READING NOOK

America’s Test Kitchen’s The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook
America’s Test Kitchen’s The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook

After I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy, the words “gluten-free” became part of my everyday vocabulary. Foods that had been everyday foods to me were lost forever … or so I thought. I have long been a fan of America’s Test Kitchen. When I began collecting gluten-free cookbooks, the first place I searched was the America’s Test Kitchen library. To my dismay, they had none. Until now.

When I began testing the recipes in America’s Test Kitchen’s The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook ($26.95, America’s Test Kitchen), it was with a mixture of trepidation and hope. I have tried numerous gluten-free recipes that promised “you’ll never know it’s not gluten,” but I knew. I quickly developed a rating scale that ranged from horrible to almost edible, but this book has changed everything.

If you are familiar with America’s Test Kitchen you will find the format of this cookbook familiar. ATK describes the science behind the recipes, what they tried, what failed and why the recipes work. Unlike other gluten-free cookbooks, these recipes are straightforward and created with relatively easy-to-find ingredients.

The bread tastes and feels like bread; the pancakes are as they should be, fluffy, not the dense, gummy stand-ins offered by other cookbooks. And let’s talk about the lemon loaf. If you have been gluten-free for some time the lemon loaf will blow your mind. No, seriously. Try the lemon loaf. Do you miss mac and cheese, pizza, dinner rolls and chocolate cake? Today is your lucky day. They’re all here and they’re good and not just gluten-free good, they’re really good.

There is a beautiful section on grains. ATK offers new approaches to quinoa, kasha, millet, polenta, and oat berry. This section vastly expands side dish options for any gluten-free aficionado. Comfort foods, pasta, and desserts are back.

One thing I really appreciated is that the authors offer their own custom flour blend, but also rate and compare several gluten-free blends and products found on grocery shelves, offering an objective view of what’s available. In addition, they suggest how to substitute popular flour blends for the recommended ATK blend for each recipe in the book.

But the chefs and food scientists at ATK are not magicians. Other than tips on freezing, they were unable to address (let alone solve) the issue of the short shelf-life of gluten-free baked goods.

In every way possible, the ATK cookbook makes gluten-free cooking and baking easy and accessible. They boast loudly when they say, “America’s Test Kitchen Revolutionizes Gluten-Free Cooking,” but I humbly join that revolution and can only say, thank you, ATK.

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