Egg Replacers

The Ones I Like Best Flax Gloop Whizzed Tofu Other Good Ones Ener-G Egg Replacer Added Starch Ground Flax Seeds Mashed Bananas Ones I don't like Soy Flour Just Leave the Eggs Out Ones I've seen but not tried Nut Butters Prune Goo Lecithin

 

Flax Methods

Flax seeds (a.k.a. linseed) are usually found in bulk bins, often among the herbs at natural food stores. Once you get them home you should keep them in the fridge or freezer, since flax oil is the most unstable of the polyunsaturated oils, and is oxidized (turned rancid) by heat, light, and even air. If you use ground flax seeds, you should grind them when you use them, so the exposure to light and air doesn't turn them rancid. Interestingly, one study seemed to show that baking doesn't seem to hurt the omega-3 EFAs in flax seeds -- that means that using this egg replacer might be good for you (probably ground flax more so than strained gloop). Keep in mind that in most cases you don't want to heat things containing flax oil, because heat can turn the EFAs (essential fatty acids, which are good for you) in flax oil into a trans-fatty acids, (which are not your friends).   Flax Gloop You'll need whole (not ground!) flax seeds, and some cheesecloth (a strainer won't work). Quick Method: Use 1 part seeds to 4 parts water (the seed sellers say to use 1 part seeds to 3 parts water, but they're in the business of selling seeds, aren't they?). Simmer for 5-7 min. Proceed as described under "Straining". For 1 egg, use 4 tsp. seeds to 1/3 cup = 80 ml water (some will boil off). Efficient Method: Use 1 part seeds to 12 parts water, e.g. 4 tsp. seeds per cup of water, or 1 tsp. per 60 ml of water. Soak from 1 hour to overnight, whatever is convenient for you. Simmer for 20 min, and be sure to let gloop cool completely before straining. Straining Allowing the gloop to cool with the seeds in it makes it thicker. When it is thick and cool enough, pour it into a bowl lined with cheesecloth. Gather up the edges of the cloth and gently squeeze out the gloop, until the cloth contains only seeds. (If you're trying to use a strainer and it works, your gloop is too thin! Simmer it a bit more...) Compost the seeds (hide them somewhere in tonight's dinner?), and use the gloop. To replace 1 egg, use a scant 1/4 cup gloop 50 ml gloop   Ground Flax Many vegan baking books suggest the use of ground flax seeds mixed with water as an egg substitute. I've tried this, and it is a good method for making baked goods that rise well and have a good texture. The down side is that the flax seeds have a strong and distinctive flavor, which is good in things that are meant to taste granola-ish, but not so good in things with more delicate flavors. I recommend this method for baked goods which get a lot of their flavor by nuts and seeds. 1 Tbs. ground flax seeds plus 3 Tbs. water replaces one egg. That's 5 ml milled flaxseed plus 45 ml water Mix them together, and let it sit a couple of minutes (it gets wiggly!), then add as you would eggs

 

Soy Methods

Whizzed Tofu Most kinds of tofu work to replace eggs. Those on low-fat diets use Mori-Nu Lite Silken Tofu, which works just as well as Mori-Nu's non-lite variety. All Mori-Nu tofu is sold in aseptic packages which do not require refrigeration; in either case, choose the extra-firm variety. This kind of tofu spoils rapidly once it's been opened, so it's good to use it all at once. Ordinary tofu works too, the kind that needs to swim in a tub of water in the fridge. When using non-silken tofu, soft varieties blend more smoothly than firm ones. Make sure that this kind of tofu is fresh -- it gets a sour flavor as it ages, which is more noticeable in baked goods than in spicy or savory dishes. Tofu needs to be whizzed in a blender or food processor before it is used. In a blender it's harder to get the tofu down into the blades, so don't blend more than 1/2 lb. at a time. It also helps to crumble firmer tofu up before blending it. Blend till it's smooth and creamy, not grainy. Replace 1 egg with 1/4 cup = 50 g = 1.75 oz tofu Vegan recipies call for an average of 3.25 oz. tofu per cup of flour. In places with sensible measuring systems, that's 70 g tofu per 100 g of flour.   Soy Flour My experiments suggest that this one is an urban legend, a placebo, basically no better nor worse than simply leaving the eggs out of your recipe entirely. Let me repeat: I've tried this one in side-by-side tests (identical non-vegan recipe, veganized using a different egg replacer in each batch) with most of the other methods on this page, and the resulting baked good rose much less than any other method I tried. They tasted fine, they just didn't rise, and the texture was different from all the others, being very dense and pudding-y. As an ex-professional baker, I would not have considered the results sale-able, but they were certainly edible. They just looked like hockey pucks. If you must try it, use a heaping tablespoon of soy flour plus 2-3 Tbs. of water. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 

Ener-G Egg Replacer

Ener-G Egg Replacer is the favored standby of many, if not most, vegan and lacto bakers. It contains potato starch, tapioca flour, leavening, and carbohydrate gum (whatever that is). It can be beaten until it forms peaks, so it's good for incorporating tiny bubbles into baked goods that need them. My reservation with Ener-G Egg Replacer is that it contains added leaveners. As I mention elsewhere, baking powder does not simply disappear when it reacts; it leaves residues which, in sufficient quantities, can be tasted. When I've used this stuff in blind taste tests, my taster has mentioned what she called "a weird chemical-y taste". I've always noticed this in things made with Ener-G Egg Replacer as well, but there are plenty of people who it doesn't bother. Ener-G Egg Replacer comes in a box, and is available at most natural food stores, usually located near baking supplies and exotic flours, or else hidden among miscellaneous prepared foods that come in boxes. It's also available from the Mail Order Catalog (800-695-2241). 1 1/2 teaspoons of Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 2 tablespoons of water equals one egg.

 

Other methods

Starch Taking a cue from Ener-G Egg Replacer, I've tried adding corn starch, potato starch and/or tapioca flour to baked goods. I've come to the conclusion that I like tapioca flour best. For more about this, read about my wheatless cake flour. The upshot is that I like to replace some of the flour in the recipe with tapioca flour. I use this in combination with other egg-replacement strategies (especially in cakes), to give a little more free starch to gelatinize, to give the product more stability. Tapioca flour is available at some natural food stores, and in little bags at Asian grocery stores. Replace 1-2 Tbs. of each cup of flour with an equal quantity of tapioca flour.   Mashed (Whizzed!) Bananas As any lover of smoothies knows, whizzed bananas can hold a lot of little air bubbles. This makes them a good thing to fold into batters, or to beat with my non-wheat cake flour. They also hold moisture into the finished product. The disadvantage is that they always taste like bananas. I like bananas a lot, but one doesn't want all of one's baked goods to be banana bread. Use 1/4 -1/3 cup of whizzed banana for each egg.   Just Leave the Eggs Out In case you haven't tried it, you can just leave eggs out of a many recipies (or just add more liquid to replace them), and the result is often at least recognizable as what you meant it to be. On the other hand, viewed through the eyes of an (ex) professional baker, the results are not what I'd consider sale-able. Cakes and quick breads tend to be dense and pudding-y, and cookies are more cracker-ish. One must also use common sense here. I don't recommend the technique to inexperienced cooks. Meringues, macaroons and sponge cake are not good candidates... On the other hand, if you're making bread, it's perfectly fine to just leave the eggs out. Add a touch more oil (or something like mashed potatoes) to prevent staling, and it will be just fine. But vegan bread is a no-brainer. Eggs & dairy serve no structural role in breads... Replace each egg with 2-3 Tbs. of liquid.

 

Rumors...

Prune Goo I've heard people say that prune goo works as an egg replacer as well as an oil replacer. Has anyone tried it? Nut Butter I have an older hippie baking book which suggest using nut butter as a binder to replace eggs. I've never gotten around to trying it. She says to use a tablespoon or so. My usual caution: some people are very very allergic to nuts, so don't bring foods with hidden nut-ingredients to potlucks, unless you're amoral and looking for an exciting evening... Lecithin I've heard rumors of using a bit of lecithin to replace eggs. I occasionally buy some to try this with, but I think my dog must be eating it, because I can never find it when the time comes...

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