How to Find the Best Gluten-Free Cookbook


Editor's note: The sale of gluten-free food and beverages increased 30 percent from 2006 to 2010. If you're part of the growing gluten-free crowd, you might be looking for a good cookbook.

Depending on why you're avoiding gluten and what kind of cooking you like to do at home, your needs for a gluten-free cookbook will vary.

Here's a look at four new books aimed at this growing market that covers everything from special occasions to gluten-free vegetarian meals.

By Wendy Petty

1. "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef"

Both as someone who has experienced the stages of gluten grief, and as a food nerd, I found "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef" to be especially appealing. Written by Shauna Ahern, and her chef husband, Daniel Ahern, this cookbook not only illuminates tantalizing gluten-free dishes, but also chronicles their love story. This isn't just a collection of recipes, it's a good read.

Out of love for Shauna, who is a celiac disease sufferer, chef Danny Ahern saw to it that his entire restaurant menu was retooled to be gluten-free. The recipes within the Aherns' cookbook reflect a chef's sensibilities, featuring glorious seasonal and fresh foods. Dishes such as black cod in black rice flour, sage polenta fries with parsley pesto, and crisp pork belly with wild rice, cabbage, sour cherries and honey-sage gastrique will certainly appeal to gastronomes, but might be daunting to inexperienced home cooks. That said, the instructions read as if given by a cooking coach, and might persuade the trepidatious to plunge into this book's gorgeous recipes.

Related: An easy, versatile gluten-free pie crust recipe

2. "Gluten-Free Makeovers"

"Gluten-Free Makeovers" by Beth Hillson transforms classic and comfort foods into gluten-free fare, with a strong emphasis on baked goods. However, that could also be the book's weakness, as its recipes are based upon five different multi-flour blends.

Many gluten-free eaters shy away from these flour blends because of cost and the potential for unused flours. Those undaunted by flour blends will surely be eager to try recipes such as mock matzo, cinnamon plum cake, or bagel sticks.

Related: Gluten-free "spaghetti" made with veggies

3. "125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes"

Many gluten-intolerant households also have to deal with dairy and egg allergies. Carol Fenster's "125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes" could potentially accommodate a broader audience than gluten-free vegetarians because it contains so many vegan options. Recipes such as peperonata on soft polenta, stuffed bell peppers with picadillo rice, and Thai corn chowder contain neither dairy nor eggs.

It was surprising to see a section at the end of the book with tips for using animal protein in recipes, which included suggestions to use Jimmy Dean sausage, and Thumann's Cocktail Franks. While these products may be gluten-free, people who are vegetarian for moral reasons might object to using meat originating from factory farms, rather than more sustainable and humane small farms.

4. "The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook"

Among this set of books, "The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook" has the broadest appeal. The user-friendly layout and recipes such as Vietnamese beef noodle soup with Asian greens, and tabbouleh-style amaranth salad will have a familiar feeling to readers of the popular magazine.

This cookbook has one particularly nice feature for those who need to navigate the minefield of gluten-free eating. Ingredients that need to be double-checked for gluten, such as canned broth, and Worcestershire sauce, are highlighted in red.

A well-rounded repertoire

Gluten-free eaters, like most, enjoy having a few go-to recipes like basic muffins and bread, as well as an arsenal of easy weeknight meals. They also like to occasionally reach for convenience foods like dry pasta and premade pizza crusts. Additionally, gluten-sensitive people are coming to embrace the wide world of naturally gluten-free foods, from fresh vegetables to gluten-free grains.

It's pleasing to see cookbooks acknowledge these trends, so that the gluten-intolerant don't have to feel they are settling for inferior meals.

Even within this niche, there is a cookbook to suit every family's needs, from comfort foods, to vegetarian, to accessible restaurant-worthy cuisine. These four cookbooks illustrate the fact that gluten-free eaters needn't grieve the loss of gluten. Rather, they can celebrate delicious cuisine.

Zester Daily contributor Wendy Petty lives in the Rocky Mountains, where she is a forager, photographer and wild foods consultant. She writes about her adventures with mountain food on her blog, Hunger and Thirst.

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