A very common question when pursuing a gluten free diet is whether butter is gluten free? Let’s discuss the details and all of the things to be aware of.
Yes, Butter is Gluten Free
Butter is naturally gluten free. That is fantastic news!!! Butter is a dairy product that is made by churning cream until it becomes solid. No wonder we love it so much, it’s just cream! For a gluten free diet, it is completely safe to consume butter.
But Cows Eat Grain?
The 4 stomachs and digestive process of a cow results in no gluten in the dairy. There is not a lot of research on the specifics of this, but it has been well documented that people who are celiac are able to safely consume cow dairy without their anti-body values going up. From a personal perspective, I know that both Josh and Lydia are fine if they consume butter and other dairy products.
Cross Contamination
The biggest concern in our household regarding gluten free butter is the risk of cross contamination. We typically have a fully gluten free home, but we recently had guests and they had some pastries that were not gluten free in the house. They were putting butter on their pastry and dipped the knife into the butter and some crumbs transferred over. This cross contamination is enough to make Josh quite ill. Luckily, I noticed the crumbs and was able to cut off the end of the butter. We also had a room mate for a number of months, we found it was easiest for him to have his own butter and his own toaster so that our butter remained gluten free. We also reduced cross contamination by having him use a separate toaster. Also keep in mind that counters and cutting boards are an easy place for cross contamination!
Margarine
Margarine products are also gluten free. There is lots of debate and preference between butter and margarine, but just know that whatever one you choose to cover your toast, it is naturally gluten free. Just keep in mind that margarine has the same cross contamination risk that butter has.
Useful Tools
We personally prefer butter in our home over margarine. In order to make the butter manageable and easy to use, we let it sit on the counter after buying it for about 30-45 minutes. We then cut the cube into quarters the long way. We found this wonderful little tool that cuts the butter into perfect little pats. This helps immensely with portion control, and also reduces the risk of cross contamination in our home as someone is more likely to grab a pat or two instead of double dipping their knife. You can get this magical little tool here.
Butter Sauces
While butter is naturally gluten free, be aware that often butter sauces are not. Restaurants often use flour to thicken butter sauces and this is a prime spot for getting yourself glutened while eating out. The perfect example of this was when Josh and I were eating out. We ordered a seafood platter and the salmon came with a Ber Blanche sauce. I didn’t think twice about how the sauce was thickened, thankfully Josh clued in and checked on it prior to consuming. If you are making your own butter sauces, a great substitute is to use cornstarch for thickening the sauce.
Butter is naturally gluten free which is fantastic news for those following a gluten free diet. Be aware of the risk of crumbs cross contaminating the butter if not all the people in your home are gluten free.
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