Archive for the ‘gluten free’ Category

Interesting article in the NYT today about the rise in popularity of gluten free foods. When Modmarket opened, we had no idea that we were accidentally creating a restaurant that had an almost 100% gluten free menu (this assumes that if you want pizza, you try our gluten free crust, which is REALLY good). We had no idea that most soups, salad dressings or even shredded cheeses were not gluten free. But because we made everything from scratch, we ended up with lots of gluten free options which made Modmarket a go to place for gluten free dining. I think about 20% of customers that request our gluten free offerings actually have a true wheat allergy or celiacs disease. The rest are doing it as a dietary change. And I say more power to them. I think one of the big benefits of gluten free dining is that it forces you to eliminate some highly processed foods. For example, look at soup. At Modmarket, all of our soups are gluten free. Glutenous ingredients are often added to soups to make them thicker and prevent them from separating as they sit. Our soups are made fresh daily, so they never really sit around, so no gluten is required. By eating only gluten free soup, you are almost guaranteeing that you are avoiding a heavily processed soup. Another effect of a gluten free diet is that you end up eating less highly refined flours, which is always a good thing for ones health. As the NYT article points out, a lot of big companies are getting into the gluten free game, which I think is fantastic. I love that Chex is now gluten free. I would much rather have molasses sweetening something versus a refined malt extract. Even if their nutrient value was the same (which it is not), I like having an ingredient I can picture in my mind versus an extract. While some people might complain of GF diets being a ‘fad’, the bottom line is eating less gluten will definitely not harm you and will do most people good. And the more options that exist in gluten free dining, the better for everyone!