What food science principles can you use to make gluten-free menu options taste great?

Creating delicious gluten-free menu options involves understanding and applying various food science principles and here are some of the many principles that may be considered: ? Flour Substitutes like rice, almond, coconut. ? Texture enhancers like Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum and Chia Seeds or Flaxseeds. ? Liquid Ratios. ? Leavening Agents like baking soda and yeast. Also worth noting is that gluten-free baking may require more precision and experimentation than traditional baking.

Wheat flour contains two major amino acids: gliadin and glutelin. Hence, when water is added to the wheat flour and kneaded, these amino acids form a disulfide bond, creating a network-like structure. This structure aids in the textural aspects of the product. Ex: cake, tortilla, etc. The network like gluten structure, entraps air while mixing. When baked, the air leaves the product and creates a fluffy texture. In tortillas, bread and biscuits, the gluten forms the desired texture. Hence, latter mentioned products require a strong and intense kneading to make dough, while the cakes require a gentle mixing (not kneading) to form batter (not dough). If mixing is complex in cake batter, the final product develops a harder and dense texture.

Gluten-free products (GFP) are more trending. Although most of the population is tolerant to gluten, few individuals fall under the "gluten sensitive" category. The individuals have celiac disease as gluten digestion is inert in the small intestine. Due to this stagnant gluten, the auto-immune response of the host damages the small intestine and complicates the overall digestibility and small intestine functioning. Hence, GFP is made. Besides, specific healthy individuals who practice simpler digestive foods replace their everyday foods with GFP. It is mandatory to note that not all food products contain gluten. Hence, manufacturers should avoid mentioning "Gluten-free" tags in all products, which is absurd in some sensitive cases.

Making gluten-free food can be tough because you have to figure out how to stick everything together without gluten. Gluten is like glue in normal dough—it keeps it from breaking apart. To fix this, you can use other things that don't have gluten, like eggs, xanthan gum, guar gum, psyllium husk, flaxseed, chia seeds, or gelatin. These can help your gluten-free food hold together well. But be careful not to use too much, or your food might turn out really heavy or sticky.

Gluten-free products (GFP) have bland or bitter flavors, which are less preferred by consumers. Hence, it is always suggested to add some external flavor or flavor enhancers. Broadly, salt masks the bland flavor and enhances the subtle flavor in flavor. Artificial flavors, including vanilla and citrus zest, could be added based on the end-use and nature of the product. The texture of GFP is usually dry and hard, for which the product composition shall include edible humectants.