How To Clean And Get Rid Of Gluten

[SherriRoy]

I work in a kitchen and cook as my part time profession with university. I have been searching for some time looking for what will clean something that has been contaminated with gluten. Specifically I am talking about the grill that I use at work, If I steam it...does the gluten still stay there? Is soap necessary to uncontaminate?

Once something has been contaminated, is there any way to get rid of gluten without using chemicals?

How about a broiler? Does heat or steam effect contamination?

Let me know you have any idea, for I've been really curious. I've been told that just steam will get rid of it, but my doubts are huge.

Thanks,

sherri

[darlindeb25]

i hope you find an answer sherri--i do know that many celiacs will go out and purchase all new pans--i didnt do that--i did however get rid of my teflon pans that were scratched--i have read where food particles get into the cracks or scratches of teflon and cant be removed--i just got an apartment and the person who just moved out left a stack of very nice, heavy pans--lots of cooked on food on them though--i bought some SOS pads and went to work on them--they look just like new now--the teflon i am throwing out--i am not sure about a grill--i would want my food cooked in foil, but that's just me--not much help huh deb

[ryebaby0]

I gotta believe steam isn't going to remove gluten. You don't want to think of it as a "germ" that needs to be killed with heat/soap/scrubbing, try thinking as if it were paint that has to come off. What are the chances that you can get every single particle off of ALL the grill? (I know our grill is hopeless. We bought a new grid)

If you really find cooking on foil unacceptable, maybe you could industriously super-scrub/scour a portion of the entire grill and cook only in the middle of the "cleaned" spot?

joanna

[tarnalberry]

I imagine you'd denature the protein if you stuck the item in an autoclave (a device used by biologists to provide a high enough heat to sterilize things before experiments), but would you irreversibly denature the portion of the protein that actually causes our reaction? I don't know and haven't seen anything conclusive on that yet. And most autoclaves are far too small for kitchen appliances. ;-)

For regular cleaning processes, the problem is one of plain physics, as has been noted; molecules of food get stuck in cracks in the surface. If you're working with a substance - like stainless steel - that doesn't scratch easily or deeply at all, then simple thorough washing may be completely sufficient. If you're talking about something like cast iron (which many grills are made of), then you're talking about a lot of nooks and crannies in that rough surface which I wouldn't risk.

As for a broiler... I presume you're talking about the surface the food is placed on in such a machine. If it's stainless steel variety of grate, you might - in theory - be able to clean it, but every point where there's a joint, it's going to be really hard to clean it to be like-new.

I've got to second the foil method, to keep foods a celiac eats off of those contaminated, and likely to remain so, surfaces.

[SherriRoy]

Thank you so much for your opinions. I did not expect such fast answers. I pretty much was the understanding that it was hopeless to really be gluten free anywhere in a restaurants kitchen...but I just thought I might ask.

just a little while ago my in-laws said they found a place where they cater to gluten-free cooking. Essentially it was just a stir fry joint that had a massive cast iron grill, and you get all your ingredients together and they just heat "cook" them up on the grill. I watched as they used separate spatullas for my food, but to clean the grill all they did was steam it. I watched in horror knowing that I was most likely going to be eating things I really shouldn't. Yet being with my in-laws who have no real idea about this, but try really really hard to relate, and even to understand. I wasn't able to just not eat... fortunately, or maybe it is unfortunately, my symptoms from being diagnosed have not disapeared or really even changed since I've been gluten free, so I wasn't much more sicker than normal in eating there. Still...it was the steam that I was skeptical on, and I knew I had every right to be. Many people that are respectable in the cooking industry in which I work...swear they know about these sort of things... lately I've been realizing that I can trust very very few. Mainly only other celiacs. I'm still trying to understand what gluten fits under in categories. How do you explain it to someone...some call it an enzyme, others I've heard just refer it to physical crumbs....etc. I think of it just as some sort of molecule that I have no real idea what it technically is.

I was essentially hoping that soap would clean all in a home kitchen there just isn't getting rid of food particles. But I've only lived in my apartment gluten free so far, so I'm pretty sure that it's pretty safe.

Thanks again.

[SherriRoy]

just a side note...

The autoclave I'm sure would kill all, and clean all....If only purchasing one would allow me actually eat out in a place other than my house.