What Is The *purpose* Of Adding Flour To Everything?

[Monklady123]

This might be a silly question but since I really hate to cook I really have no idea what various ingredients do for recipes or packaged food. So why do manufacturers add wheat to things? I don't mean just the CC that might occur in say rice cereal that's processed in a plant that also makes wheat cereal. But I mean more like foods such as soy sauce. What is the reason for wheat in SOY sauce? Soy, yes. Wheat?

Or canned soups? I make soup at home all the time in the winter without ever using wheat (even before going gluten-free). (yes, I know I said I don't like to cook, but the family still needs to eat, lol). So why do they need wheat in soup?

Gravy -- it's a thickener. Why not use corn starch?

Sigh. Just feeling grumpy today because our very favorite meatballs from Costco, that we only eat once in awhile because I won't go to Costco until the dog is out of dry food, have wheat in them!

[Kay DH]

A primary ingredient in soy sauce is fermented wheat, it provides much of the flavor. They should call it wheat sauce instead of soy sauce. For soups, the wheat adds body, it thickens the soup slightly. It can also add taste, such as wheat used to make smoke flavoring. Companies are migrating more to xanthan and other thickeners. Some use cornstarch for thickening, but that has a different appearance than wheat flour. It is more translucent, like in sweet and sour sauce, and some people don't like that (the weenies).

[sa1937]

I've asked myself that question many times. Sheesh, I don't need to use wheat in my chicken broth or soups or a lot of other things I make from scratch that have always been gluten-free. Just think of all the customers they could gain by figuring out how to make their product without wheat. *Like a lot of us*

[cassP]

my family has made meatballs twice since i went full gluten-free... using millet toast crumbles the first time, and Rudi's gluten-free bread the 2nd time- DELISH

ya, i know it's upsetting. i really love the show: Diners, Drivin ins, and Dives... and i also LOVE diner food- but if you watch- those people are throwing in Flour, and Barley ALL THE TIME... one guy even put it in his Bolognese & Marinara sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wtf??? i come from a strong italian family- you do NOT need to put any type of flour into a sauce except for Bechamel... annoying

[kareng]

My BIL who likes to make up conspiracies for fun, said it is to make a good number of the people sick so we don't object to things going on in the world & the gov't.

[shopgirl]

"Amber waves of grain..."

We grow a lot of wheat in this country. A lot. We grow so much, we have to pay farmers not to grow more. It can be added to a lot of things relatively cheaply. I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist but basically we have a lot of wheat and companies have learned how to manipulate it into their foods. I think that's why so many people have problems with wheat and gluten now: we're just not supposed to eat this much of it. There are similar theories about dairy, soy, and various preservatives and additives — are human beings really meant to consume such large quantities of some of these foods?

I think economics is at the heart of it though.

[BethJ]

That show has made me very wary of eating out anywhere! It's a sin what they're doing to foods that don't require wheat or barley. And now the latest darling is putting beer in everything from marinades to sauces. I know to ask about soy sauce and things that I know could contain gluten, but hidden poisons like beer terrify me.

  On 12/11/2010 at 1:48 PM, cassP said:

ya, i know it's upsetting. i really love the show: Diners, Drivin ins, and Dives... and i also LOVE diner food- but if you watch- those people are throwing in Flour, and Barley ALL THE TIME... one guy even put it in his Bolognese & Marinara sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wtf??? i come from a strong italian family- you do NOT need to put any type of flour into a sauce except for Bechamel... annoying

[Skylark]

Unfortunately, wheat tastes good and is nice to cook with. You used to cook with wheat--you know exactly why we use wheat flour for gravy and not cornstarch!

I get frustrated too. Twice now recently I've run across chopped nuts for sundaes that were coated with wheat starch! That's not even a flavor thing, just keeps the nuts from clumping. It could very easily have been any other kind of starch.

There is a lot of gluten-free food at Costo! Have you tried the Kirkland pulled pork with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce? Yummy! They have big tubs of hummus, cheap cheese, lots of produce, Crunchmaster rice crackers that are marked gluten-free, Mrs. May's nut crunch bars and clusters, and at my Costco there are no gluten ingredients in the rotisserie chickens.

[Jestgar]

Wheat is cheap, and our signature crop, but yes, it is annoying and pointless most of the time.

[ravenwoodglass]

I used to be a chef. I used roux in a lot of stuff for thickening and color. Roux is browned flour and butter. The gluten in wheat also acts as a sort of 'binder' that holds stuff together and keeps things like soup from seperating in the can. I agree there are so many things that could use something else. Hopefully the larger numbers of us who are now being diagnosed will make it easier to find stuff we can eat. My biggest pet peeve is companies that make stuff gluten free but replace the wheat with soy protein.

[eatmeat4good]

I was just thinking about my old friend "wheat" today.

It occurred to me that it gives new meaning to the migraine headaches I sufferred almost daily for the last 5 years. Now they are My Grain Headaches.

[mushroom]

  On 12/12/2010 at 12:53 AM, eatmeat4good said:

It occurred to me that it gives new meaning to the migraine headaches I sufferred almost daily for the last 5 years. Now they are My Grain Headaches.

:lol:

[eatmeat4good]

Thank you Mushroom!

[Monklady123]

  On 12/12/2010 at 12:53 AM, eatmeat4good said:

I was just thinking about my old friend "wheat" today.

It occurred to me that it gives new meaning to the migraine headaches I sufferred almost daily for the last 5 years. Now they are My Grain Headaches.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[srall]

  On 12/11/2010 at 3:24 PM, shopgirl said:

"Amber waves of grain..."

We grow a lot of wheat in this country. A lot. We grow so much, we have to pay farmers not to grow more. It can be added to a lot of things relatively cheaply. I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist but basically we have a lot of wheat and companies have learned how to manipulate it into their foods. I think that's why so many people have problems with wheat and gluten now: we're just not supposed to eat this much of it. There are similar theories about dairy, soy, and various preservatives and additives

[TPT]

Does anyone remember the old Wonder commercial where the "monster put the children in the dungeon and made them eat wheat bread?"

Also, the irony of how wheat has been touted as a "health food." I guess for some it is, but think of all the "whole wheat" packages we NOW avoid!

[curiousgirl]

  On 12/11/2010 at 1:42 PM, sa1937 said:

I've asked myself that question many times. Sheesh, I don't need to use wheat in my chicken broth or soups or a lot of other things I make from scratch that have always been gluten-free. Just think of all the customers they could gain by figuring out how to make their product without wheat. *Like a lot of us*

Yea, and not charge an arm and a leg for it! Does it really cost them more to make gluten free food???

[lynnelise]

I had this conversation with a friend the other day and she said "because it's a great thickener and it's delicious!" :angry:I pointed out that it is also a top allergen not to mention gluten containing so why not use something less people react to???

I should add that she works for the Dept. of Agriculture and goes on lots of wheat grower sponsored luncheons.

[lovegrov]

  On 12/13/2010 at 12:45 AM, curiousgirl said:

Yea, and not charge an arm and a leg for it! Does it really cost them more to make gluten free food???

In fact it does cost more to make some things gluten-free. In some things, the ingredients cost more. Just think how much xanthan gum is. Most other flours also cost more. And with other products it's a matter of economies of scale. It's cheaper per unit to make 100,000 of something than just 1,000 of them.

As for soy sauce specifically, the wheat DOES make a taste difference. I remember that the owner of a local Japanese place started using wheat free soy sauce years ago because he started hearing from more people who couldn't have wheat. He didn't announce this to regular customers; he just did it. IMMEDIATELY his regulars started asking what he had changed in his recipes and would he please change back. He did, although he will gladly substitute your sauce in your dish.

richard