Is cool whip gluten free?
Gluten is a protein that is found in most grains like wheat, rye, barley, spelt and triticale (a combination of wheat and rye). However, gluten is mostly found in wheat. Gluten’s function is to glue food together and help them maintain their shape. Gluten may have functions and benefits in foods but they may be harmful to some people in many ways like:
1. Some people are gluten intolerant, their body react badly when it notices any trace of gluten in it.
2. It can lead to gut inflammation: Most proteins like gluten that are stored in grains can irritate the gut. They can cut through the lining of the gut and cause inflammation. The gut controls digested foods and their nutrients to the bloodstream, it also prevent bacteria and other harmful particles that may have gained access into the body from entering the bloodstream. When the gut becomes inflamed, it can no longer perform the functions and every substance gets into the bloodstream. The reduction in the function of the gut can lead to intestinal permeability. This can happen to people who are sensitive to gluten.
3. People who do not have celiac disease can have gluten problem: Many people think that only those with celiac disease can have gluten related problems but this is not true. Other people can become sensitive to gluten, this is known as non-gluten celiac sensitivity. This is why many people are removing gluten from their diets.
4. Gluten has no nutrient: You may think that because gluten is defined as a protein, that means it has nutrients. Gluten has no essential nutrient. It is just a binder that helps to glue food food together. It does not provide the body with any nutrient, so why should we eat it?
IS COOL WHIP GLUTEN FREE
People are getting to know about the bad side of gluten, so they try to avoid having it in their diet. Before purchasing any product, they always ask if it has gluten or check if is certified to be gluten free. Cool whip is one product that has been checked to know if there are traces of gluten in it. Cool whip is a cream topping that is mostly used in desserts, it has a sweet taste and provides a creamy texture. It can be used in varieties of desserts like cakes, pies, chocolate pudding, parfait and others.
Cool whip can also be eaten like ice cream, dipped with fruit, used with hot chocolate or used in making smoothies. It is popular among cream and whip brands because it has a long shelf life, this means it can stay for a longer period of time as compared to other brands. Another advantage it has is that you do not have to whip it to get the creamy texture you need, it is ready to use. These advantages made it to be 50% higher in price than other standard creams. Cool whip is manufactured by Kraft Heinz, its owner under the company name “Kraft.”
For a 2 tablespoons serving of gluten, the nutrition you get is:
- Calories: 25
- Total fat: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Total carbs: 3g
- Total sugars: 2g
- Protein: 0g
One of the ways to know if a product has gluten is to look at the ingredients used in making it. For gluten, there is no ingredients that can have gluten in it.
The ingredients in Cool whip are:
- Water
- Sorbitan Monostearate
- Polysorbate 60
- Milk
- Light Cream
- Skim Milk
- High Fructose
- Corn Syrup
- Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (this can be palm kernel oil or coconut oil)
- Sodium Caseinate (less than 2 percent)
- Some Artificial Flavors
- Xanthan and Guar Gums
- Beta Carotene (for color)
Modified Food Starch
From the above ingredients, there is no trace of gluten which means Cool whip is gluten free. Corn may be mistaken to have gluten but corn has no gluten protein in it. Food starch and modified food starch listed in the ingredient statements of Kraft Heinz’s products often refer to corn starch which also means there will be no presence of gluten. Also the manufacturers of the product released an allergen statement that declared cool whip gluten free.
The disclosure also said that all of their products are labeled in compliance with the FDA guidelines and would have to disclose any gluten in levels over 10ppm. Anything over 10ppm will clearly be stated on the packaging/ingredients label (Club Gluten Free).
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2013 established what “gluten free” on foods and beverages means. They stated that for a food to be named gluten free, it must have less than 20 parts per million (ppm). Although Cool whip has no certification that shows it is gluten free, Kraft affirms that the product is made in facilities that have no access to gluten.
ARE ALL VARIATIONS OF COOL WHIP GLUTEN-FREE
Cool whip has many flavors that are made by Kraft. You can get sweet cinnamon, French vanilla, creamy chocolate and others. Do these variations contain gluten since their ingredients may slightly change from the major ingredients used for Cool whip? All the different flavors of Cool whip has no gluten in them. Their ingredients contain no trace of gluten.
IS COOL WHIP DAIRY-FREE OR LACTOSE FREE
This is another question people ask. Just like we have gluten intolerance, we also have diary intolerance. People whose bodies do not accept dairy products in their body systems can experience some reactions like vomiting, bloating, diarrhea or abdominal cramps. To avoid these symptoms, they stay away from any food that is made with diary products.
Unfortunately, Cool whip is not diary free. From the ingredients, there is skimmed milk, light cream and caseinate, these products are made all diary products. You cannot avoid them or take them out of the whip because they are the major ingredients that must be included.
Kraft put out a statement on their website that says, “Cool Whip is not milk-free or dairy-free. All forms/flavors of Cool whip…contain sodium caseinate, a natural protein of milk, and therefore should not be consumed by those with dairy allergies.”
COOL WHIP GLUTEN FREE DESSERTS
Even if Cool whip has no gluten, there are other foods which may be added to recipes that can have traces of gluten in them. To avoid this, make sure that every ingredient you will add to your food have no gluten in it. We have gluten free desserts you can make with Cool whip, some of them are:
1. Ambrosia Salad
This salad is delicious and easy to prepare, it takes at least 10 minutes to get done. The ingredients are drained pineapple chunks (20 oz.), drained mandarin oranges (11 oz.), 8 oz. of cool whip, 12 oz. of drained maraschino cherries, 1 cup of sweetened flaked coconut, 6 oz. of plain, thick greek yogurt and 1 cup of miniature marshmallows.
2. Easy Fruit Salad
This contains 5 ingredients and takes 20 minutes to prepare. The salad needs 1 sliced banana, 1 container of Cool Whip whipped topping, 1 pkg. of sugar free vanilla pudding, 1 can of mixed fruit and 1 can of mandarin oranges.
3. Cottage Cheese Salad
Cottage cheese salad is a dessert that screams deliciousness, it takes 15 minutes to prepare. You will need 1 can or 15 oz of crushed pineapple, 16 oz. of cottage cheese , 8 oz. of Cool whip and 1 box of jello. Note that jello has no gluten in it.
4. Lemon Fluff Dessert
This dessert is easy to make and have a nice fluffy texture. The ingredients are 1 1/2 cups of cold water, 2 cups of boiling water, 1 lemon pie filling, 8 oz. of Cool whip and 1 package of jello.
5. Pistachio Salad
You will need 8 oz. of Cool whip, 1/4 cup of pistachios, 20 oz. of crushed pineapple, 16 oz. of cottage cheese, 3.4 oz. of pudding mix and 1 1/2 cups of miniature marshmallows. It will take you at least 45 minutes.
6. Mandarin Orange Salad
This salad is simple to make, it needs just 4 ingredients and can take 25 minutes. The ingredients are 1 package of vanilla instant pudding mix, 1 can of undrained crushed pineapple, 2 drained mandarin oranges and 8 oz of Cool whip.
CONCLUSION
Cool whip is a cream topping that is used in varieties of of desserts like puddings, cakes, pies and others. People regard Cool whip as one of the best whipping cream because it has a creamier texture and a longer shelf life. The issue of gluten is becoming serious as there are people with celiac issues and sensitive to gluten in their body.
To avoid having negative effects, they avoid foods that have traces of gluten in them. Cool whip is assured by the manufacturer to be gluten free, the ingredients that are used in making cool whip has no gluten in them. However, Cool whip is not diary or lactose free, it has ingredients like cream, skim milk and caseinate. You can look for other options that have no diary products in them.