Keeping a Kosher Kitchen

You have to keep a kosher kitchen if you or members of your family have celiac disease. This is just the reality if you strive for optimal celiac health. It will entail some organizational work upfront and a little bit of “kosher kitchen 101” training.

To get started, spend some time developing ground rules; communicating them with family members or household roommates. Then, establish a gluten-free kosher kitchen:

Rule #1: Purchase a new toaster, one specifically for gluten-free toast. You can no longer share a toaster with gluten-containing breads because crumbs and finer particles of gluten will contaminate your gluten-free toast. If you simply have no room in your kitchen for two toasters, you can use a four-slot toaster, making sure that it’s well known which side is for gluten-free breads only.

Rule #2: Keep a separate butter dish. If you share a butter dish with other household members, you’re likely to pick up (unintentionally) specs of breadcrumbs on or around the butter itself.

Rule #3: Make it a golden rule in your household to use clean utensils when scooping from shared sandwich spreads such as peanut butter and jelly, or condiments like ketchup, mustard, relish, etc.

Rule #4: Use a separate cutting board when preparing gluten-free foods. Just think, you or whoever is cooking, may slice a carrot using the same board that a piece of bread was sliced beforehand. You never know what kinds of things could be hiding in the shallow crevasses of a cutting board.

Rule #5: Store gluten-free flours and other baking items in separate containers. Label the containers and store in a gluten-free area of the kitchen. Perhaps this is a pantry or cupboard marked as a gluten-free area.

One of the families I interviewed kept an immaculate kosher kitchen. Their three-old celiac daughter had her own gluten-free snack drawer, labeled with her name and within her height’s reach. Anything in that drawer was “safe” for her and she knew it.

Labeling is a great way to organize your gluten-free kitchen.

Now, get to work!