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Annatto And Disodium

LyndaK

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LyndaK Rookie
LyndaK
Posted

So I bought a new gluten-free cook book and it states to avoid annatto (like in butter, margerine and cheeses). I looked it up, and it was confusing ....so said it was ok but others say its the alochol mixed with it that is the question. I also read that annatto comes from a plant that is closely related to the wheat family but does not produce gluten.

I also saw Disodium on a list as being bad but there is always another word after it. Is it the second word that makes it bad.

I am having a hard time finding things that are wheat free (I'm going gluten-free because it is so much easier) and rice free. All the mixes and pre-made treats have rice flour as the main item. So this cook book relies mainly on potato starch and corn starch.

Thanks for any help.

LyndaK

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lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Annatto is gluten-free.

richard

KaitiUSA Enthusiast
KaitiUSA
Posted

Disodium -I don't think I have ever heard of that containing gluten....where did you find that?

Annatto is gluten free but that is one of the additives that some people can react to(not from a gluten standpoint)

LyndaK Rookie
LyndaK
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for replying.

I found the disodium in the Smart Foods list but am unsure if the next word goes with it or not.

I guess I am feeling frustrated with this whole what is safe or not. I have allergies to wheat and rice and am still waiting to hear back on an upper GI for celiac and to find items that are safe for me to eat is hard.

I feel fine if I eat 1 or 2 slices of yellow cheese but anything more than that...ugh. So I didn't know what to think until I read in a new gluten-free cook book to avoid butters/ marg./ cheeses with annatto. I found that it comes from a relative of the wheat family. So am I reacting to the wheat issue?

I also just realized that dextrin is fine for gluten-free but it can be from rice or corn. Am I right on this? It just depresses me, I feel I don't fit in anywhere since the usual response from people at the grocergy store who are gluten-free is "Oh, good luck" then walk away.

Enough of me babbling.

Thank you all for your support.

LyndaK

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted

"Disodium" is not what you should be avoiding. You need to know the entire name of the chemical compound, not just the first half. "Disodum inosinate" and "disodium guanylate" are two additives often found in cheap soup bases and canned broths. I don't know anything about them but that they seem to be a sign that the product doesn't taste good anyway.

LyndaK Rookie
LyndaK
Posted
  • Author
"Disodium" is not what you should be avoiding. You need to know the entire name of the chemical compound, not just the first half. "Disodum inosinate" and "disodium guanylate" are two additives often found in cheap soup bases and canned broths. I don't know anything about them but that they seem to be a sign that the product doesn't taste good anyway.

Now that made me laugh!!! I will for sure stay away from such broths!

Thanks for the info on disodium. Now all I have to figure out is what the second word means.

Have a good day....

LyndaK

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

Im not sure which cookbook you're talking about but I'm fairly certain annatto is not a relative of wheat. Here's what it is:

Annatto is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a red food coloring.

Annatto is produced from the reddish pulp which surrounds the seed of the achiote (Bixa orellana L.). It is used in cheese (including Cheddar), margarine, butter, rice, smoked fish and custard powder.

Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a coloring agent and for flavoring. Central and South American Natives used the seeds to make a body paint, and as a lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the lipstick-tree.

Every celiac expert I know of and every celiac organization agrees that annatto is safe for people with celiac.

I've also never seen disodium anything listed as beinjg a gluten threat. It IS similar in some ways to MSG.

richard

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ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
I also just realized that dextrin is fine for gluten-free but it can be from rice or corn. Am I right on this? .

LyndaK

Most dextrin is fine but, and this is a big but, it can be derived from wheat. The few times I have seen this it was clearly labeled ie "dexrin from wheat" but I call the manu if they don't name the source. It can also come from tapioca which is also celiac freindly.

Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel--24
Posted
"Disodium" is not what you should be avoiding. You need to know the entire name of the chemical compound, not just the first half. "Disodum inosinate" and "disodium guanylate" are two additives often found in cheap soup bases and canned broths. I don't know anything about them but that they seem to be a sign that the product doesn't taste good anyway.

These ingredients are "hidden names" for MSG...they both indicate that MSG is in the product so even though they have nothing to do with gluten....they are still "bad".

eKatherine Apprentice
eKatherine
Posted
These ingredients are "hidden names" for MSG...they both indicate that MSG is in the product so even though they have nothing to do with gluten....they are still "bad".

These two are pretty much always accompanied in the ingredients list by "monosodium glutamate", but they are distinct and separate chemical compounds. I didn't mention that because she was only interested in the word "disodum".

LyndaK Rookie
LyndaK
Posted
  • Author

The cookbook I read the annatto info is out of: The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. I bought it since almost all the recipes use something other than rice flour and since I am allergis to rice this seemed the best. I have yet to make anything but will this weekend. Has anyone used this book?

Have a good day...

LyndaK

Rachel--24 Collaborator
Rachel--24
Posted
These two are pretty much always accompanied in the ingredients list by "monosodium glutamate", but they are distinct and separate chemical compounds. I didn't mention that because she was only interested in the word "disodum".

Yes they are different compounds that are put into a product to work in conjunction with MSG.

As it is a fairly expensive additive, it is not used independently of glutamic acid; if disodium inosinate is present in a list of ingredients but MSG does not appear to be, it is likely that glutamic acid is provided as part of another ingredient. It is often added to foods in conjunction with disodium guanylate.
lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

I don't remember seeing that info in Roben's book (I have it and do use it), but there once was a time when CSA warned about annatto (I'm not sure why, but CSA is often unnecessarily alarmist), so she might have been following their advice at the time. The book is now several years old.

Roben does not have celiac disease herself but she occasionally answers questions on the delphi celiac forum and I think she's working on another book. Despite what it may say about annatto, I think her book is one of the best because it's simple and the result usually tastes good.

richard

LyndaK Rookie
LyndaK
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for letting me know that you like her book. I am making the coffee cake as I write. I did notice that the book is from 2000 or 2001. But the main thing still is that all the ingredients are simple items and no rice flour. The info I read about is in the front where she writes about the different ingredients and utensils.

Have a good day...

LyndaK

JoeB Apprentice
JoeB
Posted

Another opinion regarding annatto - I've been gluten-free for over a year and early on I found that I could not tolerate annatto. At first, I thought I had mistakenly eaten gluten because the physical symptoms were the same. After doing some research, I found that many celiacs can not tolerate annatto, especially when they've been gluten-free for only a short time. It's important to realize that annatto does not contain gluten, but can produce similar symptoms. I stayed completely away from annatto up until the last couple of months when I started eating yellow cheeses. So far, I've been ok and I'll continue to add it slowly to my diet.

Hummingbird-Hill Newbie
Hummingbird-Hill
Posted

This conversation on Annatto is so imortant to me. I have been a celiac for 15 years. I have stayed away from annatto for all those years because that was the literature of the time. You mean to tell me I can have it now without any side effects?????? You mean I can have candy again?????Yellow cheese??????Yahooooooo

Happy feet, happy feet, happy feet. Is there any doubt I am going out to buy m&m's right now?

I do have a terrible reaction to Soy Lecithin, which acts like wheat in my system. But I have not tried annatto for years and will give it a go tody. Gosh am I glad I found this site. Cynthia :D

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