News
Review: (Pioneer Press) Let them eat cake, cookies or bread - made without gluten 2008-09-03
September
3, 2008
Let them eat cake, cookies or bread - made without gluten
By JOANNA
BRODER
Three years ago, Bonnie Sclamberg of Evanston had to abruptly halt a fun
family tradition: buying her three grandchildren cookies and birthday cakes at
her regular haunt, Deerfields Bakery in Deerfield.
It was at that time that her eldest grandchild, 9-year-old Luke Sclamberg
of Highland Park, was diagnosed with celiac disease.
Those with the disorder cannot
eat wheat, barley, rye and certain other grains because it damages
their small intestines.
Celiac disease sufferers cannot tolerate gliadin, a subprotein of gluten, said
Dr.Noga Askenazi, a pediatric and adult allergist and immunologist with offices
in Barrington and Crystal Lake. If they do consume the protein, their
nutrient absorption is affected, according to the National Digestive Diseases
Information Clearinghouse, NDDIC, a service of the National Institutes of Health.
Cookie crunch
Not having the pleasure of buying Luke cookies -- or cookies for her other two grandchildren
either because you can't leave one child out -- was abdisappointment for Sclamberg. "What was formerly a fun activity was no longer an option," she said.
But that all changed last spring when Sclamberg discovered that Deerfields, with a
location at 813 N. Waukegan Road, had opened a new line of gluten-free treats including cookies, brownies and decorated cakes. The bakery hopes to launch gluten-free breads in the coming months.
"It's amazing," Sclamberg said about the new product line. In August, for the first time
in years, rather than bake a cake from a gluten-free mix, she celebrated hervdaughter-in-law's birthday with her son and three grandchildren, including Luke,with a "beautiful" gluten-free cake decorated with roses.
"It was wonderful," Sclamberg said of the cake. "No one really could believe
it was gluten-free."
In
addition to cakes, Sclamberg is equally happy with Deerfields other
gluten-free products.
She's tried their coffee cake, cheesecake and most of their gluten-free cookies. "They're all excellent," she said.
It is hard to find quality gluten-free cookies, Sclamberg said. A bakery that
offers these products "is just a way of including a big segment of the population and
it makes life so much easier maybe especially for children."
About one percent of the U.S. population, or 2 million people, have celiac disease, according to the NDDIC.
A lot of children with celiac disease must take their own food to birthday parties, Sclamberg said. With a bakery offering gluten-free baked goods, children "can bring their own delicious cupcakes and not feel different."
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