Asian Markets

[christicrete]

I have found potato starch, rice flour and tapioca starch at a local asian market. The price of the flours and starches are like pennies on the dollar compared to the health food stores and even the health food section of my grocery stores. Are these foods safe for the celiac. I only buy items that are written in english and are single ingredient. Would appreciate any comments you may have. Thanks

Christi

[sweetie101282]

Hi christie

I use flours from the asian market all the time..so much cheaper! I found a 4 lb bag of rice flour for 2 bucks..doesn't get better than that! What i do to make sure they are ok is rinse them thoroughly with hot water before cutting into them. This does 2 things. 1) makes sure no holes are in the bag that wheat flour may have seeped into and 2) rinses off wheat starch/flour that may have gotten onto the package because all these flours are stored right next to eachother.

Buying at the asian market is really great for newly diagnosed people who dont want to invest in large quantities of gluten-free flours yet... you can buy a 16 oz package of, say, potato starch for less than 70 cents.

Hope this helps

Amy

[kaylee]

Hi,

my son has incredibly severe reactions to even the smallest traces of gluten and he has never had a reaction to any of the flours we buy regularly in Asian shops. Lucky you to have found potato starch there, I still haven't found a reasonably priced one (I don't have a clue why potato starch is so expensive - just because of low demand? Is there some difficulty in the process of making it??). We do buy tapioca, sweet rice flour and regular rice flour as well as various rice noodles in Asian shops for significantly less money than in the health food shops.

Best,

Kaylee

[christicrete]

THank you all for replying. I was leary but bought anyway. I found a rice vermicelli there and ate it for the first time last night, I could not tell the differance from regular spaghetti once i rinsed it (I found you have to rinse rice noodles). The potato starch I got was 79cents for 10oz. And it is right next to where my kids go to Tae Kwon Do so I am near it 4 times a week!

Thanks again

Christi