Gluten free kitchen | Schär (2024)

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If you have coeliac disease,it is of vital importance to keep your food - and by extension your cooking tools and storage equipment - separate from and uncontaminated by gluten. Even a tiny trace of gluten can trigger symptomsand cause damage to the lining of your small intestine if you havecoeliac disease.

We’ve pulled together some top tips on how to keep your kitchen gluten free and avoid cross contamination:

First, make sure you are clean, you have washed your hands,and your clothes and hair have not been in a contaminated environment such as a pizzeria or baker’s store where fine flour particles can stay airborne for hours.

If your household is not completely gluten free, the ideal situation is that you have an area which is exclusively for preparing gluten free meals. Cleaning a kitchen surface of all traces of gluten is not impossible, but itisa challengeto attain perfectionon a daily basis. With cooking and serving tools and equipment, again it is easier if you have a separate set to prepare gluten free food only. If you do use pans and utensils for gluten free and gluten-containing food, you must ensure they are washed properly between use. Some equipment, such as chopping boards, toasters and other machines (seeGluten free kitchen toolsbelow) should never be shared between gluten free and gluten-eating users.

When it comes to storing food, again the optimal situation would be to have separate cupboards and storage areas. However, it may be inevitable that some sharing occurs, for example within a fridge. In this case, the key is to use the higher shelves for gluten free food to avoid any sprinkling downward of contaminating gluten-containing particles. Make sure to either wrap or store all gluten free food in clean containers or bags dedicated exclusively to this purpose.

• Wipe surfaces clean after preparing foods containing gluten
• Use your own cloths to clean surfaces
• Take care to clean places touched by sticky fingers, such as the fridge door handle
• Washyourhands before handling gluten free food
• Keep separate chopping boards for gluten free food preparation
• Cook gluten free food in separate pots and pans and serve with separate utensils-or wash extremely thoroughly between different uses
• Use separate containers for butter, jam, etc. as knives can transfer contaminated crumbs
• Use a separate toaster or toaster bags for gluten free bread
• Don’t share waffle irons or grills, as they are very difficult to clean completely
• Don’t fry gluten free food in oil that has been used to fry other food
• Don’t reuse water that was used to boil gluten-containing food such as pasta
• Store gluten free food in re-sealable bags or containers
• Don’t mix gluten free food and other food in a convection or fan oven as the circulating air can blow particles around and lead to cross-contamination
• Don’t share rags, oven gloves, aprons etc. with someone cooking with gluten

Once again, the idealsituation is to have an entire set of equipment and utensils dedicated to gluten free food preparation, so that everyone can be a little more relaxed. However, some equipment is easier to clean and rid completely of gluten contamination than others. A smooth metal saucepan or a glass serving dish canbe cleanedfairly easily, but other items such asagriddle are much harder to clean completely after use with gluten-containing bread, for example. A separate ‘gluten free’ chopping board is an absolute minimum requirement. Rolling pins and other wooden utensils arealsobest kept for exclusive ‘gluten free’ use.

Some machines by their very nature accumulate crumbs and particles, and these cannot be shared-use. This is clearly the case for toasters and the grain mill you may use to make your own gluten free flours for baking. Also take care with food processors, some of which may be easier to clean than others.