Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gluten-Free Chocolate In Toronto?

Katie B

Recommended Posts

Katie B Apprentice
Katie B
Posted

Hi everyone,

I'd like to bake some brownies and am looking for a gluten-free chocolate (preferably dark) in the Toronto area. Any tips please let me know!

Thanks,

Katie

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


romarin Newbie
romarin
Posted

Hi Katie,

I am not aware of chocolate being a problem, unless of course it has something added to it, like cookie crumbles to make it crunchy... otherwise, any plain dark chocolate should be fine, as it normally just consists of cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, and sometimes soy lecithin. A particularly nice chocolate that is made in Ontario, however, is Cocoa Camino. It's organic and fair trade, and in my opinion, the best chocolate bars anywhere. They make chocolate powder too, and I believe baking chocolate, but I'm not sure.

I'm curious, though, why you were under the impression that chocolate is a tricky thing to find as a celiac.

Good luck with your brownies!

R

Reba32 Rookie
Reba32
Posted

quite a lot of chocolate is produced on or in facilities that also manufacture wheat products. So while cocoa or chocolate itself is not glutenous, the end product may be cross contaminated.

Some chocolate makers use barley as a sweetener (Lindt) and won't swear that even the candy that doens't contain it are gluten free.

At least one chocolate candy manufacturer in the GTA uses maltodextrin from wheat as a sweetener (Purdy's) and though they swear it is a "sugar alcohol" and therefore gluten free, I had a severe reaction to it when I tried it. I was writhing in pain for hours from one small bite!

I would just read labels and look for the usual suspects in the ingredients and watch for cross contamination possibilities, same as any other product.

That said, I believe I posted in the other thread with the same question that Metro has some really nice dark chocolate bars, which are gluten free. They're not specifically "baking" chocolate, but yummy nonetheless :)

  • 5 weeks later...
K-Dawg Explorer
K-Dawg
Posted

Yes, you do need to be careful re: crosscontamination.

There is a vendor (or maybe 2) at St. Lawerence Market (downtown) who sells certified gluten-free chocolate (basement level).

I also think that aero is a no gluten added bar, but I"m not postive so check first.

Also, re: chocolate and celiacs: Sometime there is added flavouring (e.g. malt flavouring and that is derived from barley) that will make a celiac sick.

Hi everyone,

I'd like to bake some brownies and am looking for a gluten-free chocolate (preferably dark) in the Toronto area. Any tips please let me know!

Thanks,

Katie

romarin Newbie
romarin
Posted

Also, re: chocolate and celiacs: Sometime there is added flavouring (e.g. malt flavouring and that is derived from barley) that will make a celiac sick.

Okay, I guess that would be a problem then! I generally stay far away from more commercialized chocolate anyway, for plenty of other reasons, so I guess I haven't come across chocolate bars that have these extra ingredients in them. From my experience, organic chocolate, or non-organic but all-natural chocolate, is usually safe. Unless of course it says "may contain gluten, etc."

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,197
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Seeeye
    Newest Member
    Seeeye
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Bev in Milw
      Does Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov site have filters for gluten?

      By Bev in Milw · Posted

      Scott is correct….Thank you for catching that!      Direct link for info  of fillers.    http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/Excipients.htm Link is on 2nd page  of www.glutenfreedrugs.com   Site was started by a pharmacist (or 2) maybe 15-20 yrs ago with LAST updated in  2017.  This makes it’s Drug List so old that it’s no longer relevant. Companies & contacts, along with suppliers &  sources would need to be referenced, same amount effort  as starting with current data on DailyMed      That being said, Excipient List is still be relevant since major changes to product labeling occurred prior ’17.           List is the dictionary that sources the ‘foreign-to-us’ terms used on pharmaceutical labels, terms we need to rule out gluten.    Note on DailyMed INFO— When you look for a specific drug on DailyMed, notice that nearly all of companies (brands/labels) are flagged as a ‘Repackager’… This would seem to suggest the actual ‘pills’ are being mass produced by a limited number of wholesaler suppliers (esp for older meds out of  patent protection.).      If so, multiple repackager-get  bulk shipments  from same supplier will all  be selling identical meds —same formula/fillers. Others repackager-could be switching suppliers  frequently based on cost, or runs both gluten-free & non- items on same lines.  No way to know  without contacting company.     While some I know have  searched pharmacies chasing a specific brand, long-term  solution is to find (or teach) pharmacy staff who’s willing help.    When I got 1st Rx ~8 years ago, I went to Walgreens & said I needed gluten-free.  Walked  out when pharmacist said  ‘How am I supposed  to know…’  (ar least he as honest… ). Walmart pharmacists down the block were ‘No problem!’—Once, they wouldn’t release my Rx, still waiting on gluten-free status from a new supplier. Re: Timeliness of DailyMed info?   A serendipitous conversation with cousin in Mi was unexpectedly reassuring.  She works in office of Perrigo, major products of OTC meds (was 1st to add gluten-free labels).  I TOTALLY lucked out when I asked about her job: “TODAY I trained a new full-time employee to make entries to Daily Med.’  Task had grown to hours a day, time she needed for tasks that couldn’t be delegated….We can only hope majorities of companies are as  conscientious!   For the Newbies…. SOLE  purpose of  fillers (possible gluten) in meds is to  hold the active ingredients together in a doseable form.  Drugs  given by injection or as IV are always gluten-free!  (Sometimes drs can do antibiotics w/ one-time injection rather than 7-10 days of  pills .) Liquid meds (typically for kids)—still read labels, but  could be an a simpler option for some products…                 
    • Ginger38
      Food Allergies

      By Ginger38 · Posted

      So I recently had allergy testing for IGE antibodies in response to foods. My test results came back positive to corn, white potatoes, egg whites. Tomatoes, almonds and peanuts to name a few.  I have had obvious reactions to a few of these - particularly tomatoes and corn- both GI issues. I don’t really understand all this allergy versus celiac stuff. If the food allergies are mild do I have to avoid these foods entirely? I don’t know what I will eat if I can’t  have corn based gluten free products 
    • Kris2093u4
      Bread choice for a newbie

      By Kris2093u4 · Posted

      Geography makes a difference.  I'm in the West and Trader Joe's gluten-free bread tastes great and is a better price than most gluten-free breads sold elsewhere in my area.  
    • JForman
      7yo struggling!

      By JForman · Posted

      We have four children (7-14 yo), and our 7 year old was diagnosed with NCGS (though all Celiac labs were positive, her scope at 4 years old was negative so docs in the US won't call it celiac). We have started her on a Gluten Free diet after 3 years of major digestive issues and ruling out just about everything under the sun. Our home and kitchen and myself are all gluten-free. But I have not asked my husband/her dad or her other siblings to go completely gluten-free with us. They are at home, but not out of the home. This has led to situations when we are eating out where she has to consistently see others eating things she can't have and she has begun to say "Well, I can't have <fill in the blank>...stupid gluten."  How have you supported your gluten-free kiddos in the mental health space of this journey, especially young ones like her. I know it's hard for me as an adult sometimes to miss out, so I can't imagine being 7 and dealing with it! Any tips or ideas to help with this? 
    • Fayeb23
      Waiting Gastroenterology review

      By Fayeb23 · Posted

      I’ve recently had bloods test due to fatigue. Iron was found to be low Serum ferritin level 4 ug/L so doctor sent for Coeliac test. Results have come back TTG ABS NUMERICAL > 250.0 U/mL is this a high reading? Am not waiting a Gastroenterology referral but this could take 10 weeks! This is all total new to me, didn’t think for a second I would have coeliac disease. Been advised not to change diet until seen by specialist 
×
×
  • Create New...