Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum - Is It Safe?

peppyking

Recommended Posts

peppyking Apprentice
peppyking
Posted

I just finished making the batter for our traditional Christmas morning crepes using gluten free all purpose flour and Bob's xanthan gum. Although the package says gluten free, I just read that Bob's xanthan gum is the byproduct of bacteria digesting a wheat product. Should I be concerned? I would hate for my 3 year old daughter (recently diagnosed with celiac disease) to get sick, and especially on Christmas.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

Bobs Red Mill xanthan gum is a completely safe product.  Here is a page with a little more info from them: Open Original Shared Link  It is basically derived from something that is derived from something that is derived from wheat.  These degrees of separation and the process that is involved means no gluten gets through, repeatedly.  Wheat glucose syrup, which is what Bobs Red Mill feeds to the bacteria to make xanthan gum, is so highly processed that it is considered gluten free itself.  BRM also tests their products for the presence of gluten, and overall they are a very trustworthy and safe brand to buy gluten-free products from.

peppyking Apprentice
peppyking
Posted
  • Author

Thank you, LauraTX, for adding peace of mind to our Christmas:) Her diagnosis is recent, and this takes a lot more research than I realized it would. I assumed we'd just degluten the kitchen, read labels and that would be that. I'm finding myself more confused after reading labels and just putting a lot of stuff back on the shelf when I am at all unsure. It's an adjustment, and it's nice to have a place to ask questions of those with more experience:)

LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

You're very welcome!  It can be hard when you are first starting out and unsure, since you would rather be safe than sorry!  The shopping and ingredients part gets a little more natural with some time, and if you see something you are unsure of, make a little mental note and write the manufacturer to ask, sometimes you get pleasant surprises.  Using a gluten-free flour blend and Xanthan gum is a great way to start about with gluten-free baking.  Weighing the flour can help you convert recipes easier in a lot of cases, and whatever you do, if you spill a bunch of xanthan gum in your kitchen, don't put water on it before wiping it up, LOL.  Something I learned from experience  :lol:

  • 4 weeks later...
chefcel1952 Newbie
chefcel1952
Posted

Hi All, My 31 yrs ago my son was diagnosed with celiac, he was at deaths door, but were able to "fix" him, thank God. I just got a Kitchenaid 600 pro mixer, and I want to make him a bunch of bread to freeze and have handy. He hates all the store bought ones he has tried. He is just sooo intolerant I'm afaid to try any "gums", I want to use unflavored gelatin. Can anyone tell me how much to use per loaf?  My son has a family of four and career, but is always hungry! I also plan to get the pasta attachment, to make him gluten-free pasta. I could use any and all tips, and maybe some easy bread recipes, I have Trader Joe's gluten-free flour, with no gums in the ingredients. HELP........Thanks...a loving mom, Celeste ( He CAN eat yeast)

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

My husband & I have been ecstatic over the baked goods I've made using recipes from "The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook" which last I looked was being sold on Amazon & at WalMart for under $16. The Classic Sandwich Bread Recipe is fantastic & tastes like "real" bread as is the case with the biscuit recipe & the dinner rolls recipe that I have tried so far. None of them use any of the gums at all. They do have dairy & yeast excepting the biscuits which require no yeast at all. For bread I would suggest you just go ahead & invest in some 9 x 9 x 4" loaf pans that will make baking gluten-free bread much easier and better. You can get those loaf pans through the King Arthur Flour website & probably other places too. 

chefcel1952 Newbie
chefcel1952
Posted

Dear Squirmingitch...Thanks for the tip! I will look for the book, and I do have pans that size. I'm guessing the bread cooks better in that size pan. I so appreciate it!!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

YVW! :) 

Yes, those pans are great otherwise you have to fashion a tin foil collar to hold the bread in place & keep it from spilling over onto the bottom of your oven.

I have their coffee cake recipe in the oven right now. The aroma is driving me crazy --- I'm going to drool all over my keyboard & short it out. :lol:  :lol:

 

I'll come back later & let you know how it turned out. I did put my own spin on it though by adding diced dried apricots & raisins in the batter and put a mix of cinnamon, brown sugar & butter on the top which will ultimately be the bottom (tube pan) but then I may not turn it right side up. I only care about the texture, crumb & taste not how it looks.

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

We couldn't wait for it to completely cool. I have a 2 piece tube pan so I waited just long enough to get the outer ring off & we cut into it. Sheer heaven!!!!!! It can't be gluten free but it is!!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chefcel1952 Newbie
chefcel1952
Posted

Dear Squrm...sounds wonderful! Now a tip from me, before adding raisens PLUMP them first..put in bowl n cover with orange juice, or water with vanilla extract...cover tight with plastic wrap, nuke 1 minute...leave till your ready to add to any mix, then drain first...always do this for cookies, cakes, breads...sooo much better!

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

Thanks for the tip but they plumped up really well in this w/o any pre-plumping. I will do that though for cookies. I wish I could figure out how to post photos on here. I have done it in the past. I use Flickr and it worked great previously but a couple weeks ago I tried & tried & tried -- spent about 2 hours trying to make it work but it was a no-go. Flickr changed the way they do things since last time I posted photos from it & they don't have any directions telling you how to do it now. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

chefcel1952 Newbie
chefcel1952
Posted

Squirm...may be easier to download pics on a flash drive (memory stick) put on computer n download from it...just saying! I found that book on several sites..but do the recipes make you buy a million ingredients? i am retired and on a budget..blah! I can't order till paid on the 1st.....What brand of flour have you used, with what ingredients in it? I have gluten-free flour from trader joe's, pillsbury and king arthur..this is soo hard! Your successes encourage me though! Thanks again, Celeste

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

You can't download photos directly from your computer to this site. I don't know why. it would be sooooo much easier that way. You have to load photos onto something like Flickr or Photo Bucket & then download them to here.

 

These links will give you the basic flour blend which most all the recipes come from. It will also give you the recipe for biscuits, waffles & chocolate chip cookies. Instead of making up their flour blend they tell you what ready made flours you can use but after testing/tasting their flour blend I would not use anything else.

Open Original Shared Link

lpellegr Collaborator
lpellegr
Posted

Hi All, My 31 yrs ago my son was diagnosed with celiac, he was at deaths door, but were able to "fix" him, thank God. I just got a Kitchenaid 600 pro mixer, and I want to make him a bunch of bread to freeze and have handy. He hates all the store bought ones he has tried. He is just sooo intolerant I'm afaid to try any "gums", I want to use unflavored gelatin. Can anyone tell me how much to use per loaf?  My son has a family of four and career, but is always hungry! I also plan to get the pasta attachment, to make him gluten-free pasta. I could use any and all tips, and maybe some easy bread recipes, I have Trader Joe's gluten-free flour, with no gums in the ingredients. HELP........Thanks...a loving mom, Celeste ( He CAN eat yeast)

Your son might be able to keep his hunger under control by adding more protein (meat, eggs, cheese), and eating fewer carbs (bread, pastry, pasta).  I'll stay full much longer after 2 eggs scrambled with cheese and spinach than after a bagel or several bowls of cereal.  Making pasta for him is a nice gesture, but the gluten-free pastas out there usually have simple basic ingredients (no gums!) and are much easier to have on hand when you want them.  Try a few and figure out whether you prefer corn (falls apart quickly), rice (Tinkyada is good), quinoa, or other types of gluten-free pasta.  Don't worry too much about xanthan gum.  It will be hard for your bread to hold together just using gelatin or eggs or other non-gum methods.  Feed him natural, unprocessed foods for a while until his guts heal, then you can try something with more exotic ingredients like xanthan gum (which you can find in all kinds of foods - even candy and ice cream).

chefcel1952 Newbie
chefcel1952
Posted

Dear Ipellegr, Thanks for response! My son was diagnosed 31 year ago, is married with 4 children. Smart as a whip, and has a great career, ( so handsome i might add!) His wife was never taught to cook, so I try and help her along. He knows what he can eat. he does eat what he can have, but is dying for good pasta and bread. Hence my daunting task to help him. He has tried every pasta out there and hates them all, also the gluten-free breads. I made rice noodles for spagetti for him, I took a bite..YUCK!  I will figure this out somehow I hope! He was 6 when he got sick, now 37. He loved my homemade sloppy joe's, so I would put it on baked potatoes. He still eats that with potatoes to this day! I got some flax meal flour today, I have 3 different kinds of gluten-free all purpose flour. It is time t try to make a loaf of bread. Just have to find the right recipe, using one of those flours, the ground flax, and yeast. Any ideas? He would kill to get to eat a sandwich, and have some good pasta...Thanks again! ....a loving mom....

GF Lover Rising Star
GF Lover
Posted

Dear Ipellegr, Thanks for response! My son was diagnosed 31 year ago, is married with 4 children. Smart as a whip, and has a great career, ( so handsome i might add!) His wife was never taught to cook, so I try and help her along. He knows what he can eat. he does eat what he can have, but is dying for good pasta and bread. Hence my daunting task to help him. He has tried every pasta out there and hates them all, also the gluten-free breads. I made rice noodles for spagetti for him, I took a bite..YUCK!  I will figure this out somehow I hope! He was 6 when he got sick, now 37. He loved my homemade sloppy joe's, so I would put it on baked potatoes. He still eats that with potatoes to this day! I got some flax meal flour today, I have 3 different kinds of gluten-free all purpose flour. It is time t try to make a loaf of bread. Just have to find the right recipe, using one of those flours, the ground flax, and yeast. Any ideas? He would kill to get to eat a sandwich, and have some good pasta...Thanks again! ....a loving mom....

 

I would suggest getting the America's Test Kitchen....I can't believe it's gluten free, Cook Book.  You can get it on A.com.  Breads, rolls, pastas etc. all excellent!

 

Colleen

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. cristiana
      - cristiana replied to sha1091a's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      Issues before diagnosis

      I agree, it so often overlooked! I live in the UK and I have often wondered why doctors are so reluctant to at least exclude it - my thoughts are perhaps the particular tests are expensive for the NHS, so therefore saved for people with 'obvious' symptoms. I was diagnosed in 2013 and was told immediately that my parents, sibling and children should...
    2. chrisinpa
      - chrisinpa commented on Scott Adams's article in Skin Problems and Celiac Disease
      2

      Celiac Disease and Skin Disorders: Exploring a Genetic Connection

      Maybe they can attribute certain skin conditions to either being susceptible to getting Celiac......or the other way around....but I have to ask if certain people are prone to Celiac because of genetics and some people aren't. It's kind of the same thing as what came first.....the chicken or the egg.?
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      3

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      @xxnonamexx, There's labeling on those Trubar gluten free high fiber protein bars that say: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, milk, soy, fish, WHEAT, sesame, and other tree nuts." You may want to avoid products made in shared facilities. If you are trying to add more fiber to your diet to ease constipation, considering...
    4. trents
      - trents replied to sha1091a's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      2

      Issues before diagnosis

      Welcome to celiac.com @sha1091a! Your experience is a very common one. Celiac disease is one the most underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed medical conditions out there. The reasons are numerous. One key one is that its symptoms mimic so many other diseases. Another is ignorance on the part of the medical community with regard to the range of symptoms that celiac...
    5. trents
      - trents commented on Jefferson Adams's article in Other Diseases and Disorders Associated with Celiac Disease
      6

      Celiac Disease Patients Face Higher Risk of Systemic Lupus

      What kind of practitioner did the blood test? Was this a medical doctor, a naturopathic doctor, a GI doc? I would certainly follow up with them and ask why they advised you not to eat red meat. I mean, it could be something like they, themselves, are a vegetarian and give that advice to everyone. Have you had an endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,692
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Ali Zaib
    Newest Member
    Ali Zaib
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • cristiana
      Issues before diagnosis

      By cristiana · Posted

      I agree, it so often overlooked! I live in the UK and I have often wondered why doctors are so reluctant to at least exclude it - my thoughts are perhaps the particular tests are expensive for the NHS, so therefore saved for people with 'obvious' symptoms.  I was diagnosed in 2013 and was told immediately that my parents, sibling and children should be checked.  My parents' GP to this day has not put forward my father for testing, and my mother was never tested in her lifetime, despite the fact that they both have some interesting symptoms/family history that reflect they might have coeliac disease (Dad - extreme bloating, and his Mum clearly had autoimmune issues, albeit undiagnosed as such; Mum - osteoporosis, anxiety).  I am now my father' legal guardian and suspecting my parents may have forgotten to ask their GP for a test (which is entirely possible!) I put it to his last GP that he ought to be tested.  He looked at Dad's blood results and purely because he was not anemic said he wasn't a coeliac.  Hopefully as the awareness of Coeliac Disease spreads among the general public, people will be able to advocate for themselves.  It is hard because in the UK the NHS is very stretched, but the fallout from not being diagnosed in a timely fashion will only cost the NHS more money. Interestingly, a complete aside, I met someone recently whose son was diagnosed (I think she said he was 8).  At a recent birthday party with 8 guests, 4 boys out of the 8 had received diagnosis of Coeliac Disease, which is an astounding statistic  As far as I know, though, they had all had obvious gastric symptoms leading to their NHS diagnosis.  In my own case I had  acute onset anxiety, hypnopompic hallucinations (vivid hallucinations upon waking),  odd liver function, anxiety, headaches, ulcers and low iron but it wasn't until the gastric symptoms hit me that a GP thought to do coeliac testing, and my numbers were through the roof.  As @trents says, by the grace of God I was diagnosed, and the diet has pretty much dealt with most of those symptoms.  I have much to be grateful for. Cristiana
    • knitty kitty
      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @xxnonamexx, There's labeling on those Trubar gluten free high fiber protein bars that say: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, milk, soy, fish, WHEAT, sesame, and other tree nuts." You may want to avoid products made in shared facilities.   If you are trying to add more fiber to your diet to ease constipation, considering eating more leafy green vegetables and cruciferous vegetables.  Not only are these high in fiber, they also are good sources of magnesium.  Many newly diagnosed are low in magnesium and B vitamins and suffer with constipation.  Thiamine Vitamin B1 and magnesium work together.  Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine has been shown to improve intestinal health.  Thiamine and magnesium are important to gastrointestinal health and function.  
    • trents
      Issues before diagnosis

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to celiac.com @sha1091a! Your experience is a very common one. Celiac disease is one the most underdiagnosed and misdiagnosed medical conditions out there. The reasons are numerous. One key one is that its symptoms mimic so many other diseases. Another is ignorance on the part of the medical community with regard to the range of symptoms that celiac disease can produce. Clinicians often are only looking for classic GI symptoms and are unaware of the many other subsystems in the body that can be damaged before classic GI symptoms manifest, if ever they do. Many celiacs are of the "silent" variety and have few if any GI symptoms while all along, damage is being done to their bodies. In my case, the original symptoms were elevated liver enzymes which I endured for 13 years before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. By the grace of God my liver was not destroyed. It is common for the onset of the disease to happen 10 years before you ever get a diagnosis. Thankfully, that is slowly changing as there has developed more awareness on the part of both the medical community and the public in the past 20 years or so. Blessings!
    • knitty kitty
      Dizziness after eating green beans?

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @EndlessSummer, You said you had an allergy to trees.  People with Birch Allergy can react to green beans (in the legume family) and other vegetables, as well as some fruits.  Look into Oral Allergy Syndrome which can occur at a higher rate in Celiac Disease.   Switching to a low histamine diet for a while can give your body time to rid itself of the extra histamine the body makes with Celiac disease and histamine consumed in the diet.   Vitamin C and the eight B vitamins are needed to help the body clear histamine.   Have you been checked for nutritional deficiencies?
    • sha1091a
      Issues before diagnosis

      By sha1091a · Posted

      I found out the age of 68 that I am a celiac. When I was 16, I had my gallbladder removed when I was 24 I was put on a medication because I was told I had fibromyalgia.   going to Doctor’s over many years, not one of them thought to check me out for celiac disease. I am aware that it only started being tested by bloodwork I believe in the late 90s, but still I’m kind of confused why my gallbladder my joint pain flatulent that I complained of constantly was totally ignored. Is it not something that is taught to our medical system? It wasn’t a Doctor Who asked for the test to be done. I asked for it because of something I had read and my test came back positive. My number was quite high.Are there other people out here that had this kind of problems and they were ignored? 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.