The gluten-free approach was seen as a solution to the rising incidents of people being diagnosed with celiac disease. People without celiac disease but with heightened gluten sensitivity are said to also benefit from a gluten-free intake as the diet is touted to improve cholesterol levels, promote digestive health and increase energy levels.
In the early stages of the gluten-free movement, the main problem was the limited availability of gluten-free options available in the market. In addition, the rare gluten-free products offered in those days almost usually lack in the taste department, as it seems that food manufacturers at that time focused mainly on making their products free of gluten that its palatability took a distant second. Fortunately, for people who wish to try the gluten free diet today, options abound with some even rivaling, if not surpassing, the taste of their regular counterparts.
One of these food companies offering gluten-free cakes and pastries with premium taste is the Canadian-based The Original Cakerie which won the National Restaurant Association's FABI (Food and Beverage Innovation) award for its Inspired by Happiness brand Gluten-Free Dreamin' two layer cakes. However, Vice President Susanne Ross admits to Karen Weisberg of FoodBusinessNews that it has been a long seven years before the company came up with the right mixture that produced gourmet quality texture and flavor.
Those opting for to make a flavorful gluten-free meal at home should find solace in Richard Coppedge Jr's new book "Baking for Special Diets" which include two gluten-free flour formulations. Mr Coppedge Jr., a professor at the Culinary Arts of America understood early on of the problem of gluten-free cooking that tastes great and devoted, together with his students, their efforts in creating a delicious yet gluten-free baking mixture.
On the other hand, Laverne Matias, co-founder of the Bacano Bakery in California took a different approach to the taste problem of gluten-free products. Most gluten-free bread and pastries are made of rice flours but Matias took the multigrain approach, experimenting with a number of ancient grains instead. The perfected combination consists of teff, millet, sorghum, flaxmeal, tapioca, and almond flour to create flavorful pastries that could confidently compete with the rest.
These are just a few of the countless others who have made breakthroughs in adding flavor to the previously inferior-tasting gluten-free diet. This is a good thing because fad or not, it seems that the gluten-free movement is here to stay. A survey by London-based Mintel show that while more than half of Americans think gluten-free is just a fad, the number Americans opting for a gluten-free diet rose by an astounding 67 percent.
