True Vegan that Hates Eggs? - Learn How to Replace Eggs in Recipes

Ahh, the holy egg. What can I say about the holy egg? It is used in everything today, but should we really be eating eggs from chickens? There is always the argument that only part of the egg is healthy for us, that will be argued again and again for years to come. But then there's also the argument that Vegans will make that we should not be consuming "eggs" from any animal, would chickens eat the eggs of geese just to have for breakfast? What about monkeys? What other mammal eats the embryo of the young, pre-sterilized, from their own or another mammal family just to have a fritatta? Ok, then there are just some people who I have met that really just 'hate' eggs. They hate the look, feel, smell and taste of them. For whatever reason you want to learn about replacing eggs in your cooking and baking, here you are.

Eggs are used as binders, thickeners and leavening agents mostly. There are a lot of egg replacements on the market today, but did you know that they contain eggs? These products are geared toward removing parts of the egg tat some consumers today are wary of, like the yolks, or the cholesterol. Cholesterol in eggs is typically found in the yolks, so they leave the whites of the eggs for leavening and binding and add artificial colorants to produce the famous egg re placers found in the little milk carton shaped containers in the refrigerated section of your local market. I will say that there are some egg replacements in powdered form that are made of vegetable starches and must be 'beaten' with a liquid before adding to baked goods recipes that are much more appropriate for your recipe collection.

Whenever I have baked cookies, or pancakes, which do not require a lot of leavening, I have found that just removing the egg from the recipe works just fine. I just add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water to replace the one egg called for in the recipe.

For more complicated recipes, try to figure out what the egg is doing in the recipe. Some people have tried nut butters and tomato paste as a replacement in recipes, but be careful as these can flavor your finished product quite a bit. Tomato paste would not be a good replacement in brownies for example. Let the type of recipe you are preparing and the outcome you desire be your guide. Below, you will find two options of substitution, binding or leavening.

To bind or thicken use: potato starch, oat flour, cornstarch, whole wheat flour, quick-cooking oats, matzo meal, bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, mashed potatoes, cooked oatmeal, instant potato flakes, applesauce, tahini, nut butters, and finally water packed tofu mixed with flour.

When leavening try: 2 Tablespoons flour beaten with 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder beaten with 2 tablespoons water, 1/4 cup mashed banana + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 heaping tablespoon soy or garbanzo flour beaten with 1 tablespoon water, or finally 1/4 cup silken tofu blended with the liquid called for in the recipe.

Remember, as with all substitutes, experimentation is always the best teacher.

-these examples come from recipes found on gold mine natural foods products as well as educational sheets obtained from the Herbarium in Chicoppe, MA and of course from many failed and some very successful recipe creations in my home kitchen over the last 12 or more years.