The grains, and the names that hide them
Gluten is in wheat, rye and barley, and in everything descended from them: spelt, kamut, durum and triticale. Those words rarely appear on a menu. What does appear is this:
- Couscous, bulgur, orzo and semolina — all wheat.
- Breadcrumbs, panko, rusk crumb and croutons.
- Seitan: not something with gluten in it — it is gluten.
- Malt and malt extract (from barley), and with them malt vinegar.
- Oats contain no gluten themselves, but are almost always processed alongside wheat. Only oats explicitly sold as gluten-free are.
Sauces, soups and gravy: the thickener
This is the category most often forgotten in a restaurant, including by kitchens with good intentions. A sauce gets thickened, a soup gets finished, and the default thickener is flour.
So do not ask whether the sauce is gluten-free; ask what it is thickened with. Cornflour, cream or a reduction are fine; a roux of flour and butter is not.
- Gravy, veloutés and classic sauces built on a roux.
- Stock cubes and powders — many contain wheat.
- Soy sauce and ketjap: traditionally brewed with wheat. Tamari is usually the gluten-free one, but that is printed on the bottle, not visible in the kitchen.
- Ready-made marinades, teriyaki, hoisin and many Asian stir-fry sauces.
The genuinely unexpected places
And then the dishes nobody thinks of, because there is nothing bread-like about them.
- Meatballs, sausage and burgers: breadcrumbs or rusk as a binder.
- Liquorice: many kinds contain wheat flour.
- Beer is brewed from barley. Gluten-free beer exists, but ordinary beer never is.
- Surimi and some fish snacks contain wheat starch.
- Ice cream with a biscuit in it — and more often: the same scoop used across every tub.
- Seasoning mixes on crisps and snacks, and some sweets with wheat-based glucose syrup (that last one is usually fine; ask if you are unsure).
What a label does and does not say
In a supermarket you have more certainty than in a kitchen, because the statement “gluten-free” is regulated across Europe. What is not regulated is the warning underneath it.
- “Gluten-free”: below 20 milligrams of gluten per kilo. This is a legal limit, not a marketing term.
- “Very low gluten”: between 20 and 100 milligrams per kilo. Not suitable for most people with coeliac disease.
- “May contain traces of gluten”: a voluntary statement by the manufacturer about its own production line. There is no standard and no inspection behind it, so its absence is not a guarantee either.
- The crossed grain symbol is used under licence and means a product has been checked against the gluten-free standard.
Frequently asked questions
The questions people ask most about this.
Is soy sauce gluten-free?
Traditional soy sauce is brewed with wheat, so no. Gluten-free versions exist, usually tamari, but in a restaurant it is rarely visible which bottle went into the wok. Ask before you order.
Is beer gluten-free?
Ordinary beer is not: it is brewed from barley. There are beers brewed gluten-free and beers made gluten-free, and they say so on the label. Cider, wine and pure spirits contain no gluten.
Can I eat oats?
Oats contain no gluten themselves, but are almost always processed in the same mills and factories as wheat. Only oats sold as gluten-free are reliable. Whether you tolerate oats is a question for your doctor or dietitian.
What does “may contain traces of gluten” mean?
That the manufacturer cannot rule out cross-contamination in its own production. It is a voluntary warning with no standard behind it, so you cannot read an amount from it — and its absence says nothing in itself.