Tips On Making Kitchen Gluten Free

[MRM]

i've been reading through old post and i've an idea of where to start. i'll be replacing my beloved cast iron pans, wooden cooking utensils and my metal strainers. what about wood cutting boards? can i sand them and oil them? can i clean my stainless steel pots or do they need to be replaced? do i need to replace my toaster oven if i order a new rack and pan for it?

how about cleaning hard surfaces? lots of elbow grease and bleach? i'm very tidy be nature and my kitchen is usually very clean. are place that like to harbor crumbs that i should look for?

sorry about all the questions. maybe there's a cleaning guide i missed somewhere.

[wildwood]

i've been reading through old post and i've an idea of where to start. i'll be replacing my beloved cast iron pans, wooden cooking utensils and my metal strainers. what about wood cutting boards? can i sand them and oil them? can i clean my stainless steel pots or do they need to be replaced? do i need to replace my toaster oven if i order a new rack and pan for it?

how about cleaning hard surfaces? lots of elbow grease and bleach? i'm very tidy be nature and my kitchen is usually very clean. are place that like to harbor crumbs that i should look for?

sorry about all the questions. maybe there's a cleaning guide i missed somewhere.

You don't have to get rid of your cast iron pans. If you have a self cleaning cycle on your oven, you can put the pans in the oven while you run the self clean cycle. This will burn off any gluten. Then you just have to reseason them.

[sa1937]

While I'm not yet "officially" diagnosed after having high readings on my Celiac Panel (awaiting endo/biopsy on April 9), I am going to purchase new wooden spoons, cutting boards (both wooden and acrylic), rubber scrapers, Tupperware mixing bowls, Tupperware colander and anything else that might possibly harbor hidden gluten. I'm definitely going to replace my toaster and anything else that I can think of that cannot be successfully cleaned.

I am not replacing my expensive hard anodized aluminum Calphalon pots and pans but will give them all a good scrubbing with a new ScotchBrite pad and Comet cleanser. I have the older ones made in Toledo, OH (now made in China - boo hiss). I will also replace any nonstick saucepans and skillets.

Hope this helps...plus I'll be going through my pantry and getting rid of any foods that contain gluten (donating any that are unopened). Easier for me as I live alone and can do a totally gluten free kitchen.

[SGWhiskers]

While I'm not yet "officially" diagnosed after having high readings on my Celiac Panel (awaiting endo/biopsy on April 9), I am going to purchase new wooden spoons, cutting boards (both wooden and acrylic), rubber scrapers, Tupperware mixing bowls, Tupperware colander and anything else that might possibly harbor hidden gluten. I'm definitely going to replace my toaster and anything else that I can think of that cannot be successfully cleaned.

I am not replacing my expensive hard anodized aluminum Calphalon pots and pans but will give them all a good scrubbing with a new ScotchBrite pad and Comet cleanser. I have the older ones made in Toledo, OH (now made in China - boo hiss). I will also replace any nonstick saucepans and skillets.

Hope this helps...plus I'll be going through my pantry and getting rid of any foods that contain gluten (donating any that are unopened). Easier for me as I live alone and can do a totally gluten free kitchen.

Things I've learned through this board or experiences with getting rid of the gluten: I ignored everyone here and did as you did with my Calphalon pans except I used rubbing alcohol instead of comet. I was afraid of scratching them, and read somewhere that gluten was alcohol soluable. I scrubbed intil the paper towel didn't pick up tinges of brown. My Calphalon was not scratched to begin with. I was worried about the area around the bolts, so I scrubbed like crazy there. I was still making myself sick the first three months gluten-free from disbelief about the sensitivity of cross contamination in other areas. Once I cleared up the other areas, I figured 3 months of gluten free cooking had gotten all the remaining gluten out of those pans. Who knows if I was right. I still have pain issues, but if I get gluten at a restaraunt, I have a very different reaction from what the docs and I think is fibromyalgia causing the daily pain.

OK, Replace:

Can opener/bottle openers.

Colanders

Tupperware (consider corningware that can be washed when someone screws up and puts gluten in the container). (or disposables)

The BBQ grill isn't safe anymore. Seriously. That was the biggest cause of CC for me. Use foil or a grill pan

Use the pretty wooden cutting boards for fruit, wine and cheese, or displaying the roast after you have removed your slices. Get those skinny plastic cutting boards so that you can store them in a gluten-free location. My grandmother's rolling pin is in storage for a niece.

Clean the silverware and cooking utensil drawer. Clean the pantry, glass baking canisters, and spices storage.

I replaced my muffin pans, but not my other unscratched metal bakeware. I did use foil for a year's worth of washings though.

I replaced the whisks because I was worried about flour dust getting up in the handles and then falling out.

My electric mixer was inexpensive, so I replaced it after a year. I don't know what I would have done if I had one of those expensive Kitchen Aids. I didn't have much reason to blend anything though because I never was a bread woman and I've found mixing by hand perfectly adequate for a while.

I get an airborne reaction, so I found it helpful to replace the birds food with food without wheat. No point letting him throw actual grains of wheat at me. Coincidentally, I had replaced my cat's food with gluten free food a few months prior to going gluten-free so he was on an all meat diet. He lost weight, and I find it helps my sanity.

Oh, Twice I've been glutened by juices with Vitamin E (tocepherol acetate). I either glanced over it both times, or forgot to read the label since it said 100% juice. (tocepherol/vitamin E can be gluten-free or have gluten. Call the company to find out the source).

Best wishes on getting gluten-free.

[sa1937]

Thanks for the good wishes! I had my blood test in Dec., follow-up in Jan., saw a GI doc in Feb. and am now just playing the waiting game and eating like a gluten-crazed woman. The bathroom is becoming my most used room in the house this weekend. I so want that endo/biopsy to be revealing. The GI doc feels sure I have Celiac. I did ask him if he had other patients with celiac. I'd hate to think I was the first.

You've given me a lot more things to think about in redoing my kitchen. My BBQ grill was just purchased in Aug. and hasn't seen much except steaks and grilled veggies so no gluten there.

Is it really true that rubbing alcohol works in removing gluten? I hadn't heard that one before.

My Calphalon came with a ScotchBrite pad and instructions to use Comet, which I've done many times. (bought it in the late 90's) Glad I don't have the nonstick as I have a fortune invested in cookware. For glass baking dishes (Pyrex and CorningWare) I could use oven cleaner on them although I don't think mine are too bad.

My dog is on Nutro Lite Lamb & Rice, which only has rice as the grain. But I will have to be carefully washing my hands after giving her Milk Bone for her treats.

I don't plan to replace my Kitchen Aid mixer but then I have a small portable one, not one of the honking big ones. It hasn't been used that much as I really don't do much baking. I simply don't have room in my kitchen for a big one.

Dr. Peter Green swears by soap and water and not having to go out and buy all new things but I do have my eye on an inexpensive set of nonstick cookware as I figure they don't last all that well anyway.

Thans for all of your suggestions! I have learned so much on this forum.

[Lynayah]

Kitchenaid Mixer: Does anyone know how to scrub it down to make sure that it is okay to use? An old Kitchen Aid doesn't have to be replaced; does it?

[missy'smom]

I still use my old Kitchen Aid stand mixer, which was used to make bread and other things alot and see no problem with it. The problem is with the hand-held mixers that have the vents in front or elsewhere, mine was visibly full of flour that couldn't be removed. Definitely don't toss the cast iron. Put in the oven on self-clean, clean well, reaseason and dedicate to gluten-free only. I love my cast iron, am very sensitive and have had no problems with my old after it was cleaned this way. Don't forget old deep fryers need to be relaced. Many have non-stick surfaces that can't be completely scrubbed and even those that are not non-stick can't be completely cleaned. A new gluten-free only one is in order.

[MRM]

unfortunately my oven does not have a self cleaning option. can i just bake it as high as it will go for a significant amount of time?

i just got a KA mixer for Christmas with enameled attachments. i'm just going to give them a super cleaning and call it good. i think i've only used it maybe 12-15 times.

what about silicone cookware? i got two silicone muffin pans for Christmas as well. should i just run them through the dishwasher and few times?

[Lynayah]

unfortunately my oven does not have a self cleaning option. can I just bake it as high as it will go for a significant amount of time?

I just got a KA mixer for Christmas with enameled attachments. I’m just going to give them a super cleaning and call it good. I think I’ve only used it maybe 12-15 times.

what about silicone cookware? I got two silicone muffin pans for Christmas as well. should I just run them through the dishwasher and few times?

From what I have been told, you definitely need to use a self-cleaning oven. If you have a friend who owns one, you might want to ask for a favor. I've read that it can be messy -- some folks suggest that you warn the friend and offer to help clean.

Like you, I do not have a self-cleaning oven. I haven't asked anyone to help me clean my cast iron yet, yet.

I have an antique cast iron skillet that is SO PERFECTLY SEASONED that I haven't had the heart to take it away from my family. I can't use it, but they can. I miss it so much.

Right now, none of my cast iron is gluten-free, which is killing me -- I really got into cast iron a few years back, and I have a nice collection.

Oddly enough, last week I fell on my oven door--shile it was open--and bent it to where we cannot properly close the door (long story). SO, when we can afford it, we need to purchase a new oven.

This time, it will be a self-cleaning one.

In the meantime, I am using the stove-top, micro, and a counter-top roaster. I also have a convection oven that I can use for non-gluten family, but not me.

For cookware: Corning Ware, stainless steel and enamel coated cast iron (I found a Dutch oven enamel coated cast iron pot on sale at Aldi - I love it).

[T.H.]

One thing I read, when I was doing the same thing to my kitchen, helped me a lot in figuring out what and how to clean.

It said: think of gluten like paint. You can't steam it off, you can't sterilize it off, you have to scrape and scrub it off.

Stainless steel, you can probably scrub if there's not corners that you can't get into. Wood - I sanded everything down, and that seemed to do okay, but I could see some wood that I wouldn't feel safe doing that on. I got rid of all my silicon bakeware, because I couldn't get it clean enough.

I now have very extreme, immediate reactions to gluten, so it's made it much easier to figure out what we've had that was 'bad' or what was doing okay.

A few things to think of, too?

Dish soap - if there's ever a chance every speck of soap isn't rinsed off your dishes, you want gluten free dishsoap.

laundry detertent - if there's ever a chance that every speck of soap isn't rinsed out of your dishtowels that touch your plates and such, you want gluten free laundry detergent (I have reacted from something like this, honestly. It seems insane, but it's enough to do you in, sometimes). Hand sanitizer and cat food are another couple of things in the kitchen that you might want to examine, too.

Good luck to you!

i've been reading through old post and i've an idea of where to start. i'll be replacing my beloved cast iron pans, wooden cooking utensils and my metal strainers. what about wood cutting boards? can i sand them and oil them? can i clean my stainless steel pots or do they need to be replaced? do i need to replace my toaster oven if i order a new rack and pan for it?

how about cleaning hard surfaces? lots of elbow grease and bleach? i'm very tidy be nature and my kitchen is usually very clean. are place that like to harbor crumbs that i should look for?

sorry about all the questions. maybe there's a cleaning guide i missed somewhere.

[Lynayah]

One thing I read, when I was doing the same thing to my kitchen, helped me a lot in figuring out what and how to clean.

It said: think of gluten like paint. You can't steam it off, you can't sterilize it off, you have to scrape and scrub it off.

Stainless steel, you can probably scrub if there's not corners that you can't get into. Wood - I sanded everything down, and that seemed to do okay, but I could see some wood that I wouldn't feel safe doing that on. I got rid of all my silicon bakeware, because I couldn't get it clean enough.

I now have very extreme, immediate reactions to gluten, so it's made it much easier to figure out what we've had that was 'bad' or what was doing okay.

A few things to think of, too?

Dish soap - if there's ever a chance every speck of soap isn't rinsed off your dishes, you want gluten free dishsoap.

laundry detertent - if there's ever a chance that every speck of soap isn't rinsed out of your dishtowels that touch your plates and such, you want gluten free laundry detergent (I have reacted from something like this, honestly. It seems insane, but it's enough to do you in, sometimes). Hand sanitizer and cat food are another couple of things in the kitchen that you might want to examine, too.

Good luck to you!

YIPES! Hand sanitizer isn't gluten free? What brands ARE?

[GraceAnew]

I just got positive results from my blood work for celiac and am wading through all sorts of info to find out what all I need to be doing/not doing. Is it absolutely neccessary to throw out/replace/scrub down anything and everything I own, or is it a more personal as-needed kind of thing that each person has to muddle through and figure out? I feel like I can't go for a visit to my parents or in-laws, even if they are cooking gluten-free for me, if the CC considerations are this intense...

[Bobbijo6681]

I just got positive results from my blood work for celiac and am wading through all sorts of info to find out what all I need to be doing/not doing. Is it absolutely neccessary to throw out/replace/scrub down anything and everything I own, or is it a more personal as-needed kind of thing that each person has to muddle through and figure out? I feel like I can't go for a visit to my parents or in-laws, even if they are cooking gluten-free for me, if the CC considerations are this intense...

Welcome to the group and remember you are a lucky one that actually has a dx. It is important to do all of the scrub down/cleaning/replacing as soon as possible. The best way to start feeling better is to get rid of Gluten. As for CC it depends on each person, so be very careful especially at first. I am lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) that I do not feel CC. Although it still does damage I am not aware of when that happens. As I said it can be good in someways...not sick, but can be bad because I may never completely heal if I get CC'd and don't know it. Still visit your family, but do your best to educate those that will be doing the cooking. Also prior to eating or drinking you can personally wash each plate, bowl...etc that you will be using so that you know they are free of CC.

Good Luck and I hope that you are healthy again very very soon!!

[Reba32]

I haven't replaced anything in my kitchen at all, I just made sure to give it all a good scrub. I don't currently use the toaster oven or the bread maker anymore though. My husband uses them for his gluteny stuff.

You may want to open up all your kitchen drawers that are underneath preparation areas and dump everything out and wash them out too. Bread crumbs can get in there and whatnot.

I switched my dogs to gluten free foods, as well as gluten free treats. Their dry food, and canned food, and treats are all gluten free, because for the first month or so I was getting CC'd from my dogs. They get chicken chips, pig ears, and pupperoni type treats instead of milk bone biscuits and beggin strips.

[GraceAnew]

Welcome to the group and remember you are a lucky one that actually has a dx. It is important to do all of the scrub down/cleaning/replacing as soon as possible. The best way to start feeling better is to get rid of Gluten. As for CC it depends on each person, so be very careful especially at first. I am lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) that I do not feel CC. Although it still does damage I am not aware of when that happens. As I said it can be good in someways...not sick, but can be bad because I may never completely heal if I get CC'd and don't know it. Still visit your family, but do your best to educate those that will be doing the cooking. Also prior to eating or drinking you can personally wash each plate, bowl...etc that you will be using so that you know they are free of CC.

Good Luck and I hope that you are healthy again very very soon!!

Thanks for the encouraging words.

I was getting overwhelmed while I was washing the dishes, thinking of everything I would potentially have to get rid of or not be able to use...or how I would clean it to make it usable. I'll just have to keep reminding myself one step at a time... I'm already feeling a lot better after I started cutting out things I thought were making me sick right before I got tested, although I haven't gone completely gluten free yet (I end up with something once a week at least that's got gluten...and then I end up regretting eating it a while later). It'd be great if healing continued at this rate though...

[Bobbijo6681]

Thanks for the encouraging words.

I was getting overwhelmed while I was washing the dishes, thinking of everything I would potentially have to get rid of or not be able to use...or how I would clean it to make it usable. I'll just have to keep reminding myself one step at a time... I'm already feeling a lot better after I started cutting out things I thought were making me sick right before I got tested, although I haven't gone completely gluten free yet (I end up with something once a week at least that's got gluten...and then I end up regretting eating it a while later). It'd be great if healing continued at this rate though...

Unfortunately if you keep eating gluten, even once a week, you will not completely heal. You may feel better but those set backs will not help. The only way to be 100% again is to cut out ALL gluten, and the sooner the better!

You can do this and remember we are all here to help if you need us.

[kareng]

Heres what I did:

I had fun & got new pans just for me or food that we can eat together. Kept old pans for glutinous things.

Got new spoons, measuring cups, cutting board in red & my kids do notice & ask before using my stuff. Got red duct tape for Margarine, jelly, handle of something I couldn't find in red.

Got a new red toaster at Penneys but you can also order on-line toaster bags which I used on vacation.

I figured glass & ceramic are easy to see if they are clean as long as they have no grooves or creases.

cleaned my beautiful new Kitchen Aid with vinegar. I found before that vinegar disolves flour on it & I can wipe & rinse it away.

Foil is your friend. I had not gotten new cookie sheets & wanted to cook potatoes with olive in oven & I covered the old pan with foil. Clean up so much easier. Used lots of foil at vacation condo, too.

Found that most plain dishsoap like Dawn is gluten-free. I put an automatic soap dispenser at the kitchen sink so crumby or germy hands don't touch top of dispenser.

I change kitchen towels everyday or more depending on who is home & what food is being eaten.

Grill - never cooked bread but some soy sauce based marinade. Hub used metal grill scrubber, then heated really high, then scrubbed some more & I didn't have a problem. I have heard you can clean racks with oven or grill cleaner. If it fits in oven, could self clean.

Had to have oven door off to fix & the crumbs lurking in the cracks...wow. I've never seen one crawl around the egde & jump on food yet so don't need to dismantle oven.

[GraceAnew]

Unfortunately if you keep eating gluten, even once a week, you will not completely heal. You may feel better but those set backs will not help. The only way to be 100% again is to cut out ALL gluten, and the sooner the better!

You can do this and remember we are all here to help if you need us.

Yeah, I was waiting to meeting with my NP to see if she thought a biopsy was needed. I'd been reading in many places that you had to get a blood test and if that was positive don't change to the new diet yet, get a biopsy of intestine, and THEN change your diet...and if you got better, then you were indeed celiac. I met with her today and she said Nope, we know you've got it so no other testing is needed... which I'm glad about! I'm going to start cleaning the kitchen up right now and boxing up glutenized things to take to the food pantry at my church... I think my husband is willing to go gluten-free as well, so that will make all of this much easier.

[GraceAnew]

Heres what I did:

I had fun & got new pans just for me or food that we can eat together. Kept old pans for glutinous things.

Got new spoons, measuring cups, cutting board in red & my kids do notice & ask before using my stuff. Got red duct tape for Margarine, jelly, handle of something I couldn't find in red.

Got a new red toaster at Penneys but you can also order on-line toaster bags which I used on vacation.

I figured glass & ceramic are easy to see if they are clean as long as they have no grooves or creases.

cleaned my beautiful new Kitchen Aid with vinegar. I found before that vinegar disolves flour on it & I can wipe & rinse it away.

Foil is your friend. I had not gotten new cookie sheets & wanted to cook potatoes with olive in oven & I covered the old pan with foil. Clean up so much easier. Used lots of foil at vacation condo, too.

Found that most plain dishsoap like Dawn is gluten-free. I put an automatic soap dispenser at the kitchen sink so crumby or germy hands don't touch top of dispenser.

I change kitchen towels everyday or more depending on who is home & what food is being eaten.

Grill - never cooked bread but some soy sauce based marinade. Hub used metal grill scrubber, then heated really high, then scrubbed some more & I didn't have a problem. I have heard you can clean racks with oven or grill cleaner. If it fits in oven, could self clean.

Had to have oven door off to fix & the crumbs lurking in the cracks...wow. I've never seen one crawl around the egde & jump on food yet so don't need to dismantle oven.

These are really helpful! Especially the Kitchen Aid...I have a brand new one as well and was wondering what on earth I was going to do with that. Thanks for sharing.

[sa1937]

kareng, I bought new pots and pans today, too! I have a very good (read: expensive) set of Calphalon, but I wanted to get some new nonstick. They didn't cost me an arm and a leg as I don't believe investing that much on nonstick as it seems I've bought quite a bit of it over the years only to have it get scratched, etc.

I've also gotten some new small cakepans as I figure I deserve it (I know this dates me but my old ones are 50 years old...lol) I've also gotten a new acrylic cutting board. Still need to get a new toaster, strainers and colander plus a few other things I haven't thought of yet.

Right now I'm still consuming gluten but plan to go gluten free after my endoscopy on April 9 so I still have time. I won't use my new things until after that.