How to make your kitchen gluten-free!

GLUTEN-FREE KITCHEN

If you eat gluten-free and don't live alone, you might be familiar with the challenges of a mixed household or kitchen.
Initially, my friend's oldest daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease, and shortly after, my friend realized she also couldn't tolerate gluten. After several tests and an elimination diet, the diagnosis was confirmed – gluten sensitivity. The rest of the family had no problems with gluten, so they had a mixed kitchen with gluten-containing and gluten-free areas.

Setting Up Gluten-Free Areas

If you also share a kitchen with other family members or roommates who don't live gluten-free, set up special gluten-free areas in your kitchen and pantry where you can store your gluten-free toaster, kitchen utensils, and gluten-free products. Here's what you should pay attention to:

1) Clearly mark the areas – for example, with colored tape – and ensure they are above areas containing gluten-containing products.
This prevents even the smallest crumbs from landing on your gluten-free products.
2) Establish a rule that nothing with gluten touches the counter in the gluten-free area of the kitchen.
3) Clearly mark the upper shelves of the refrigerator as "gluten-free area."
4) Keep all gluten-free spreads, butter varieties, and spices separate and label them accordingly. Colored tape or stickers are suitable for this.
This prevents a knife already contaminated with gluten from ending up in your gluten-free butter, making it gluten-containing.
5) Buy your own toaster, cutting boards, sieves, wooden spoons, and all other porous items that could trap gluten.
Clearly label them as "gluten-free" with waterproof markers or colored stickers and store them separately.
6) Buy separate cleaning sponges and dish brushes for your gluten-free area and your gluten-free items.

Making the Kitchen Gluten-Free

Once you have a good idea of where gluten is present, you need to go through your refrigerator, pantry, medicine cabinet, and cosmetics and either get rid of everything that isn't gluten-free or clearly label it as non-gluten-free so it can be used by someone else in the family or shared living arrangement.
Due to the risk of contamination, clean everything in your kitchen that might have gluten residue. A thorough scrub or a dishwasher cycle will clean most non-porous items like glass and metal. Anything that might contain gluten residue should be replaced. Key items you should replace include:

• Cutting boards
• Sieves and strainers
• Wooden spoons and plastic utensils
• Non-stick pots and pans – can contain gluten if scratched
• Plastic bowls – same reason, scratches can trap gluten
• Toaster
• Bread maker (if you have one)
• Grill grates – these can be contaminated by gluten-containing spice blends or sauces
• Baking sheets and baking pans (regardless of material) – a thorough scrub can remove previous gluten residues, but again, the problem with scratches persists (alternatively, you can use parchment paper cut-outs or reusable baking mats for the baking sheet)
• Cleaning sponges or scrubbing brushes
• Rolling pins and flour sieves
• All other porous items like cast iron pans

After you've sorted out the food and equipment, this is a good time to thoroughly clean everything in your kitchen, including the refrigerator and the inside of the oven.

I hope you have fun setting up your gluten-free kitchen!
If you have any further questions, I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Your Lisa