Food sensitivities, including gluten sensitivity and celiac disease, are continuing to influence food preferences on a global scale. According to Nielsen, thirty-six percent of global survey respondents in 2016 say they have an allergy or intolerance to one or more foods1. One in 133 Americans has celiac disease2 which involves an autoimmune reaction to the gluten protein found in grains like wheat, barley, spelt, triticale, kamut and rye. Approximately three million people in the U.S. are living with celiac disease, 97% of whom are undiagnosed. Many other countries of the world also have a celiac rate close to that of America, with Western Europe at a 1:100 prevalence rate.
According to Package Facts, all channel gluten-free food sales will exceed two billion dollars by 2020 in the nine food categories that were analyzed3.
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Often, the first stop after the doctor’s office for a newly-diagnosed celiac or an individual with a suspected intolerance to gluten, is the grocery store. As a former Registered Dietitian for a large Midwestern supermarket chain, the gluten-free diet and lifestyle was not only a lifestyle that I followed for my own health and for two of my children, it also became a specialty of mine in my daily practice.
Because of the work I do and the gluten intolerances within my own family, I have tried more gluten-free (GF) products than the average joe and many of them leave much to be desired. Many of the issues facing gluten-free food products involve product texture.
Gluten-free products can come with a special set of challenges both in the methods of production and with post-production consumer acceptance. As a consumer of GF products, I have found that baking mixes even for the home baker don’t always perform close to expectation. Some of the first GF mixes I tried had either a super runny batter texture or resembled rubbery glue. The finished baked product was often either a ball of sawdust with a gritty texture or something to play hockey with on a frozen lake.
“Is it good?”
Walking through the gluten-free aisle of a major food retailer recently, I was confronted by a woman looking puzzled over a package of GF bread. I excused myself to reach around her and grab my family’s favorite GF bread. She quickly queried, “Is it good?” I chuckled and said, “Well…it is better than most. I don’t need to toast it to make a sandwich like this brand over here. That one crumbles like sawdust unless you toast it and then you need to eat it right away or it becomes super tough and chewy. This bread that I buy has some whole grains in it, so I like that aspect of the bread, and it is super moist, but with the moisture you also get kind of a slimy texture on your tongue that lingers awhile after you eat it.”
This conversation became the inspiration for this article, because so many GF foods have either an undesirable texture, whether gritty, slimy, or dry and crumbly. Nielsen 20161 states that: “Among respondents who say they have a food sensitivity or follow a special diet, fewer than half (45%) believe their needs are being met by current offerings”.
Because the largest segment of the celiac population is diagnosed later in life, most celiacs—most diagnosed after age 404—can still remember what it was like to have the “real thing”, like a chewy Jewish bagel, a perfect piece of New-York style pizza, a beignet from New Orleans, or a mammoth soft pretzel from a ballpark in Philly. Young children who never have known anything but gluten-free products can enjoy the old saying “ignorance is bliss” but those of us who know what we are missing can easily spot the impostors.
Just packing a child with celiac a lunch for school is a challenge, because it is still very difficult to eat many gluten-free breads straight from the bag. Many require that you first toast the bread to keep it from being overly dry. School foodservice does not cater to food allergies, so often parents like me only have the option of providing foods from home. When a parent can find a gluten-free bread option with an appetizing texture, they are willing to pay more and go to great lengths to find such a product.
Texture formulation challenges in gluten-free products
Manufacturers of everything from baked goods to pastas face major challenges as to how to actually produce a GF product that has a palatable texture while closely matching the “real thing”. The gluten molecules in flour have an affinity for one another that provides a noteworthy protein structure in doughs. That end-point food product texture can be hard to duplicate.
Hydrocolloids, like xanthan, gellan, locust bean and guar gums, are often used to replace the structure and binding function of gluten in GF breads and doughs. But using too many gums results in the slimy mouthfeel mentioned above. To compensate for the lack of protein in highly refined, mild-flavored, GF flours, xanthan gum, is often used. For example, you’ll find it in many gluten-free tapioca, rice and potato flour blends, baking mixes and almost all cup-for-cup GF flour blends.
Guar gum resides on the FDA GRAS list and has a maximum regulatory usage threshold of .35% in baked goods5. Xanthan gum, however, is permitted for direct addition in foods for human consumption and does not have a regulatory threshold6. According to the USDA, the self-limiting nature of xanthan gum does prevent it from exceeding .5% by weight across food categories, or food quality and acceptability begins to suffer7.
From my experience as a supermarket RD, consumers often don’t trust hydrocolloid texturizing agents because they sound “unnatural”. Some of my clients also felt that xanthan gum caused them intestinal distress, while others simply avoid hydrocolloids in favor of “cleaner eating”, eschewing most any food additive.
If an excess of xanthan gum is used in a gluten-free dough as a texturizing solution, some consumers will note the slimy, slippery mouthfeel that lingers on the palate after consuming the end baked product. However undesirable this sensation is, it is sometimes accepted as just a fact of life in order for someone with celiac to enjoy something that remotely resembles a piece of “normal” bread or a cupcake every now and then.
Gluten-free texturizing trends
One trend is using high-protein legume flours to replace gums and fillers. This allows the food product to keep a “clean” label. For example, watch for bean flours to be used in place of semolina in gluten-free pastas.
Explore Asia Organics uses mung, adzuki and edamame beans to produce pasta. Lensi produces 100% red lentil, black bean and chickpea pastas.
Protein-rich flours, like chickpea or fava bean flours, often bring with them their own set of texture challenges (e.g. gritty or mealy texture). When covered over by a stronger-flavored sauce, however, the “beany” flavor of legume flour may not be as noticeable.
Bean flours are not a good fit in baked products like a delicate white cake or mild-flavored muffin or cookie, due to the beany off-flavors in the final product. They may require masking with stronger spices or flavorings.
Quinoa flour contains protein, as well, and is widely accepted as a healthier alternative to highly-refined white rice and tapioca flours. Other gluten-free ancient grains like amaranth and teff also offer higher-fiber, whole-grain options. These options could also be helpful for the older American population who may already live with one or two comorbidities like Diabetes Mellitus or high blood pressure. The diabetic segment of the celiac population is hungry for whole grain, lower glycemic index options, as an alternative to highly refined rice, potato and tapioca flours.
In summary, the public is looking for cleaner labels with fewer words that they can’t pronounce. Natural sources of protein substitutes for gluten are preferred over such a heavy reliance on hydrocolloids, which have a usage threshold and often contribute to undesirable textures and mouthfeel when used to excess. If food manufacturers can find a way to meet these consumer “feel needs” then the market share is there to grab!
References:
- What’s in Our Food and On Our Mind: Ingredient and Dining Out Trends Around the World August 2016
- Celiac Disease: Prevalence, Diagnosis, Pathogenesis and Treatment. Gujal, Freeman and Thomson; World J Gastroenterol. 2012 Nov. 14, 18(42): 6036-6059
- com Gluten-Free Foods in the U.S., 6th Edition
- org
- Code of Federal Regulations; Title 21, Volume 3 (21CFR184.1339)
- Code of Federal Regulations; Title 21, Volume 3 {21CFR172.695)
- USDA Technical Evaluation Report: Xanthan Gum, Handling and Processing, April 22, 2016 [PDF]
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Dear Lorraine,
working for a wheat starch producer I can’t state that I’m free from own interest.
I like your article, since it well describes the problem – texture of gluten-free bakery products frequently is rather insufficent.
You mention some routes how to tackle this problem, but the most straight forward measure is missing.
Compared to a wheat flour based product, the closest match one can think of is a gluten-free wheat starch. Wheat flour consists of about 60% wheat starch, 12% vital wheat gluten, some hydrocolloids, pentosanes bran fibres ect.
To our experience replacing the typical blend of corn, potato and rice starch in a baking blend by gluten free wheat starch one gets an almost 100% match when it comes to texture and pore structure – and the need for other additives like hydrocolloids with E-Numbers is substantially reduced.
I’m aware that in many countries marketing people are promoting “wheat -free” instead of “gluten-free”, probably because it is demanding to explain the difference.
The argument in favour of gluten-free wheat starch is, that every single batch is tested and definitely below 20 ppm – some suppliers in the meantime even can guarantee below 10ppm, which is the detecion limit of the nowadays used Elisa R5 test kits.
This densitiy of control is not achieved with raw materials from “naturally gluten free” sources – so the risk of cross contamination is much less with a GF-wheat starch.
If you can, try products based on Gf-wheat starch and you will feel the difference.
In case you Need more Information, please feel free to contact us.
With best regards
Johannes Hintermayer, Sales Director Interstarch GmbH
Ok read For Gluten Free bread or other like why we can’t use wheat separating gluten which is approx 12% part .We are using gluten free grains like rice or quinoa now to use separate gluten from wheat .Is it possible The texture can be made identical to wheat using different grains using controlled conditions of yeast or baking powder or some oil to emulsify with combination .
It’s really interesting how you said that most people aren’t diagnosed until much later in life. Having some good gluten-free bread recipes would be really great to have a good texture and flavor. That way as you get a little bit older you don’t have to worry about not being able to eat something that tastes good.
The facts have been discussed is really important. Thank you so much for sharing a great post.