When you go to Pica Pica .....

[Guest guest]

Pica Pica says that their products are gluten free. Perhaps when you go to Pica

Pica you can ask them where they get their Arepa flour (Harina de maiz blanco

precocida - pre-cooked white corn flour). Here is why:

Since it may be a while before I get to Pica Pica I decided to make arepas at

home. The recipe is simple. I also found out from Wikipedia that the largest

producer arepa flour is Alimentos Polar, and the name of the product is PAN. It

was easy enough to go to Chavez Market and find the real thing. I bought a 1 Kg

package and took it home. A note under the ingredients list says " may contain

traces of wheat and/or oat. " Of course, that ruled out using the flour to make

arepas.

It is possible, according to wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arepa ) to

make your own aripas starting with just corn - it is labor intensive. Maybe Pica

Pica does it that way. If not, it would be good to find out where their aripa

flour comes from. If it is PAN, the importer of PAN - Goya Foods, or Alimentos

Polar Columbia S.A. then the gluten free aspect is not guaranteed

Vic

[Guest guest]

Hi there, thank you for your post. It is important to keep in mind "may contain traces of wheat and/or oat" is often put on products for liability reasons! I have eaten at Pica Pica a few times and i am very sensitive if ever cross contaminated. As one who is celiac I fully will continue to support this restaurant!On Jun 7, 2010, at 5:08 PM, Victor Dolcourt wrote: Pica Pica says that their products are gluten free. Perhaps when you go to Pica Pica you can ask them where they get their Arepa flour (Harina de maiz blanco precocida - pre-cooked white corn flour). Here is why: Since it may be a while before I get to Pica Pica I decided to make arepas at home. The recipe is simple. I also found out from Wikipedia that the largest producer arepa flour is Alimentos Polar, and the name of the product is PAN. It was easy enough to go to Chavez Market and find the real thing. I bought a 1 Kg package and took it home. A note under the ingredients list says "may contain traces of wheat and/or oat." Of course, that ruled out using the flour to make arepas. It is possible, according to wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arepa ) to make your own aripas starting with just corn - it is labor intensive. Maybe Pica Pica does it that way. If not, it would be good to find out where their aripa flour comes from. If it is PAN, the importer of PAN - Goya Foods, or Alimentos Polar Columbia S.A. then the gluten free aspect is not guaranteed Vic