Wine and Cheese Night

Its Wine and Cheese night and unfortunately, again, there are are some cheeses that must be avoided as gluten is the anti-christ and manages to make its way into just about everything. I have a deep felt passion for the wine and cheese combo and even though being a Celiac has made me more dairy intolerant over the years its worth popping a Lactaid and going for it every once in a while. So, here is what I have educated myself with regarding safe cheeses. 

Cheese

Allowed: All aged cheese, such as cheddar, Swiss, edam, parmesan; cottage cheese; cream cheese; pasteurized processed cheese; cheese spreads.
Avoid: Any cheese product containing oat gum, some veined cheeses (bleu, stilton, roquefort, gorgonzola). Check ingredient list on cottage cheese, cream cheese, and all pasteurized, processed cheese; avoid cheeses with vegetable gum, food starch and preservatives not defined by a gluten-free source.

After doing some more research I have found the following brands to be gluten free:

• Cabot Cheese (www.cabotcheese.com)
• Some Lighthouse products (check here for their list of gluten free products http://www.litehousefoods.com/products_faq.asp#q2)
• Rosenborg Cheese (www.rosenborg.com)
• Tillamook cheeses are all gluten free (they have the best cheddar) 
  
• Voskos Greek Style Yogurt (www.sunvalley-dairy.com/products)

Of course there are many other brands out there that offer gluten free cheese. Just be sure to read the label and sticking to hard cheeses as opposed to soft gives you a way better shot at not consuming gluten. 

A great cracker to pair with cheese is Natural Nectar Original Cracklebread (also comes in tomato and oregano) and they are DELICIOUS. I know they are available at Whole Foods in both Canada and the United States. I really recommend these as they are just great. AND they are low calorie. 

I also like to pair my wine and cheese with assorted meats and again you have to be very careful with this. Many meats do actually contain gluten. I love all of the Oscar Meyer Deli meats because they are all gluten free. They arent the best for a wine and cheese night but they make a great day-to-day snack/meal. Also really great for kids with Celiac Disease. If you are near a Costco they sell great salami that is labeled gluten free right on the packaging and its delicious!