Why is there so much confusion regarding....Gluten and Gluten free?
Is it because marketing teams are jumping on a hot phrase? Is it because it's misunderstood? Or is it because there is a confusion around the phrase?
Let's clarify, gluten is a wheat based protein. It's found, naturally, in wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a rye/wheat hybrid) that is difficult for some people to digest. The following, although esoteric, have gluten: spelt, Kamut® khorasan, einkorn, bulgur, semolina and farro/emmer. And of course white flour and breadcrumbs.
So if you see some clever marketing,
(in this case, better known as pulling the wool over your eyes.) touting
"Our rice cakes are now gluten free!", please be wary if you spot a significant price difference for the exact same product without those hypnotic words.
Other naturally gluten free products are:
Corn, millet, rice, wild rice, basmati, amaranth, quinoa, teff, sorghum, kasha, buckwheat (buckwheat is a seed that has the word wheat in it, but is wheat free) and oats.
Oats are naturally gluten free but they might be processed with and /or commingled with wheat in manufacturing. The same can be said of the other approved gluten-free grains. And companies can proudly claim that there can of corn is gluten-free, as long as they don't charge you a premium for taking out something that was never there.
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