recipe on Dee's Kitchen plus a xanthan question

bevfromwa · Post by **bevfromwa** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:23 pm

Hi all, I just posted an easy desert recipe on Dee's kitchen, wanted to call your attention to it in case you don't look there every day.

Also, I was going over some of the many bookmarks I've made as I try to research diet, and came up with a question. You might remember I panned the new cookbook by Gluten Free Girl because of the somewhat numerous and exotic ingredients, etc. They were recommending using both xanthan AND guar gums in a lot of their recipes. Recently she has decided that these gums were making her sick, and has started eliminating them from recipes. She says the product is as good as, or better than using the gums, and she feels much better. Wondered if anyone has any comments on this? I want to try eliminating them but don't want to start throwing away a bunch of finished goods--or eating my mistakes, like I usually do!

Thanks, Beverly

Joefnh · Post by **Joefnh** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:37 pm

Beverly I have had issues with guar gum and tapioca in various recipes. Xanthm gum has had mixed results for me. I had tried the GF Bisquick mix last November and had one of the worst flares in a while. It turns out that xantham gum can be made with either a soy stock or a corn stock. As I react strongly to soy I figured that's what caused the reaction at that time. I have since then sourced xantham gum both from Bobs Red Mill and King Aurthur Flour (GF) and have had no issues with those I did contact both companies to verify that the base for those were indeed corn.

Good luck Beverly

--Joe

Linda in BC · Post by **Linda in BC** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:30 pm

Hi Beverly;
Well, that is interesting that Gluten Free girl is moving away from using the gums in her recipes. I have made a few things where the recipes did not call for either guar or Xanthum gum, but they turned out pretty darn dry and crumbly. But then, I am at a bit of a disadvantage because I can't tolerate eggs and so have to do my baking with out them, and the eggs really do moisten and hold baked things together. I figure if you used enough eggs , you wouldn't need the gums!

Let us know how your baking turns out, if you try the recipes without the gums.
Linda

bevfromwa · Post by **bevfromwa** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:02 pm

Thanks, Joe and Linda for your comments. GG Girl said they have started using flax and chia gels for the gum replacement, also works as egg replacement. I just checked out chia seeds at Vitacost and the description touts its high fiber content, also flax is considered high fiber. This puts us squarely in "rock and hard place" territory, we certainly don't want to use anything that is high fiber. I wonder if grinding them very fine in a coffee/spice mill, then making a gel by adding boiling water would lessen the fiber reaction?

Beverly

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:42 pm

Beverly - I recently saw recipes online for making your own hair gel from flax seed. Most of the ones I'm seeing on the Web now involve boiling, simmering, or tea-making.

But I bet you could grind flax coarsely (mortar/pestle?), soak in cold water, and strain it to get a gel. And I think you could soak chia for a while, and then force it through a pretty fine sieve, without any grinding at all.

I don't know whether hot or cold methods would yield a better egg/gum substitute. I look forward to a little experimentation along those lines, though.

--Sara

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 6:50 pm

I have been using arrowroot mixed with warm water as an egg replacement in muffins. They hold together just fine. Arrowroot mixed this way has the same consistency as Ener-g egg replacer, which I stopped using due to the tapioca ingredient.

Gloria

Post by **tex** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:05 pm

Sara,

IMO, flax seed oil by itself is an excellent source of omega-3's, (I take 1,200mgs every day). However, flax seed is a natural laxative, (presumably due to the high fiber content of the hull). Grinding/pulverizing it is not going to remove the fiber.

Flax seeds are rich in soluble fiber. The combination of the oil and the fiber makes flaxseeds an ideal laxative

The red emphasis is mine, of course.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041700.asp

Tex

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:26 pm

Tex, those hair gel people strain their flax through something pretty fine - I don't think they want excessive fiber in their hair any more than we'd want it on the inside. I have a tea strainer that's a super-fine nylon mesh - that would be tediously for producing a great quantity, but maybe about right for getting an "eggish" sized amount of flax goop. I saw pictures of the 'gel' - someone made a very clear version and someone else created one that had a tea-like tinge, from the color of the shells, but it was still very transparent. (This was just a few weeks ago, when I cared what my hair looked like - now I know why they say beauty's on the inside!)

Or am I forgetting about soluble vs. insoluble fiber? If there's serious fiber inside that jelly-looking product, that would be a deal-breaker for many.

--Sara

Post by **tex** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:00 pm

Sara,

Flax seed is 14% soluble fiber, and 12% insoluble fiber.

It's almost surely the mucilage, (the soluble fiber), that creates the gel that you're referring to. Hydrolyzing the soluble fiber probably does not significantly change the insoluble fiber - much/most of it will probably still be there. And of course, all of the soluble fiber will still be there.

Do you understand the mechanism by which fiber "promotes regularity" in the gut? If you're interested, my posts in this past thread, describe how fiber works in the intestines:

http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12956

That is why fiber is not our friend. When we're reactive, our intestines are already hypersensitive - we don't need fiber rasping on them to inflame them even more.

Tex

sarkin · Post by **sarkin** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:43 am

Thanks, Tex - I just read that, and it was definitely helpful. I think I "understood" the way civilians understand, but not the way I need to to heal my gut! I'm recognizing how casual my understanding of the whole digestive process has been - good enough to pass a grade-school quiz, but it needs an upgrade for sure.

I'm sure I was consuming a lot of fiber leading up to this flare-up, both soluble and insoluble.

When I start feeling better and care a little more about my hairstyle, maybe I'll try the flax - externally ;)

--Sara

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:01 pm

Hi Beverly,

FWIW, thought I'd let you know that I recently had the worst flare since going gluten free last July due to guar gum in coconut milk. At the time, I wasn't sure if it was coconut or guar gum (the only other product in the milk), but I've since tested pure coconut with no reaction. I don't know about the xanthan gum, but based on my reaction to guar gum, don't think I'd mess with it :).

Love,
Kari