Does anyone have any tried and tested recipes for a GF Christmas pud please? Wanted to make one for a friend whose husband is gluten intolerant.

Alternatively, is it as simple as replacing the flour and breadcrumbs in my usual recipe with gluten free ones?

Thanks,
M.

Unless you are used to Gluten-Free cooking  or are willing to have several attempts you would be better off trying to make a GF Christmas Cake   it would NOT be as simple as replacing the flour and breadcrumbs in your normal recipe   

in addition, you must make absolutely sure that you use Gluten-Free baking powder - the normal ones use flour   

and that the dried fruits you use are also safe - some dried fruits have flour in the bag to prevent sticking!

You will also need to make sure that the suet is Gluten-Free!  - ordinary suet is coated in wheat flour to prevent clumping

Some spices are 'cut' with flour and you will have to make sure that the spice or spice mix you use is also gluten free

you could try this recipe here  http://www.peter-thomson.co.uk/glutenfree/christmas_pudding.html

Beer or Ale (in some recipes) both contain Gluten

Also beware of cross contamination, do not try to make a gluten-free pudding at the same time as making a normal one as some cross contamination is likely no matter how careful you are

Hope this helps

That's really useful Dill, thanks. Wouldn't have thought of the suet, fruit or spices. Assume it will state this on the packaging?

Will re-think ... or perhaps give in entirely and let them just buy one as usual LOL!

M.

>Assume it will state this on the packaging?

It depends on the amount used   this has no bearing on how it will affect someone with coeliacs disease    They should have a book showing all the safe foods available, which is updated regularly from the coeliacs society (by website)  {this won't work if it's to be a surprise }

personally I just buy a Christmas pud there are some lovely ones available

I do make Christmas cake tho - using a mixture of Doves Farm White Bread Flour and Doves Farm Rice Flour (1/2 and 1/2) I find this better than the Doves Farm Flour for cakes   I have to be careful with prescription flours as many have milk in them and we have to avoid milk too

The favourite cake in this house is Lemon Cake made with fresh lemons or Banana Cake - great for using up ripe bananas!

Hmmm, think my good friend resolve going out the window. In fairness to myself, he's one of those people who can ignore it when lager is what he wants to drink.

They've just had a conservatory built, I'll take a plant instead LOL.

M.

LOL

Good for you  

Which lager does he drink?  there are a couple of Gluten free beers and lagers available

Also some coeliacs can 'get away' with eating and drinking naughty things occasionally, but it isn't worth it as the damage is still being done - and repeated damage and healing can cause bigger problems in the long run, but because they aren't suffering for it at the time they ignore that

maybe Lager is one of the things he can tolerate without inconvenience   or maybe he thinks the reaction is worth it     

Personally, having seen the state son was in before diagnosis, and having also suffered through it myself, NOTHING would make me eat gluten on purpose  

>or maybe he thinks the reaction is worth it

Think you might be right Dill. I'm making him sound like a lager lout, far from the truth really LOL.

Many thanks for your educational posts though, gave me a better insight into the problems faced when so many things are 'hidden'.

M.

My dad has a gluten intolerance & Xmas is a bit of a nightmare but last year I managed to find him in Sainsbury's GF Xmas Pud, Mince Pies & Lager!!! made Xmas a bit nicer for him! Also Stella is supposed to be okay to drink.  It's amazing how many things have Gluten or a derivative of it, it's good it's becoming more widely acknowledged now & most supermarkets have a GF line, Tesco & Sainsbury's seem to be the best!  There's also a few GF food websites online I've found really useful!

I've just been looking for edible xmas presents & found this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/christmaspudding_77292.shtml

I always get an M and S one I am afraid. - when family are not visiting it is only me who eats pudding anyway - OH doesn't like it.  My Mum makes some good gf cakes though so I don't bother - otherwise I hate to think what size I would be. 

My dad is a Coeliac, and as far as i know i think it is! Use gluten free flour and obviously the bread crumbs would have to be gluten free and as long as the ingredients or things you may add to it dont have wheat/gluten in it, you should be fine, just make sure everything is free from it, as even cross contamination can make him ill

>Also Stella is supposed to be okay to drink

Um Stella, being Lager is no better for a coeliac to drink than any other Lager

You can check here (scroll to the bottom of the page )

http://www.coeliac.org.uk/glutenfree_living/the_glutenfree_diet/1170.asp

>Use gluten free flour and obviously the bread crumbs would have to be gluten free and as long as the ingredients or things you may add to it dont have wheat/gluten in it, you should be fine

This may or may not be true.  Gluten free cooking is NOT just a matter of substituting ingredients that are safe.  The replacement flours especially can be difficult to work with and require several attempts to get things right.  Given the relative price of the Gluten free ingredients this can be a real trial and can be very disappointing

It is just a matter of substituting the ingredients in this case, and that is what was asked really, but if you want to go into depth about of what the flour is like etc. Gluten free flour tends to be thinner, so if you were to make bread for example you would probably be best adding some xanthan gum into it to help it ferment and stick together etc.

If i was to make a christmas pud, which i wouldnt cos i dont really like it and hate cooking, but if i did, i would just substitute the gluten for gluten free products, and now a days you can get the flour pretty cheap, it doesnt have to cost an arm and a leg... plus if you were to ask your friend if he had any, chances are he can just get it on prescription from the doctors and he could give you the flour to save you having to buy some to use only once. Thats what my dad does, pays a certain amount each year and gets however much he wants from the chemist.

Otherwise making cakes and buns and things simple like that, it is just a case of using gluten free ingredients as it works exactly the same, oh and adding your stuff to make it rise obviously and tastes just as good if not better in my opinion

Oh and stella is no good, they cant drink it lol

But other than that i have never had a problem getting gluten free cooking right and i dont find it any more challenging than normal cooking and i hate cooking!!

> Oh and stella is no good, they cant drink it lol

I did wonder about that but my dad reckons he can drink it & not get ill, well unless he drinks lots & lots!!!  LOL!!

>it is just a case of using gluten free ingredients as it works exactly the same

>But other than that i have never had a problem getting gluten free cooking right and i dont find it any more challenging than normal cooking and i hate cooking!!

WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?????

This is something that makes me really mad, people giving advice about things they have little experience of

I take it then that the Coeliac Society put on Cooking and Baking demonstrations because there is no difference in Gluten Free cookery ?  I think not

It is possible to get gluten free cookery right if you know how and have the experience, but it is totally different to ordinary cookery.   Some of the flours need quite a bit of moisture added in comparison to wheat flour

In addition, gluten free foods (breads, pastries, biscuits, puddings, some cakes) do NOT have the same texture as ordinary food, the breads are mostly inedible unless they are warmed up or toasted.  If you are lucky and can tolerate wheat starch then that helps and the bread will be nicer, but not all Coeliacs can

I have lived Gluten Free for the last 11 years and it has been a very steep learning curve, both with shopping and cooking.  I find the other people I know with Coeliac Disease also have had the same experiences, one of the main topics of conversation is cooking and shopping!

> WHAT PLANET ARE YOU ON?????

Whoah! Calm down I think the previous poster was just giving her opinion & experience on this subject, I don't think she was claiming to be any expert on GF.

I understand your frustration & wanting people to know about GF cooking, my dad has only recently been diagnosed (he's 50) & I see how difficult it is for him to eat, going out for dinner can be a nightmare & if I ever see something in the supermarkets, a GF cooking book or an article online I always think of him.  It must be a horrible thing to have, I know my dad has found changing his diet after 50 years very very hard but fortuantely it is becoming more commonly acknowledged.  I would imagine you found it very hard to find any GF breads etc when you were first diagnosed - the fact that a discussion on this subject is on a dog related forum with many posters proves how widely known it now is & I think this is a great thing for sufferers.

I've told my dad that stella has gluten in it & he told me to shut up (politely of course), it doesn't bloat him or make him feel ill so he's gonna continue to drink it!! Bet he doesn't tell his dietician that!!!

All i am saying is that from my experience of cooking for my dad, i have never had any problem what so ever cooking different things, the bread you buy or get from the chemist is chewy and tastes awful!! However, if you cook it yourself in a breadmaker and do what i said with the ingredients, i have never found it to be any differnet or harder than cooking normally, and i am a useless cook. The bread if edible if you make it yourself, but buying it has to be toasted as its manky!!

I dont have hands on experience myself as i am not a coeliac, but i am just saying from my experience it has been no different and from my dads it doesnt seem to be any different as i have never seen him stuggle nor my mum when cooking nor me any different foods!!

My dad has been a coeliac for god knows how many years, so i do have some experience thank you otherwise i would of poisoned him by now!

My dad cant even tolerate wheat starch, thats why other things are added to bread and other foods instead as an alternative, and its not as good as normal bread.

Things such as soups, not all of them but some, you buy from the shops really annoy me, as some of them have wheat flour in them, and there is no need to use this as a thickner!! Other products can be used which make it edible for people with allergies and there is nothing that winds me up more than this.

The most difficult thing i would say, amongst many others, is when you go out for a meal with family, its hard to pick things off the menu which arent contaminated, and it usually for my dad for pub food ends up being gammon etc, but without onion rings, as many of the other things contain gluten, its such a pain, but it is liveable and easy when you know how and get the hang of it, and my dads gluten free cakes are so tasty!!! Better than cakes with gluten in it some of them are, only downfall on some cakes is they are expensive to buy!! Howeer you can bake your own with ease, again, i have NEVER had a problem and i am the most useless cook in the world, so if i can do it, i dont see why other people cant!! I think you are mistaking the fact that this topic is only making a pudding! Not something a bit more complicated like bread is, although that is fairly easy when you get the hang of it... in my eyes it is and i am thick when comes to cooking!
I was just expressing my opinion, so sorry if it seems to of upset you in some way, but seriously, if it wasnt easy, i wouldnt say it was and for someone with little cooking experience to be able to do it shows its not as complicated as may sound, however like you said, with certain things to bake and cook it does become a little trickier, but if you know what to add as a substitute it works perfectly and i prefer home cooked gluten free buns and cakes to ordinary ones!

Thank you gembo!

Im sorry to hear about your dad, it seems its becoming even more common now a days and as more and more people are becoming aware of it it makes it easier to get through it and find things what suit you!

Not sure how he gets away with Stella!! Lucky bugger!! Again not an expert!! But if he is fine on it, the more the merrier, and with christmas coming thats a good thing really! Maybe he should ask his diatician if he is fine with it and no side effects does it harm his body without him knowing, just to be safe, but sounds good

It is becoming more and more known which is good and more and more foods are being added to shelves now with sections for these sufferers, its not as well known food wise as i think my dad would like, but its getting there

This may be a dog forum, but it is widely read by people searching the net.  Innacurate information can cause all sorts of problems for people we may never know about    I feel we who post have a responsibility to give accurate information no matter what the subject as we simply don't know who is reading and acting on it

>I would imagine you found it very hard to find any GF breads etc when you were first diagnosed

NO there was a plethora of breads available even then, but whether they were edible or not is another matter   Even today, many of the foods available leave much to be desired

>I've told my dad that stella has gluten in it & he told me to shut up (politely of course), it doesn't bloat him or make him feel ill so he's gonna continue to drink it!! Bet he doesn't tell his dietician that!!

I can totally understand this.  His whole world has been turned upside-down and he needs something to be familiar    maybe he'd enjoy trying the different Gluten Free Versions of Beer and Lager - purely as a quality control exercise of course  

http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/features/gluten-free/gf.html

I've seen wheat and gluten free beers and lager in Waitrose

I would LOVE to know which soups are available without WHEATSTARCH!  I haven't found one yet, apart from a fresh butternut squash one in Waitrose! but this is no good as a store cupboard standby

Luckily I am an enthusiastic cook and can make most things, including soup!

Some cupa soups are avaliable wihtout wheat starch in them, but thats about it, proper soups and tinned soups, not sure 100% if there are any that dont have this in, but i know some cupa soups are gluten free,... but they arent to everyones tastes

And home made soup is always best anyway!!

If, as you say, you have grown up with your dad's condition, then you are likely to not experience the problems others have when trying to get to grips with GF cooking!  Going from ordinary cooking to gluten free is NOT easy!  There are many tricks that need to be learned if you want to get as good results as normal cookery

I would say if anyone wanted to try GF cooking to start off with a sponge cake.  They would have more success and yes the texture and taste would be there. 

Re Xanthan Gum

Not everyone can tolerate it in their food.  Even the tiny amounts used in GF baking can cause severe and obnoxious wind and um ... Dire rear

Cuppa Soups - I'll give those a miss!  Read the ingredients and there's precious little food in there, more like a chemistry set  

> I've seen wheat and gluten free beers and lager in Waitrose

I did buy him one from Sainsbury's last year & he said it tasted okay, think it was the Green's brewery so much more expensive than standard lager though!

As with all GF products, the price seems to rocket when something's GF     We tend to buy mostly naturally GF things - Bet he doesn't like Cider tho

Gemma if your father is gluten intolerant then it is not the same as being coeliac.  So if he feels he can drink lager it probably doesn't do the damage that it would to a coeliac.  It is not worth following a gf diet then breaking it regularly with something.  The villi in the intestine become inflamed and flattened so that food cannot be absorbed properly - hence problems with bone density, anaemia, joint pain, headaches, tiredness, as well as bloat, stomach pain and lot of wind.  Wheat starch can be deglutenised - don't ask me how - just like decaff coffee I expect - it is done with chemicals.  I use a ready prepared flour -a mixture that is put together commercially and in a bread maker makes a fairly good loaf.  As for soup Dill - M and S do some gf ones but I have a good pumpkin soup recipe that I love to make this time of year - it is always disappointing that the sale of pumpkins is stopped after Hallowe'en.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/food/2003/11/pumpkin_soup_recipe.shtml

MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm  Thank you

I love pumpkin soup, and butternut squash soup - also roasted vegetable soup has the most fantastic flavour!

I'm trying Onion Squash this weekend, or maybe next week - will let you know what it's like

Roasted veggie soup - sounds interesting - where did you get the recipe for that please!  Haven't heard of an onion squash - think I have changed the course of this thread a bit - there is a gf board but it isn't as well set out as this so I rarely use it.

It was in the COMPLETE BOOK OF LOW-CARBOHYDRATE COOKING  by Elaine Gardiner

Some fabulous low fat, low carb recipes including soups - no grains or cereals and delicious food

Now all I need to do is wean OH off carbohydrates LOL  He likes the recipes but has to have them with a large dose of rice/potatoes/bread etc

Forgot to add...

I find this site fairly good for recipes

http://coeliac.info/suppboard/index.php?c=2

The current part of it is good for keeping abreast of new info about food in the shops

http://members2.boardhost.com/glutenfree/

Hope this helps

Yes that is the one I go on sometimes - thanks.  I don't spend very much time looking for recipes - usually look at books not the internet.  I should be more adventerous!

I tend to get most of my inspiration from people like Antonio Carlucci, Ramsey, etc on TV - when I catch them!   (I almost met Antonio and his wife in Waitrose there was one really slow person between me and them at the checkout ) 

I love just whipping up really good food out of ordinary simple ingredients

Just want to add, thanks for the links!  My mom is celiac, and its so hard sometimes, finding some really good recipes.  But I did find some interesting books with GF recipes:

Complete Guide to Gluten Free Cooking
and
125 Gluten Free Recipes. 

Mom has a few books, and she got them at Chapters.  If you dont have Chapters in the UK, you may also be able to get them off Amazon.com

Well (feeling very guilty) I have dug out all of the GF cook books that my family have bought me over the years.  To my shame I have barely opened them.  I do know that one I opened had a glaring mistake so unless they are endorsed by Coeliac UK - take care.