Hidden sources of gluten...the game is afoot

I was out having sushi with a friend the other day that I hadn't seen in a while , and discovered during this visit that she was also gluten-free. However, I also discovered (since we were eating sushi at the time) that she did not realize that soy sauce contained gluten. As long-time readers may know, when I have sushi I tweak my order to be rice-free, soy-free and gluten-free by ordering hand rolls with no rice, and dipping my sushi into wasabi mixed with a little water instead of soy. Putting water in my wasabi looks weird, but hey, I live in LA where weird is an art form, so I get the occasional odd look at the most. :)

Anyhow, it moved me to blog a quick reminder about hidden sources of gluten out there. Most people are good with avoiding wheat and wheat products, but there are lots of unlikely places where gluten may be hiding. Remember, gluten is not only in wheat (all kinds -- including spelt, kamut, durum and semolina), but it's also in barley, oats, rye and triticale.

Here are some hidden sources of gluten to avoid that you may not have thought about:

- soy sauce (you can get wheat-free tamari which is like soy sauce, the brand is called San J and you can get it in Whole Foods and other health food stores)
- baking powder (Clabber Girl and Calumet are gf)
- vanilla (McCormicks and Nielsen-Massey are gf)
- cosmetics and toiletries (listed as wheat protein, esp prevalent in lotions and haircare products)
- caramel color (frequently made with barley)
- brown rice syrup (frequently made with barley)
- licorice whip candy (Red Vines used to be my favorite --oy!) and other candies may use wheat as a filler
- some alcoholic beverages: obviously rye and beer, but also vodka and bourbon are usually made from rye and wheat. There are a few vodkas made from potatoes, and a Japanese one made from rice (NOTE: I just did some followup research on the gluten in alcohol question, and apparently alcohol that is distilled should elimnate gluten, so my original statement was wrong. HOWEVER, colorings and flavorings could be added (caramel color, etc.) that could have wheat, which should be called out as an ingredient. So net net, check all alcohol labels, especially darker ones).
- I recently learned that most wines have gluten due to the aging in oak barrels, apparently something in the glue has gluten. However there are apparently now wines available that are aged only in metal barrels. Learned this from a celiac who needs to be the most stringent.
- modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein
- processed meats (generally try to avoid processed food as much as possible)
- pre-bottled marinades
- canned soups
- some flavored potato chips (bbq esp)

Anyhow, you get the idea. Basically if something has a soft or creamy texture, there's a likelihood that it contains gluten. Be a label detective! I'll add to this list when I think of more. What have been the most surprising places gluten has hidden from you? Please share by adding a comment section (until I get a discussion board up)!