Thursday, March 12, 2015

Conquering Cross Contamination in my Shared Kitchen

I am the only one in my family with Celiac Disease, so I have to share my kitchen with gluten everyday! I'm always careful to wipe down counters and never share utensils between gluten free and non gluten free dishes...For the most part all the family meals I cook are completely gluten free, even though hubby and kiddos don't have to be.  I've tried lately to be even more aware of gluten cross contamination.  Here are a few more tips to conquer it...

Straighten and reorganize pantry...  I keep gluten free items separate from gluten items.  We have one large pantry, so I put the gluten free items at the top and the gluten items down near the bottom. I also wipe the shelves down with a damp cloth every so often, to catch any crumbs that might be floating around. With 3 kids, it's a little tricky keeping it straight, but it can be done :)

Keep some gluten free utensils separate...Even though the utensils in the drawer are clean, with little hands reaching in to grab forks and spoons, gluten crumbs seem to find their way into the utensil drawer.  So I keep some utensils separate just for me :) I also keep some utensils for GF cooking separate too.

Use dedicated gluten free pans and spatulas...  Have a separate baking sheet for gluten free foods. If your pans are like mine they get darker and worn, and even though you wash them, they can harbor gluten.  Plastic spatulas are also something I've noticed that tend to wear down and become great places for gluten to hide! I also like to have some dedicated cookware that's just for gluten free foods.

What steps do you take to conquer gluten cross contamination in your shared kitchen?








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