Information Page
Helpful Advice and Ideas
I have obtained all of the following information by searching a variety of web sites, and have found the information very useful and interesting. I have listed some of the web sites and books I have referred to in the Bibliography on the Links page.
Wheat & Gluten free flours.
You need to be aware if you have an allergy to gluten as some flours such as Spelt flour does naturally produce gluten.
I have listed a few different flours below that you may like to use.
I mainly buy Glebe Farm and Doves Farm flours. Glebe Farm's web site has very useful information and what is more you can order their products on line.
Amongst other things Glebe Farm supply wheat free and gluten free bread mixes and cake mixes as well as organic flours. I have used their bread mixes and they really are quite nice and the bread once made, actually tastes like bread and not cardboard like some gluten/wheat free breads purchased.
You can make the bread in a machine or you can hand bake the bread.
I have studied some of Doves Farm's literature regarding their flours and found it very interesting, and thought it would be nice to share this information with you.
In their literature they say that they do not use wheat starch, rye, barley, oats, Soya, dairy or nuts to produce their gluten free flour. They use raw materials that come from many parts of the world, which include amongst other things beans and seeds that they mill into their gluten free products.
- Rice Flour
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This is said to be naturally gluten and wheat free.
It is a fine flour and can be used to make biscuits or thicken sauces in both sweet and savoury dishes, and is also easy to digest. - Gram Flour
- This is fine yellow flour and can be used to make onion bhajias – can also be used as a thickening agent. (It is sometimes called besan flour)
- Plain White Flour
- This is an alternative to everyday flour.
- White Bread Flour
- This is a flour blend milled from naturally gluten and wheat free ingredients and natural gum.
- Self Raising Flour
- A non-wheat flour blend milled using naturally gluten free ingredients; this is an alternative to everyday self-raising wheat flour which will require a little extra liquid in most recipes.
I hope this helps you to determine which flour to use in your recipes.
Don’t forget that you can of course use ordinary Cornflour, which is a finely ground corn/maize product that is gluten free and is mostly found bleached white. It is mainly used as a thickening or binding agent.
Free-From Milk and Dairy Products
Year’s ago, goat’s milk seemed to have a distinctive, almost unpleasant flavour. Today, there is little difference between cow’s and goat’s milk in taste. What’s more, goat’s milk products are readily available in most supermarkets, along with other non-dairy alternatives such as soya.
- Goat's Milk
- More and more supermarkets today are stocking goat’s milk as there seems to be more of a demand than ever before.
The fatty acids and the protein structure of goat’s milk are slightly different to cow’s milk, and it seems much easier to digest, which is why it is given to puppies. I find that I am not left with that fatty taste on the roof of my mouth. - Dried Goat's Milk Powder
- This I can only seem to purchase from some health food shops.
I always buy a couple of cartons to take on holiday with me especially if I am going abroad. Just follow the instructions on the carton – basically you mix with water and then you can store in the fridge. - Soya Milk
- I find that I love purchasing the small cartons of Soya Milk drinks that come in a variety of flavours such as strawberry or chocolate but other flavours are available.
The natural Soya Milk on cereal is refreshing, but personally I find the taste of the milk changes when you put it into a hot drink such as tea or coffee, and I find it disagreeable. But this is only a personal opinion - you may love it. - Goat's Cheese
- Unfortunately in the supermarkets they only seem to stock 1 or 2 hard and soft cheeses, they do not seem to have much of a selection.
However, If you feel like a day out to France going round the Hypermarkets, they have some wonderful smoked goat’s cheeses as well as a good variety of soft and hard cheeses. - Goat's Cream
- At first I found it very difficult to find in the supermarkets; however, leading supermarkets are now stocking it. It is also wonderful to freeze, and once defrosted just give it a good whisking and you end up with lovely thick cream.
- Soya Chocolate Bars
- These can be purchased in most leading supermarkets but are also stocked by some health food stores.
They come in different flavours such as mint and hazelnut. - Goat's Yoghurts
- These can be purchased in any of the leading supermarkets and they tend to come in either natural or honey flavoured, but both are very nice. It is the natural flavour I use when producing my yoghurts or the mint yoghurt for the curries.
- Soya Yoghurts
- These can be purchased from leading supermarkets and some health food shops. They come in a variety of flavors such as Vanilla, Chocolate & many more.
Oils, Good & bad oils – for frying, baking or salad dressings
There are so many types of oils on the market today that it can be quite a minefield. It isn’t easy trying to determine which oils are good or bad or which oils to use for frying, baking or simply using as a base to a salad dressing.
I have researched oils and found the following information from the web site at the end of this page.
I have listed just a few of the good and bad oils below that I have found and they are all said to be low in saturated fats and trans fats. It is said that some have high concentration of monounsaturated fats such as olive oil. Choose corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, or soy oil l if you wish to fry foods as these oils have higher smoke point.
It is best not to fry with olive oil as its smoke point is only about 190C/375F.
- Good Cooking Oils
- Peanut Oil
- Olive Oil
- Non-hydrogenated soft margarine
- Sunflower Oil
- Corn Oil
The following "bad" oils are said to contain high percentage of trans fat or saturated fats.
- Bad Cooking Oils:
- Vegetable shortening
- Hard margarine
- Butter
- Palm Oil