Make sure all the following are clearly marked gluten-free, or have no ingredients containing gluten listed on the label.
Soy sauce
Tomato sauce
Tomato soup
Worcestershire sauce (or make your own, see the recipe on page 256)
Dried herbs (be careful of mixed herbs and spices as they may contain carriers from a gluten source)
Breadcrumbs (see page 7 for how to make these)
Chocolate for cooking
Cornflakes
Cornflour
Custard powder
Stock powder—beef, chicken and vegetable.
Think about growing your own herbs—this can be done even on a kitchen benchtop. Herbs supply a range of wonderful flavours for enhancing so many dishes. The most useful herbs I think are basil, mint, sage, parsley, thyme, dill, tarragon and rosemary.
Any excess herbs can be used for other recipes; for instance, an abundance of basil can be made into pesto, which can be frozen for later use, and mint can make mint sauce to serve as an accompaniment to lamb. Excess herbs can also be easily dried by placing the leaves in brown paper bags and storing them in a dark cupboard, or hanging them upside down in bunches (though they can get a bit dusty using this method). In this way you can make your own versions of mixed herbs without any worries about carriers. Herbs can also be frozen. With your own fresh and dried herbs on hand you are only limited by your imagination.
Try making your own jams, pickles and chutneys. They provide a storehouse of great flavours for the dishes you prepare. Provided you use gluten-free (non-malt) vinegar and maize cornflour for thickening chutneys or pickles, the end products are totally gluten-free. Some simple recipes for making gluten-free jams, chutneys and sauces can be found in the Preserves chapter.