The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre was descended upon last weekend as hundreds of people with gluten intolerance raced to enjoy all the delights on offer at the Irresistible Gluten Free Food Show. Sponsored by Coles, this is the second year I have attended the expo and again I was not disappointed. Although I think the entry price is extortion ($18 for an Adult), there is a lot on offer for those who have allergies or intolerance to gluten.
I discovered I was Coeliac about 6 years ago at the age of 19. You would think after 19 years of eating gluten that discovering I was gluten intolerant would be an inconvenience, but it was mostly just relief that feeling ill most of the time wasn’t actually normal. My mother and brother discovered that they also carried the Coeliac gene and so the whole family took on the strict gluten free diet that has dictated our eating habits ever since. Removing so many basic foods like bread and pasta is difficult at first, there is no denying that, however seeing the developments in food technology over the past 6 years has been quite fascinating. Every week new products appear on the shelves with ‘gluten free!’ screaming at us and restaurants now clearly state on menus which items are suitable and which aren’t. There are bread and pasta products to rival their wheaten cousins and even the Tim Tam imitations are coming up to meet the benchmark set by Arnott’s.
The Gluten Free Food Show offers those with intolerance the chance to try and buy new products, learn about developments in medical science related to intolerances and offer opinions to those creating the goods about the taste of their goods in comparison to what we remember ‘the real thing’ tasting like. There are even people starting gluten free websites that list restaurants in your area that are helpful and accommodating – it seems gluten free is a booming business idea too.
I started my trek around the expo armed with an empty stomach and a calico bag – preparing for free samples and an inundation of literature. Never have you tried so many baked goods, cakes, muffins, pizzas, breads, pastries, pies and biscuits. An initial lap presented so many yummy things to buy; I was lost as to what to get and what to pass on this time. I was also presented with the dilemma that buying cakes and muffins would ultimately mean I would eat the lot and my Spring Racing Carnival preparation diet would be out the window. In the end I settled on gnocchi from the Sunnybrook Health Store (www.sunnybrookonline.com.au), Thomas Chipman Organic Chips, Delites bread sticks and Passage to India Butter Chicken sauce. I’d come too far with the Spring Racing diet to buy cake now!
Time for a breather and I settled in for demonstrations on the cooking stage by author and dietician Sue Shepard and chef, Tobie Puttock. Sue created Scones, Cheese and Herb Polenta Fingers (pictured) and Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad, while Tobie whipped up Snapper, Ricotta Al Forneo and a Semi-Freddo. The titles might sound daunting but appeared so easy when in the hands of professionals!
With so many brochures to read and different foods to try, I headed home full and armed with lots of new recipes to try and enjoy.
Perhaps I’ll give this Sticky Pear and Maple Cake a go while I read Everyday Health Magazine…. but maybe after Melbourne Cup Day!
Sticky Pear & Maple Cake
(serves 6-8)
200g packet dried pears, chopped
¼ cup currants
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
80g butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
2 extra large eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups gluten free self raising flour, sifted
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon mixed spice
Maple Cream
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup cream
20g butter
Step 1
Pre heat oven to 180C conventional/160 fan forced. Place pears, currants and 1 cup water in a small pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add bicarbonate of soda, allow to fizz for a couple of minutes then stir in butter to melt. Add sugar, syrup and then eggs once mixture has cooled a little. Stir in flour and spices until smooth.
Step 2
Spoon into baking paper lined 20cm square cake pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Stand 5 minutes in a pan then remove, slice and serve warm with maple cream.
Step 3
Maple Cream: Melt butter in a small pan, slowly add cream, then maple syrup, stirring continuously for several minutes until mixture starts to thicken. Serve over cake.
