Welcome back to Part two of the Egg Substitute Blog
In Part One we shared different plant-based egg substitutes that one might eat. The very top of the post explains why eggs aren’t the best option.
A couple of examples of substitutes are Just Egg, or tofu that tastes like eggs. (There are some super creative chefs that turn plant-based ingredients into dishes that look and taste like eggs. It’s kind of nuts- but in a good way.)
This post is about egg substitutes when you are cooking or baking.
How often do you come across recipes that require eggs? There are many!
Fear not- there are plenty of plant-based alternatives.
Here are a few of the plant-based ways I’ve been able to cook and bake without eggs.
1. Flax egg– What is a flax egg? You mix ground flax meal with warm water and it turns into a gooey consistency that can be used as an egg substitute. When the recipe calls for it, it’s a much healthier substitute. I use flax eggs in a tofu dish (which we will make together soon) as well as in baked goods. (In fact, the recipe we are making this week is cookies! They are incredible and use flax eggs.) Some recipes suggest that chia works too.
- Aquafaba. What is aquafaba? It’s the liquid that comes in a can of beans, for example chickpeas. I wrote a blog post about it, and you can find that here. Aquafaba can also be whipped up into merengues or mousses.
I used to make chocolate merengue cookies with egg whites and recently craved those merengues. I learned that aquafaba could work and I was excited to try. I was warned that they might not rise once I added the cocoa and that’s exactly what happened. They were fluffy until I added the cocoa. They baked flat but were delicious nonetheless. All the recipes I’ve seen out there for merengues don’t add the cocoa. Maybe I’ll try again another time without the cocoa.
- There are a variety of egg replacers that you can purchase at the store. One brand is Red Mill though there are a few. I took a vegan flan baking class last year and it called for a specific brand of egg replacer.
- And sometimes just omitting the egg is sufficient. For example, we make potato latkes (pancakes) annually around Hannukah time. The recipe I’ve used for years calls for grated potatoes, flour, salt and pepper and egg (to bind it together). I omit the egg and it works out just fine for the kind of latkes we make. We do not need the egg!
There you have it. Lots of great options available to avoid eggs!
