Gluten-Free Grains - Amaranth

Gluten-Free Grains

Why to include gluten-free grain alternatives in your pantry

There is a whole new world of alternative grains being offered to the celiac community with new additions appearing every day. While the ADA (American Dietetic Association) lists several grains as gluten free, please keep this caveat in mind. A grain may be gluten free, however, there are several vital stages of growth, harvesting and processing that may introduce a gluten free grain to cross contamination with other gluten containing grains.

Why try different grains?

The answer is nutrition. Several grains on the ADA list provide significantly greater nutritional value than some of the more traditional gluten free choices such as rice and corn. It has always been difficult to match the protein and fiber content of wheat flour with the old standards. Some of the "newer" grains: Amaranth, Buckwheat, Millet, Montina, Sorghum, Soy and Quinoa, are powerhouses of nutrition.

What should you do before you start?

When you are ready to try a new gluten-free grain, remember, look before you leap. While the grain itself may have been determined to be gluten free, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUPPLIERS. As a consumer of gluten free grains, it is your responsibility to research, not only the grain itself, but the environment in which it is grown, harvested, milled and packaged. If, at any one of these stages, a gluten free grain is exposed to gluten containing grains or environments, it is no longer safe to consider the grain "gluten free."

The first major area of potential cross contamination occurs in the fields themselves. Wheat, for example, are currently grown in fields that alternate with barley or rye crops. This is known as crop rotation. Often there are seeds known as "volunteers" from a previous year that germinate with the current year's crop. To be fair, there are machines that separate different grains after harvest.

The second area of potential cross contamination is in the grain processing facilities. Residues of one grain may still be in the equipment as the next grain is milled.

Finally, the machines used to package a grain or create a food product containing a particular grain may also have residues from other gluten containing ingredients.

All this being said, there are several responsible and committed gluten free grain producers that invoke every caution in the production of a pure gluten free product. Over the next several issues we will run articles exploring the ever-expanding universe of gluten free grain alternatives and information about the various suppliers. We will begin by exploring Amaranth in this issue.

What is Amaranth?

The secret of the Aztecs. The name Amaranth means "Not withering or, more literally, 'immortal...' " Amaranth has a higher level of protein and fiber than any other more traditional grain including wheat, corn, rice or oats. The Aztec culture depended greatly on Amaranth to the point where they used the grain in religious ceremonies. While Amaranth almost burned out of existence by Cortez's conquering armies, it has recently been rediscovered by The National Academy of Sciences who has recommended Amaranth as one of the foods to be reintroduced into the American diet.

Is this grain gluten free?

A letter received at Children's Hospital Boston in 2003 from the Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute stated that Amaranth was gluten free.

"The Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable agricultural practices including the production and use of non-traditional grains... Recently the Jefferson Institute worked with the Missouri Department of Agriculture to evaluate the use of amaranth flour in bakery products... The American Institute of Baking (AIB) performed a gluten allergen test to evaluate the gluten levels in amaranth flour... AIB is recognized as one of the major centers for grain product research and development in the entire world... The test documented that gluten was not detected at the 20 parts per million (ppm) level in amaranth flour... therefore it is appropriate to conclude that amaranth is safe to be consumed by celiac disease patients."

Source: http://www.childrenshospital.org/clinicalservices/Site2166/mainpageS2166P12sublevel50Flevel81.html