Gluten-free guest? Need advice on meals

kiti

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:17 pm

Having a gluten free guest, and it's the first time somebody told me they're gluten free

1. Do I buy gluten-free challah? Is that sourdough?

2. Do my ingredients in my meals need a lot of reconsideration? Or just the ones with wheat in them, like dessert?

I'm a bit confused about this. Thank you for any help Heart

I really appreciate it, and want my guest to be comfortable

Shuly

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:22 pm

I just had guests who were gluten free.
They brought their own homemade challah.
I served gefilte fish, dips, soup, chicken (without soy sauce or any gluten ingredients), rice, roasted potatoes, salad and grilled vegetables.
On shabbos day, I used brown rice instead of barley in the chulent and left out any ingredients with gluten in them. We also had grilled cutlets, potato kugel, deli salad and some other salads with the dips.
For desert we had gluten free sorbet and homemade rice krispie treats.

juggling

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:25 pm

Ask your guest if there is a brand of challah they'd like you to get. Most GF people will skip challah or bring their own.

You must check ingredients on everything. Gluten shows up in places you might not expect.

For side dishes you can do rice or potatoes, again just check all the things you add to it to be sure.

For dessert you can make a non-gebrochts pesach recipe. Or stick with ice cream and fruit.

scintilla

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:25 pm

Sourdough isn't gluten free, no. Can you ask them what they usually do for challah? It can be hard to get gluten free challah.

Do you make sauces with flour in them? Or pasta dishes? If not then your main dishes should be fine! I often bake cakes and brownies with gluten free flour (look for a blend that says 1-to-1 on it, meaning you can use it exactly in place of regular flour) and they come out fine. Most gluten free people can tolerate gluten free oats, so a fruit crumble or the like is super easy to make gluten free.

Another important point is, are they celiac or just sensitive? If they are celiac there will be other considerations that I'm not familiar with, ie I think baking powder and soy sauce have traces of gluten in them.

Feel free to ask more specific questions and I'll try answer!

Reality

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:26 pm

Does your guest have celiac? Sensitive to gluten? Following a fad diet? It makes a difference if you have to worry about cross contamination.

When I have had guests with either celiac or sensitivities:

1. They have always volunteered to bring their own rolls.

2. It is really easy to cook simple gluten free food. Think chicken, meat, all veggies, potatoes rice etc.

3. Check any bottled sauces for gluten. Many have gluten but gluten free ones are often sold as well of the same product. Very important to read all labels!

4. Dessert: pareve ice cream or sorbet. Or it's really easy to bake a gluten free brownie.

Good luck!

top mom

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:26 pm

I'll try to help, since I have a relative who's GF.
Challah - has to be gluten free, sourdough is usually not enough. I don't know where you live, but most groceries should have gf challah /rolls in the freezer section.
The rest of the meal is usually fine, fish, soup, meat, sides, other than pasta or farfel, unless you're the soup mix type, and then you can try buying gf soup mix.
Salads and other veggies are good.
Gefilte fish could be an issue.
Dessert could be compote, or other fruit dessert, chocolate mousse, ice cream, but double check the ingredients.
It's not too complicated, you just have to be on top of your ingredients, wait, is that complicated?
I guess it's second nature for me by now.

scintilla

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:27 pm

Also I see someone above mentioned gefilte fish. The regular kinds usually have gluten in them but the pesach varieties do not, my local store has the pesach kind year round so check for that! Some pesach ones taste better than others so another fish may be more simple.

Reality

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:28 pm

scintilla wrote:

Not all people with celiac can tolerate oats. Also, many oatmeal brands are processed together with wheat. I would check with my guest first and only buy oatmeal that says gluten free on it.

mamaleh

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 2:47 pm

We had a gluten free guest a few times. To repeat what others have said You need to find out just how sensitive they are (we had one that needed separate kailim-I made everything using disposable).

BJs has a great gluten free brownie mix. Trader Joe’s has great gluten free bread and rolls. One of the dip companies (maybe Sonny & Joe’s) has different color labels for their gluten free options. In general you can look for kosher for Pesach sauces & condiments.

Rice Krispies treats (regular or ‘peanut chews’) are a great dessert but be aware that most Rice Krispies have gluten (barley malt). There is at least one heimish brand that is gluten free & I imagine there must be other generics as well.

Raisin

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 5:03 pm

You can only make/buy actual challah if the person can eat oats, and many GF people don't. So ask them about challah. Otherwise it is a challah like food item that you cannot wash on. Really easiest if they can bring their own. If the person is a kid they are probably picky too about what breads they like, since many gluten free breads are gross.

If you have leftover potato flour from pesach and a pesach brownie recipe you like, go with that. Gluten free cakes are much easier than bread and you can probably make something that everyone will enjoy, especially if chocolate based.

Side dishes that work - rice, potato kugel without flour in, roast veggies,

Check every ingredient for gluten. Baking powder, sauces etc. My friend will not even let her dd eat food that is cooked in the same oven as gluten.

Be careful of cross contamination while cooking or during meal. (or meals before where you might serve the same dip, for example.). Make sure every dish has a serving utensil and that people use them. Ask that people do not stick their bread into dips.

ra_mom

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 5:40 pm

kiti wrote:

I really appreciate it, and want my guest to be comfortable

Ask them to bring their own challah. Sour dough is not gluten free.

Keep in mind that soy sauce has gluten. So do many sauces that insidiously have soy sauce or other gluten ingredients. Best to use fresh seasonings like olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper for main dishes.

Make salmon instead of gefilte, unless you can get true gluten free gefilte fish rolls.

For side dishes, choose rice or potatoes (there are many verisons like wild rice, baby red potatoes, etc). Again keep in mind that barley has gluten and that many rice mixes have as well, so use plain rice with your own seasonings (onion, garlic, s&p).

Colorful roasted veggies are your friend for vegetable sides. No veggie kugels unless they don't have flour.

For dessert, serve fruits, ice creams and sorbet.

Stars

Wed, Sep 21 2022, 5:48 pm

Most soup mixes have gluten as well. Some bottled salad dressings have wheat. If serving salad or fruit it’s best if you leave them plain for the guest and let them add whatever they want.

Ask your guest what they usually do about challah. They shouldn’t be expecting you to figure out challah.
Shibolim has oat gf matzah. Oats have to be gf.