Many of the recipes used in most of the restaurants throughout the U.S. contain oats. A lot of chefs, in fact, have high regards towards oat and oat flour when cooking for people who present the unfortunate condition of being gluten-intolerant. However, as you might have perceived; a lot of questions have been brought up about outs and if they are in reality safe for the consumption of gluten-intolerant individuals.
So, the one-million-dollar question is: Are Oats Actually Gluten-Free? In the following construct we will try to clear out all this mess once and for all.
If you are looking for a short straight-up answer, you will be pleased to know that pure, non-contaminated OATS ARE ACTUALLY GLUTEN-FREE. They are a great choice for most people that are not able to tolerate consuming any gluten.
Contamination is the main problem when people look for oats in order to have a safe gluten-free source of nutrients. Facilities that process rye, barley and wheat also process most commercial oat products. So, by processing these kinds of foods together or even in the same building can result in the contamination of oat products and the mayor problem for gluten intolerants is that even a tiny present of gluten in their diet can cause them to go through a hard time. If you are thinking that famous brands of oats and the Oat Boxes that they usually sell are gluten free, you might be proven wrong in the worst way.
Contamination is a very delicate and sensitive matter, since it can occur even by growing oats alongside wheat, barley or rye in the same field, so even the same product can present different properties in gluten content for different boxes. Let’s say that a box of oat from the most trust-worthy brand is ok as a gluten-free consumption product but another box that is bought even in the same store might contain some amount of gluten, which can make other people presume and generalize by saying that the previously mentioned product and brand is not gluten free, having as a consequence bad publicity for that company.
However, this is not always the case and gluten-free products such as oats are among the least expensive choices when taking care of our most dear gluten-intolerant friend or relative. It is very easy to develop recipes using oats since they are a very familiar and flexible ingredient, especially when comparing it with other gluten-free products such as potato starch or xanthan gum.
But, there is a small problem with this topic. If you have paid close attention to what you have read, you might have noticed that we said that Oats are safe for MOST gluten-intolerants. Because the fact is that there is a small amount of gluten-intolerant people that also have problems with processing oats and foods that contain oat. In consequence, it is quite difficult to tell the people who have reactions for gluten-contaminated oats apart from the ones that actually have a negative reaction towards oat.