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Here are the comments I received on the dried beans post. And my
original post:
The other day I discovered several pieces of barley in my Bob's Red
Mill dried red lentils. I have used red lentils weekly and never
noticed this before. Has anyone else seen this?
And being that I am 99% vegetarian, I really rely on beans....does
anyone have any suggestions for where and what brand to buy for dried
beans?
Thanks,
Anne
anne steib
gluten-free musings
www.glutenfreemusings.com
First, no, they are not marked gluten-free, and i knew that, but I had
never seen barely in them before. I called Bob's Red Mill and their
response is here (with a photo of what I found): http://tinyurl.com/myredlentils
Responses:
- I have great luck with" Swad" red lentils available at your Asian/
Indian grocer.
- You likely are right...I wash my stuff pretty thoroughly and then
pressure cook and have had no problem. I live in NYC and belong to a
Food Coop...
The thing is, I don't trust these Big Name outfits very much re
purity, though in some cases, I'm sure it's fine. For example,
Wolfe's Kasha (buckwheat) I buy in the box...but I grind my own
flours...it's cheap and easy.
- BRM has two facilities - one is GF and the other is not. If you
don't see the GF logo or Gluten Free on the front of the package, it
was processed and packed in the non-GF facility. I don't think any of
the beans of BRM are processed in the GF facility.
- Guess you could pick out the gluten grains and then wash the beans
well before cooking. From what I have read it is not unusual to find
some grains in beans.
- You have confirmed my concern for Bob's red mill products. seems
like too many things are contaminated
- Yes. It is a problem with all beans because of how they are
processed. I discovered this a few years ago when I was calling
companies about everything. Also, the seeds of lentils can look like
grains barley, wheat and oats (or so I was told).
- I pick over all beans carefully and then rinse them a few times and
have had no ill effect (according to my and my daughter's blood levels).
- I'd noticed grain in my lentils - 1 to 5 grains per cup or so - long
before my celiac diagnosis, so my suggestion is not which brand to
buy, but to always look through lentils before cooking, just as I look
through beans for pebbles, rotten and broken bits, & even grain
(although I do not find grain in pinto or black beans nearly as often
as in brown/green lentils). & I remind others to do the same who
might be cooking dry beans or lentils for me.
- I think you should consider it a normal possible contaminant, coming
either from the volunteers sprouting up among the lentils as a
consequence of crop rotation, or from shared machinery in commercial
harvesting & processing for retail.
- I have been buying lentils at my local Indian market lately. The
price is good. Also, I get rice noodles there along with spices etc.
- Barley is often added to multi-bean soups mixes so it's not unusual
for barley to be in a place that makes soup mixes Since beans/lentils
probably aren't packaged in the g.f. area, it's just something you
will have to watch out for.
- You do need to sort ALL dried beans when the come out of the bag
before adding any water! The are an organic product & minimal
processing...Srting by size & air blasted to remove leaves & loose
dirt. They have to be kept dry so they don't sprout or mold.
- While you don't want to get sick on a kernel of barley, breaking a
tooth on a rock is a real possibility & something no one wants!
- I buy the Safeway brand dried beans.
- It is always good practice to sort through any peas or beans. You
will not only avoid the stray grains, but possibly broken teeth from
small stones and such. As well, you are looking for broken and
cracked peas and beans because they can harbor weevils and other
critters. Once you have sorted through them give them a good rinse
THEN cook and enjoy.
- Publix, Walmarts, Krogers, Smith's - all those brands are excellent.
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