Just wondering if you know if there
are other types of flour available, like rice? I am gluten free and wheat is
not an option for me. I make my own everything because everything in the US is
made with glutenous flour. We want to move to Cuenca but I need to have other
flour available. Thanks! Great Blog!
You’re in
luck! Both Coral and Supermaxi in Cuenca sell several
different types of flours for the gluten free diet. We have seen barley, soy,
rice, oat, maize, corn and even plantain flour, which all have no gluten in
them. You will have no problem at all finding the whole gluten free flours
here.
What you
will have a difficult time finding here is the prepared gluten free cookie,
muffin, and cake mixes that you now see on the grocery store shelves in the U.S
Ecuador has not yet understood the prevailing need for gluten free ready-made
boxed flour mixes but, at least they do have varieties of gluten free flours.
However, the good news is the standard Ecuadorian
fair of white rice, a meat, plantain, hominy, and a mixed vegetable salad is
virtually gluten free! Be careful with the soups though; some of the
Traditional Ecuadorian soups will have pasta in them; other than that the rest
of the meal is free of gluten.
Coral
grocery stores sell maize loaf bread and buns in the Panaderia (bakery) which
are very good by the way. Fresh baked goods are a big deal here in Ecuador. So
all in all we don’t think you’re going to have a problem staying on a gluten
free diet here in Cuenca.
Healthy Gluten free Cookies
1 cup maize
flour
½ cup plantain flour
1-1/2 cups small oats
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons baking powder
1-1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
2 egg
1/4 cup milk
½ cup raisins
½ cup raisins blended or ½ cup pure cane sugar
½ cup plantain flour
1-1/2 cups small oats
½ cup butter
2 tablespoons baking powder
1-1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter
2 egg
1/4 cup milk
½ cup raisins
½ cup raisins blended or ½ cup pure cane sugar
In blender
add ½ cup of the raisins and fill with enough water to just cover the raisins;
allow the raisins to soak in the water for about five minutes. Mean while, in
mixing bowl add dry ingredients and the rest of the whole raisins together and
stir well. After five minutes is up, blend the raisins and water for about two
minutes, until it becomes a puree. Add the butter, eggs, and milk and blend
well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls on
greased cookie sheet. Cook for about 6 to 8 minutes in a preheated 350 degree
oven. Enjoy this healthy gluten free recipe.
My wife who is a fabulous chef also makes most of our treats without flour or grains period. Frank I am going to provide you with a site that my wife uses, because I know you are a chocoholic like myself. It's called http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/
ReplyDeleteEnjoy...Lord Bless Franco
P.S. Does anyone around town sell chocolate nibs...that is the whole bean..fermented of course.
Thanks a lot.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the information! I'm gluten intolerant and have a severe reaction if I eat it.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, barley is not OK for gluten free diets. Did you mean buckwheat perhaps?
Is it easy to ask in restaurants whether a dish has wheat flour in it? Or will the server look at you like you're crazy (they still look at me crazy in certain parts of the United States!)
Thank you so much again, this has already been super helpful!
Hi Kat,
ReplyDeleteYes, I meant barley. I'm not too much up on all the gluten free flours. Unfortunately, Ecuador does not know about gluten intolerance, even though they do have a lot of different flours to choose from in the Ecuadorian grocery stroes.
Yeah, they might look at you funny if you ask them if the food is prepared with wheat...but oh well...ask anyway! Glad you're enjoying the blog.
Hello, I'm here in Ecuador now, and I want to know if the gluten free offer have become any better. And do you find the flower in an own section of the store or do you have to look all over the store to find it.
ReplyDeleteHello! Although the last comment dates back to 2013, I thought I would leave a comment just incase anyone is still in search of GF products! I have only been here for 3 weeks and am still on the hunt for more gluten free products, but here is what I've found so far. Supermaxi now has a small, but far amount of gluten free products. In the cookies and chips isle you can find chocolate and coco cookies for about $3 dollars as well as chocolate wafter cookies for around $7. The only gluten free flour I've seen at Supermaxi de las Americas is the yuca flour and almond flour. They now have two gluten free boxed brownie mix for $7 dollars and pancake mix for $3 dollars. If you browse the isles you can find a few more products like cereal. What's great about most of the products here is when you read the label it will tell if you if it "contiene gluten" contains gluten. Another great find is a little place in el centro called Giko. The husband and wife there make all of their products gluten free! You can find sandwiches, paninis, desserts and ice cream. They also sell loafs of bread for around $3 dollars as well as zucchini muffins. Their address is Benigno Malo 6-54 entre Presidente Cordova y Juan Jaramillo. I hope this is helpful for anyone still in search of GF products! :) I will be sure to add more, if/when I come across them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily for all the great information about GF food products in Cuenca!
Delete