Cereals containing gluten

Cereals containing gluten is the first of the EU 14 allergens. The group covers wheat (including spelt and khorasan wheat), rye, barley, oats, their hybrids such as triticale, and products made from them. The UK uses the same list. On prepacked food the label must name the actual grain, such as "wheat flour" or "barley malt", and emphasize it, not just say "gluten".

How to use it

Read the ingredients list and look for the emphasized grain names. Then think about who you are cooking for:

• Someone with celiac disease needs to avoid all of these grains, and oats unless they are labeled gluten-free.
• Someone with a wheat allergy needs to avoid wheat but may be able to eat rye, barley or oats. Their doctor decides that.

A few ingredients made from these grains are processed so far that EU law exempts them from the allergen rules. They include wheat-based glucose syrups (dextrose included), wheat-based maltodextrins, barley-based glucose syrups, and grain used to make distilled spirits.

Common mistakes

• Treating "wheat-free" as "gluten-free". A wheat-free bread can still be made with rye or barley.
• Forgetting the wheat family: spelt, durum, semolina, farro, einkorn, emmer, bulgur, couscous and freekeh are all wheat.
• Reading a US label as if it followed EU rules. In the US only wheat is a major allergen. Rye, barley and oats are in the ingredients list but are not called out in the "Contains" statement.

In recipes

These grains turn up well beyond bread and pasta. Look out for them in:

• Coatings and crumbs such as panko and batter
• Sauces thickened with a roux or flour, including most gravy
• Soy sauce, which is usually brewed with wheat
• Malt vinegar, malt extract and beer, which come from barley
• Seitan, which is almost pure wheat gluten
• Stock cubes, spice mixes and sausages, which sometimes use wheat flour as a filler

If you or someone you cook for must avoid gluten, read the label every time, because recipes change. A doctor or dietitian can explain exactly what to avoid.