A popular ice cream topping is sprinkles. However, sprinkles are used for more than just that. You’ll see them on various types of cakes, and even placed on top of coffee. Sprinkles include a lot of ingredients that are high in sugar, but are sprinkles gluten-free?
Sprinkles are gluten-free. Most sprinkles brands don’t use products that include gluten. However, these companies do not have their sprinkles as certified gluten-free. So, despite how they use no ingredients that include gluten, you should still make sure it says ‘gluten-free’ or ‘GF’ on the package before buying.
The rest of this article will cover what sprinkles are made of, where to buy gluten-free sprinkles, how to avoid sprinkles with gluten, and why you should have gluten-free sprinkles.
What Sprinkles Are Made Of
Sprinkles are a common topping, but few stop to think about how they’re made. Using a mixture of various ingredients, sprinkles are formed into pieces that resemble noodles. The length and width will differ depending on what type and brand of sprinkles you’re buying.
One of the primary ingredients is corn syrup. There’s also other ingredients such as: sugar, cornstarch, wax, and artificial flavors and colors. Each substance has its own purpose, but sprinkles are known for their shape and color.
The ingredients make it so that it isn’t a healthy food. That’s why sprinkles are made and sold in small quantities. When you’re serving them for yourself, you should be sure to keep the portion small. The starches and syrups make sprinkles high in sugar, carbs, and even calories.
Where To Buy Gluten-Free Sprinkles
To find sprinkles that are gluten-free, you can go to a local grocery store and shop there. You’ll see boxes labeled with a ‘GF’, or the words ‘gluten-free’. This is the same as restaurants, who’ll have ‘GF’ next to a meal that has no gluten in it. Look for similar letters on sprinkle packs.
However, if you don’t want to go to a grocery store, you still have other options to explore. For one, you can try Target or Walmart. Target and Walmart have a variety of foods you can buy, and you can find gluten-free items there as well. This includes sprinkles.
Look around the aisles until you find the sprinkles, and look at the label to make sure it’s gluten-free. From there, you’ve secured your sprinkles. If neither of those options appeal to you, you still have one more that takes longer, but it means you don’t have to leave your home.
The last way to buy sprinkles is through online sellers. Most commonly, Amazon. Amazon is a great place to buy sprinkles because you can see the reviews and details about the product. If you can’t tell if it’s gluten-free or not, you can ask a question and have customers answer.
Away from Amazon, you can order gluten-free sprinkles on the websites for Walmart and Target, as well as other sellers. To make sure you’re getting sprinkles without gluten, search the product details for the GF label, and or message the seller to clarify.
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How To Avoid Sprinkles With Gluten
The good news is, most sprinkles don’t include gluten anyway. There’s no real reason to add gluten to sprinkles. The ingredients don’t require it, so there’s no need to have it in there. If there is gluten added, it’d be added as a thickener to make the sprinkles wider and longer.
Thanks to this, avoiding sprinkles with gluten is simple. All you have to do is check the box before you buy it. Or, if you’re buying from an online source, read the description and see if there’s any mention of gluten products. If there’s no mention, double-check with the seller.
After checking, you can buy the product. However, if you don’t see any mention of it being gluten-free, and the worker doesn’t know, you shouldn’t buy it. Other brands will have the gluten contents listed, so it’s not worth it to buy a brand that doesn’t have the necessary information.
Why You Should Have Gluten-Free Sprinkles
Since sprinkles are mostly gluten-free, you should have them to add to your treat. Trying sprinkles with ice cream not only adds color, but it adds texture. Those are the two main purposes of adding sprinkles to your meals.
As mentioned earlier, sprinkles aren’t healthy foods. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have them every once in a while. Topping your ice cream with sprinkles is the perfect way to add color to your treat. Especially rainbow sprinkles, which are one of the most common types.
There’s also other ways you can have sprinkles. For example, instead of just placing the sprinkles on top of food, you should try baking them into a cake. When you bake the sprinkles, they dissolve and give the cake a rainbow, confetti-like look that adds to its presentation.
If that doesn’t appeal to you, you could always have it the classic way. Place the sprinkles on top of your food of choice and eat it like that. Originally, sprinkles were made to be a simple topping for items like bread. Why not stick with the classics?
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Conclusion
In general, sprinkles don’t have gluten. In rare cases, gluten will be added as a thickener. Otherwise, you don’t have to worry about gluten being in sprinkles. When you’re buying sprinkles, look at the package for the ‘gluten-free’ labels, and buy the ones that have them.
Sprinkles are made from ingredients like starches and syrups, and aren’t very healthy. Regardless, you can find them at grocery stores, Targets, Walmarts, and online vendors such as Amazon. Be sure to ask a worker or seller about the gluten contents inside the packages.
Gluten-free sprinkles are a nice treat to top your food with. Whether the food be ice cream, cake, cupcakes, or bread, you should add it to bring texture, flavor, and color to your meal. However, have it in small quantities to combat how high it is in sugar, carbs, and calories.