Recipe Experimentation, Part Two

All right, so last week we were talking about the whole issue about trying different cuisines of the world while avoiding gluten. Sometimes, the solution is simply looking up "___ gluten free recipe". Other times, you may just end up finding recipes for similar dishes, and cobbling things together yourself. The best solution, though? Just look into gluten free cuisine!

Back when most cultural cuisines were first invented, people really couldn't just hop on Amazon grocers for flour and yeast. They worked with what grew there, which often didn't involve gluten at all. Growing corn, rice, or potatoes were much easier to cultivate and harvest in their climates, so they made do just fine.

So, instead of lamenting the loss of airy French pastries, try making mochi instead! Make fried rice with a decorators flair. Give Brazil's cheese bread a chance, or Sweden's almond-based cakes. Most authentic mexican foods are cornmeal or cornflour based, and Japan just as soon uses sweet rice flour for their sweets. Just search around a bit with naturally gluten free foods in mind, and you can guarantee that nothing will get lost in translation.

Jason here. It’s been amazing finding new interesting cuisines from around the world that are naturally gluten free. The Swedish almond-based cakes were particularly great, and Brazil’s cheese bread was wonderfully delicious. Since becoming gluten free, I have learned to appreciate the recipes I have always cooked that were gluten free. For example, simple fried rice, or chili.

As a final note, just be creative! Making eggs benedict with arepas instead of english muffins, for example, is pretty darn good. Throwing an extra egg or two into gluten free pancake batter, along with a bit of extra liquid, can make a great crepe. Instead of feeling like you're just making do, change it to something you'd like even more than the original!