The Salami Lesson

I stopped by Trader Joe's today. It's the start of a holiday weekend, and I'm in the mood to indulge, hungry for things like cured meats that I don't eat regularly. I went in search of Applegate Farms Genoa salami, which is both gluten- and casein-free. Unfortunately, the shop was out of the salami I was looking for. I did find another brand, though, Columbus, with a few different varieties that all were gluten-free according to the front labels. Great! I chose a couple types to try, wanting to see which I liked better. I checked out and continued running errands.

Much to my chagrin, however, when I got home, ready to sample the two types of salami, I checked the labels, and lo and behold, nonfat dry milk was the second ingredient listed on both packages. I suppose I ought to have taken my own advice. Family and friends can attest to my being, shall we say, adamant about checking labels. But I was in a hurry, saw the gluten-free note on the front, and away I went, packages in hand. Lesson re-learned. The good news is that I didn't eat any of salami; I just wish I hadn't bought it.

That said, for those who are gluten-free but not casein-free, there's another brand available to you, which always is a good thing. Unfortunately, I'm still hungry for salami. Oh, well.