In my post on the gluten status of custard powder, I took a bold stance that “custard is underrated”, but I guess I wasn’t even loud enough.
Recently, my home girl was celebrating her birthday, so I had to ditch the Southern girl in me and make her a bespoke banana pudding.
I swapped out my Bird’s vanilla custard for a chocolate-infused one (practically Ambrosia Belgian chocolate). The first layer of the banana pudding was my gluten-free homemade ladyfingers (dipped in rum). I can go on describing the goodness I achieved making this pudding.
But let’s get to the business of the day: Ambrosia custard. Being a coeliac, researching for possible cross-contamination and scanning product information for allergens has become second nature.
Here is everything I learnt before deciding to stock up my pantry with some Ambrosia Custard:
Is Ambrosia Custard gluten Free?
Ambrosia Custard is gluten-free, as stated in an email from their customer care. Ambrosia does not list wheat, rye, barley, or other gluten-containing ingredients or cereals on its standard custards. Other common ingredients across its custard options include buttermilk, sugar, milk, and modified starch.
Whenever I see E14XX modified starch, I get curious because it could come from anywhere (corn, wheat, tapioca, barley, etc.). Although starches are modified to improve a product’s texture or resistance to heat, freezing, or acid, as a coeliac, I need to know the source of the starch.
Before their customer care reverted to my email, my further research revealed that when manufacturers like Premier Foods (makers of Ambrosia) supply their products to wholesalers or healthcare sectors, they must provide complete documentation.
As seen in the trade specification data released on Lynas, the standard Ambrosia custard doesn’t list any gluten-containing cereals. It states that the product contains no wheat, rye, or barley.
Unsatisfied, I sent an email to Ambrosia, and they replied with:
Hi Miss Kevwe,
Thank you for contacting Ambrosia to ask what the source of the modified starch is and the gluten status of our products
We use Modified Maize Starch and Modified Tapioca Starch in Ambrosia, which has been heat treated to modify it.
So, from this reply, we can tell the modified starch is from maize (corn). In this light, let’s look at their individual custards:
Is Ambrosia Deluxe custard gluten free?
Ambrosia Deluxe custard doesn’t bear the gluten-free label, but the customer support says it’s gluten-free alongside their rice puddings. Further, scanning its ingredient list reveals no obvious gluten-containing ingredients.
A look around the standard Deluxe Custard ingredient list reveals skimmed milk, buttermilk, sugar, modified starches, cream, palm oil, inulin, whey, milk powder, colours, vanilla extract, and natural flavouring as its constituents. According to the official Ambrosia website.
However, the same company produces Bird’s custard and a host of other products; I was tempted to assume there may be a risk of cross-contamination from shared production lines.
But further research shows that Ambrosia custards are manufactured in a sole production area: Ambrosia Creamery in Lifton, Devon, England. But this does not eliminate the risk of cross-contamination and agricultural cross-contact.
Is Ambrosia Devon custard gluten-free?
An email exchange with the Ambrosia customer support reveals that Ambrosia Devon is gluten-free.
UK food labels must make identification of allergens easy in the ingredient list by making them bold, underlined, or highlighted.
“May contain gluten” warning or “gluten-free” labelling is voluntary. But if a product must be labelled gluten-free, then it shouldn’t exceed the 20 ppm gluten barrier.
Ambrosia, for reasons best known to them, didn’t label this product as gluten-free. So, I sent out an email to confirm the gluten status of these custards.
Hi,
All Ambrosia custards and rice products found in store are gluten-free.
The following products in the Ambrosia Range are made from wheat or oats or may contain gluten and are therefore not suitable for your diet: –
Semolina, Macaroni, Tapioca, and Porridge
Please always check the ingredient list on the packaging, where all major allergens are listed in bold text, as some recipes and manufacturing methods can change.
We do hope that this information has been of some help and that we can continue to enjoy your valued support.
This email should guide your decisions about whether this is the right product for you or not.
Explicitly labelled gluten-free custards
While some people with gluten sensitivity, like me, may be comfortable choosing Ambrosia custard because of its ingredients, others need products with a clearer view of their gluten status.
If you fall under such a category, here are some custards labelled as gluten-free that you could try:
- Alpro: When it comes to gluten-free custards, this is the first one I’ll recommend. It is plant-based and yet creamy. You’ll enjoy it hot or cold, and it performs wonders in puddings and other desserts.
- Just Wholefoods Custard Powder: This custard powder is a great vegan and gluten-free option. I have used it once, and it wasn’t bad.
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The Coconut Collab Vanilla Custard 400g is a great option if you need that coconut kick.
Depending on your location, you could be able to discover other gluten-free options. I usually look through the allergen aisle of major supermarkets.
Final Thoughts
For people with coeliac disease, Ambrosia Custard is quite promising. It doesn’t list any obvious gluten-containing ingredients, and the trade specifications on Lynas don’t list any gluten-containing cereals either. Further, its customer support unit declares it’s gluten-free.
If you are looking for products with obvious gluten-free labels, then you should lean towards Alpro, The Coconut Collab Custard, or Just Wholefoods Custard. The consistency and taste may differ slightly from the typical Ambrosia or Bird’s custard.