Freekeh? I understand the jury is out... - Gluten Free Guerr...
Freekeh? I understand the jury is out on whether freekeh is coeliac friendly... has anyone here tried it? Did you get glutened? Thanks
I'd never heard of this before so have just spent some time finding out. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. It is wheat..just young and roasted but wheat...with gluten. all the articles I could find were also saying that levels of gluten could not be determined....but there is no really safe level of gluten for any of us. The less than 20ppm makes some people ill. Not worth the risk I'd say.
You're probably right Jill and thank you for looking 
The problem is because it is such a localised thing there's no Western-style nutritional data or research on it. Some people claim that the gluten is denatured by the heating process, but I'm not sure I want to be a guinea pig!
I wonder whether we have any Lebanese members who've tried it?
I'm beginning to think my week in the foothills of Mount Lebanon is going to have to be carb-free!!!
have you been onto the celiactravel.com site. They have done quite a bit of travel to more unusual places and also have links to other people's travels. You could always take your own supply of gf crackers and part baked rolls with you along with a translation card.
oh, gluten can't be affected by heat...otherwise we'd be able to eat bread! The stuff I found was referring to the gluten in the wheat not being mature??????
Hi Jill, I think the theory goes that (a) the gluten is not fully developed/potent because it's green wheat not ripened, and then (b) they burn it - literally burn it, then abrade away the carbonised outer layer and grind what's left.
But you know what, I'm not going to risk it unless I can find a coeliac who's eaten it with no ill effects! Unlikely, I know!!!
The hotel we are probably going to has a policy of not allowing any food in the rooms (which I kind of like, from a smell/sanitation/pest control perspective) otherwise I would take a stash of homemade GF pittas and chapatis from the freezer.
Thank you for the link, they seem to have a better range of languages than Coeliac UK.
Another new thing! Like Jill I had a look around and found this link giving some science info on freekeh. It seems that if you could "cook" the gluten protein at a high enough temperature to denature it, it would be an inedible carcinogen! onlysometimesclever.wordpre...
Thank you Penel, that's a great explanation.
I will definitely be avoiding it now! Think I will maybe shift a bit of flab during my holiday (unless I can make up the calories with Lebanese wine )
Forgot to say...hope you have a lovely time.
