Xantham Gum - Breaking The Bank!

[Donna F]

Okay, me again!

I made that gluten-free banana bread today (recipe on Bobs Red Mill gluten-free All-Purpose Flour) and it was amazing! (Thanks for the vanilla extract brands guys!)

Anyway....

Xantham gum: I bought Bob's Red Mill last night (the only brand I could find) and it was an INCREDIBLE $12.99 (!!!) Look, I love this banana bread, and I will probably find other, scrumptious things to bake (now that I've convinced myself I CAN bake!), BUT...isn't there a cheaper way to do this??? At that price baking will be a luxury; not something I can do every week, you know?

Thanks,

-donna

[GEF]

Yeah, that stuff is expensive.. it cost me about $12 too. I'd like to know where other's are able to get it for less of an expense. I think they use xanthum gum in ice cream, so it's not that it's a rarely used ingredient.

Gretchen

[Donna F]

I looked some up online today too. It's a little cheaper ($9.00), but $5 shipping - eek! Maybe a health-food store, a big one like Bread and Circus or Trader Joes. Not convenient for me though - would take up the whole afternoon to drive up there to save a couple of bucks.

[Terri-Anne]

I agree that the price of the xanthan gum is too dear to use regularily!

I discovered online that guar gum serves the same purpose, replacing the lost stickiness of the missing gluten. And the great news is, it costs about 1/3 of the price of the xanthan gum. You use it by adding one teaspoon guar gum per cup of "flour" used. The finished product holds together the same as gluten products do.

I am in Canada, and I am able to purchase it at a bulk store chain called Bulk Barn.

The downside is I've read that some people find it slightly laxative, but none of my family has ever experienced that problem.

Give it a try! Anything has to be better than the crazy price of that xanthan gum!

[GEF]

What a great idea about the guar gum!!

[Nadtorious]

It's a pain because you have to wait, but if you have a written diagnosis from your doc, you can write off things like xanthan and guar gum when you're filing your taxes and get 100% of the money back (plus shipping and handling if applicable). Since it's considered a medical expense, and since things like xanthan gum are not used in "regular" baking, we get back all of the money instead of just the difference (like regular gluten-free foods).

Nadia

[EddieJP125]

It's a pain because you have to wait, but if you have a written diagnosis from your doc, you can write off things like xanthan and guar gum when you're filing your taxes and get 100% of the money back (plus shipping and handling if applicable). Since it's considered a medical expense, and since things like xanthan gum are not used in "regular" baking, we get back all of the money instead of just the difference (like regular gluten-free foods).

Nadia

how do u write it off on ur taxes?

[gf4life]

It is an absolute pain in the behind to try to write it off on your taxes. You can only write off the difference in costs of the gluten-free food vs the "normal" version. You have to keep records of everything you buy and the regular cost of the gluten containing food that is similar. Yes you would be able to write off the entire cost of things like xanthan gum, but the problem is that all your out of pocket medical expenses totaled have to be over 7% of your income to count and only the amount over that 7% gets deducted. So if you made $50,000 a year then your medical (+gluten-free food) costs would have to be about $3000! I don't know about you, but it would be awfully hard to spend that much money and then only be getting a very small tax cut. For me it just wasn't worth it.

As for the cost of the xanthan gum. I also spent about $12 for mine at Whole Foods and I have been baking with it occasionally. It lasts a long time since you are only using about 1/2 to 2 tsps at a time. I think I had one recipe that called for 1 tablespoon once. So I figure it isn't really adding a lot to the cost. Certainly it is worth it to me to not have the stomachache, but still be able to have the occasional treat!

I did try guar gum, but found that it makes me very gassy. It is made from beans and if you are sensitive to beans, then it might not be the product for you. If I choose to use the rest of the package I have, then I would have to invest in a lot of Beano to be able to eat my treats!

God bless,

Mariann

[yllehs91]

hi. im 13 and new to gluten-free. so i was online today searching for gluten-free foods and there's a cool website...you might've already found it. gluten free.com..and its got the xantham gum for $9.75 (for an 8 oz. bag).. im not sure how much s/h is tho. and the guar gum (8 oz. bag), is $4.95 on the same website. they have ALOT of foods and i ordered so much today.

Open Original Shared Link

if you havent already seen it, check it out. it helped me sort of get started with this gluten-free diet. hope this helps..

--13 y/o TX

[Nadtorious]

Whoa.....Never saw the part about it being 7% of your income or more. That's kind of ridiculous. I make nowhere near $50,000 a year, but if anyone wants about $1000 worth of gluten-free receipts I've saved since January, let me know. What a load of crap.

Nadia

[cdobbs]

i bought a 6oz bottle of xanthum for 6.99 at sun harvest. the company name is NOW. i felt the same way and was like well i just wont be cooking. but i found it and i bottle has lasted me for almost 2 months. i cook alot of breads there are 3 of us with celiac disease in my house. so i think it lasted awhile for the size.

christi

[cdobbs]

one more thing it is gluten-free, it states on the package no sugar,salt,starch,yeast,wheat,gluten,corn,soy or millk

christi