All forms of vinegar except malt vinegar are gluten-free even those processed with grain alcohol as the gluten molecule is removed in the process.

People often approach the gluten-free diet feeling that all their food choices have been taken away.  I’ve been on this diet long enough to know that’s simply not true.  Once a person
looks at all the gluten-free possibilities, they will realize that replacing what you can’t have with what you can eat is an empowering exercise and leads to some delicious food, thus eating well.

Plus, I've found that nearly every recipe can be made over to be gluten-free.

Pasta dishes are easy to make by replacing regular pasta with corn or rice pasta.  No other alterations are usually needed.

The same holds true with stuffing where simply substituting gluten-free prepared bread cubes will not change the taste of a favorite recipe.

Commercially-made gluten-free pizza shells lead to great homemade pizza.

Sauces can be thickened with a mixture of cornstarch and water or a paste made from butter and brown rice flour and whisked into a gravy.  Rice flour does a fine job replacing regular flour when you need to dredge meats or fish or add a bit of flour to browned meat in a stew.

By the way, I serve these gluten-free versions to friends and family and the “special diet” factor does not register until they notice I am eating, too.

It sounds complicated but it’s really not.  Baking recipes are based on the ratio or balance of wet to dry ingredients.  Unless you are making over a bread recipe, the substitutions are quite simple.

Just count the quantity of flour in a recipe and replace it with the same amount of a good gluten-free blend.  Then use the same amount of baking powder, baking soda, spices, sugar, butter, eggs and such that are in the original recipe.  The important thing is to preserve the integrity of the recipe - - the balance of fat and liquid and the quantity of flour.  It’s much like
cutting a recipe in half.  When you do, you must cut everything by the same amount or the DNA will be altered.  And heaven knows, we don’t need any more mutant scones and cookies in the world!

The other trick when replacing flour with a gluten-free blend is to add enough gum to replace the gluten.  A cake needs about ½ teaspoon per cup of gluten-free blend while a yeast bread needs 1 teaspoon per cup.  The gum acts as both a stabilizer and a binder so that the end result comes close to the gluten-filled version.

I do a lot of this homework for the reader in Gluten-Free Makeovers, but the principles apply to any makeover.  I hope you will try your hand at making over your own recipes.

The whole grain flours like amaranth, sorghum, quinoa and chickpea are nutritionally dense.  That means they contain more protein and fiber than the white flours like white rice or cornstarch.  The white flours create an empty carbohydrate load that stresses the blood sugar levels in our bodies.  The whole grain flours are friendly and also contain fiber which we all know is good for digestion, cholesterol and blood sugar.

From a baker’s standpoint, these are also excellent choices.  These flours are more finely ground so that the texture of baked goods is closer to that of wheat flour.  In addition, the protein in the flour adds elasticity and elasticity is tough to come by in gluten-free baking.  It’s the gluten protein that creates the wonderful stretchiness that allows bakers to knead dough and twirl pizza.  In short, these flours are our friends and we should welcome them into our kitchens.

Generally a high fiber flour is also high in protein so, to some extent they are interchangeable.  However, some of the high fiber flours like Montina and teff have distinctive flavors that should not be used to prepare delicate cookie recipes, cakes and cupcakes.
They should be reserved for bread baking and recipes that call for molasses, honey or brown sugar and warm spices.  The high protein flours such as sorghum and chickpea flour are great as part of a blend for pizza and pie crust where the dough is rolled out thin and
the structure needs to hold together.

Gluten-free dough is very sticky owing to the starches and gums used.  It behaves like Velcro in that once you get some on your fingers,  more dough will stick to them and it’s difficult to get the stuff off.

I have a few notes in the book about handling dough.  My tips include using ice cream scoops of various sizes to scoop out portions of dough for muffins, cookies, or breads.  I also suggest spraying plastic wrap with vegetable spray such as PAM and handling gluten-free dough through the plastic wrap so that fingers never touch it.  That also creates a smooth surface on the dough and an attractive finished product.

Gluten-free flours can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 months or in the freezer for many months.  Just be sure to bring them to room temperature before cooking with them.

As for storing finished products, I have my best luck freezing most as the refrigerator tends
to dry them out and make them brittle.  (Think leftover rice from the Chinese restaurant.)  Most baked goods can be wrapped and left on the counter for a couple of days to enjoy fresh.  Then wrap remaining baked goods in portion sizes in plastic wrap and place several in a zip lock bag before freezing.  To revive, wrap a portion in moist paper towel and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or just until slightly warm.  Then toast, bake or eat as is.

The exceptions are cream and pudding based pies, cheesecakes, and anything with fresh fruit in the center or on the topping.  Fruits baked into pies will freeze well.