What is gluten?
Gluten is a type of complex protein. Unlike other common proteins, gluten mostly occurs in certain carbohydrates. Wheat, rye etc are rich in gluten. Gluten is an essential component of any bread. It is the reason why bread rises and gains a chewy texture. Gluten makes the bread stretchy.
What foods are rich in gluten?
Though gluten is most commonly found in wheat, there are many other foods which contain significant quantities of gluten. Some examples are as follows:
- Since gluten is one of the main ingredients in wheat, all products containing wheat are rich sources of wheat. These include all breads, cakes, pasta, cookies, doughnuts, flour, spaghetti, biscuits, waffles, bagels and many more.
- Apart from wheat, few other cereals also contain significant quantities of gluten. These include grains like barley and farina.
- In foods which do not naturally contain gluten, it is added for a number of purposes. Gluten is a thickening agent and used widely in sauces, ice creams, puddings and gravy.