have an entirely gluten-free
kitchen, living situations don’t always allow this. By taking some
important precautions and educating your household on the dangers of
cross-contamination, Celiacs and non-celiacs can co-exist peacefully!
Storing Food
A system that has worked well in our house is to
store gluten and gluten free foods in separate cupboards or pantry
areas. In doing so, newly diagnosed patients will not only
prevent cross contamination of foods, but they will also be giving
themselves a visual cue that further distinguishes their foods
from those of the rest of the family.
I have found that late at night when I’m groggy,
half-asleep, and searching for a box of cereal to snack on, I can
lessen my chance of grabbing the wrong box if they are stored in
different areas of the kitchen. This is especially important when
first beginning a gluten-free diet, and following the necessary
restrictions has not yet become automatic.
Storing items separately will also help when the
one diagnosed is too young to understand the complexities of a
food allergy. Even young children can quickly learn that “this
is my cookie cabinet and that one is for everyone else!” Who
doesn’t like having their own cookie cabinet?
The other reason for storing gluten products
separately from gluten-free products is to avoid
cross-contamination. We have all seen shelves in grocery stores
that have little piles of white powder from leaking bags of bleached
wheat. Because of this you may wish to put your wheat and other
gluten flours into tightly sealed containers.
You should also store your wheat and other gluten
flours on bottom shelves. This way if dust from the flour does
happen to leak, as it settles downward, there will be nothing below
it to contaminate. In the same manner, it would be wise to place
breads and other gluten based products in the bottom of your
refrigerator, preferably in a drawer that closes, like the veggie
crisper. However, you could also use a plastic box with a lid to
achieve the same result. This will minimize the chances of bread
crumbs falling into the other foods.
Toasters and Ovens
Another important item to consider when setting up
your Celiac friendly kitchen is your friendly little toaster. You
will need to own two of them if you’re sharing your household with
non-Celiac eaters. Each toaster should be used and kept in
separate areas of the kitchen. They should also be of different
colors or styles to help tell them apart. A “don’t feed me evil
gluten!” post-it may suffice.
When sharing your conventional oven with
non-celiac bakers, you will need to be certain the oven has been
properly cleaned of residual gluten products that may be stuck on the
ceiling or other places in the oven. You should also line the
oven rack with foil (following the oven’s safety guidelines) as a
further precaution against cross-contamination.
Condiments
In some instances, you may find it easier to use
condiments sold in squeeze-type bottles. You will still need to
wipe the tips of the squeeze bottles where the product exits the
containers, but you may find that this can work. If you live
with family members who are able to understand why you are doing
this, you can instruct them not to let the squeeze bottle’s
tip touch their food items. I don’t recommend doing this if
you have young children. They like drawing smiley faces right on the
bread. It’s true.
In some cases, however, it will be necessary to
buy condiments that don’t come in squeeze bottles. For these
it is necessary to put them into separate containers. I save old
plastic yogurt containers just for this purpose. Then use a
sticker system to distinguish which are to be used for gluten
products and which are being reserved for gluten-free foods.
Colanders, Spatulas and Other Utensils
When
using colanders, spatulas, mixers, and other hard to clean utensils,
you should always check after the item has been washed to be
certain that there are no clumps of gluten pasta or gluten bread
sticking to it. Sometimes they get into little cracks and have
to be dug out. For this reason, you may even consider investing
in separate cooking utensils.
Wooden spatulas fall into the same category as
wooden cutting boards. The absorbent nature of wood is what
makes it a problem. Tiny milligrams of gluten can be stuck on
the surface. (It only takes a small amount of gluten to cause
problems for people with Celiac Disease.) You may find it more
convenient in the long run to either purchase two cutting boards, or
to use a non-porous one. Shatter resistant glass cutting boards
work well, as do marble cutting boards.
Because flour sifters are so difficult to clean, I
strongly recommend that you use separate sifters. You will need
to purchase a different brand or style so that you can differentiate
between the gluten and the non-gluten used sifter. If you use
stickers, they will likely come off in the washing machine and
possibly damage your washer.
All that would be a good start, but I’m sure
there’s more. Please add your kitchen safety ideas by leaving a
comment!
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