The price of eggs is rising. So lots of us could also be searching for cheaper alternatives.
First, the bad news. Nothing can replace a boiled, poached or fried egg.
Now, the excellent news. Lots of other ingredients could make foods puff and rise, give your meal a wealthy taste, or hold together ingredients.
So try using a few of these egg substitutes and save the true eggs to your breakfast.
Why are eggs so popular?
Eggs are incredibly nutritious. They’re a wealthy source of protein, vitamins A and D, pigments called carotenoids, and minerals.
Eggs are also versatile. We use them to make a spread of savoury and sweet foods, sauces and drinks, not to say breakfast.
Their popularity and flexibility lies within the unique characteristics of the 2 most important parts of the egg – the white and yolk. Each contribute different properties in cooking.
Egg yolk is about 55% water, 27% fats, 16% protein (with small amounts of carbohydrate). Egg white is about 10% protein and 90% water, with only traces of fat and carbohydrates. Different varieties of protein in egg white contribute to them foaming when whisked.
Eggs are versatile
Eggs have a different role in various kinds of cooking.
1. Eggs are a raising agent
Beaten or whisked eggs act as a raising agent by creating pockets of air in foods, which expand with cooking, making the foods puff and rise. This gives baked products like cakes, biscuits and muffins volume and an airy feel.
Using just the egg white results in a remarkably light and delicate foam, as we see in meringues. In mousse and souffles the whites and the yolk are beaten individually, then mixed together. This results in a light-weight, airy and smooth texture.
2. Eggs hold together other ingredients
Eggs mix ingredients and hold them together during cooking. This gives foods – resembling vegetable or meat patties – their structure.
3. Eggs bind other liquids
The liquid from eggs binds other liquids from other ingredients within the recipe right into a soft, moist and tender mass. We see this in scrambled eggs, omelettes and egg custard.
4. Eggs act as emulsifiers
The egg yolk incorporates different proteins (livetin, phosvitin) and lipoproteins (lecithin). These act as emulsifiers, allowing fat and water to combine together in foods resembling mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce.
5. Eggs boost flavour
The fat in egg yolks helps carry and release the flavour of some fat-soluble components of food. These foods may taste otherwise without the eggs. Eggs also contribute to foods feeling soft within the mouth.
As eggs have different roles in cooking, you could need different egg substitutes depending on the final result you wish. Here are some cheaper (and vegan) options.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid drained from cans of bean – typically from chickpeas because it has essentially the most neutral flavour. This is the all-round winner, especially as most of us probably throw it away without realising what a gem it’s.
Aquafaba is versatile. You can whip it up like egg whites to form a foam that might be used to make meringue (even pavlova), gelato, in baked goods, and for binding ingredients in patties. It also incorporates emulsifiers and might be used to make mayonnaise.
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You’ll need different quantities of aquafaba depending on the recipe. Generally, though, you employ about two to a few tablespoons of aquafaba to interchange the amount of fluid from an egg.
On the downside, aquafaba can taste a bit beany. So it’s best to make use of it with stronger flavours to beat this.
Nutritionally, aquafaba has small amounts of carbohydrate (about 2.6g/100 millilitre), and negligible levels of protein (about 1.3g/100 millilitre).
You may freeze aquafaba.
Vinegar and baking soda
Mixing a teaspoon of baking soda with a tablespoon of vinegar can replace an egg in most baked goods. This produces carbon dioxide, which is trapped into air pockets, and makes foods rise.
This is a really low-cost option, nevertheless its success could also be limited by how heavy the remainder of the ingredients are. This combination also has little or no dietary value.
Commercial egg replacements
These can be found at most supermarkets, are very low-cost compared with eggs, have a protracted shelf life, and are easy to make use of, with instructions on the packaging.
Typically, they contain different starches from potato, tapioca and pea protein (which act as leavening agents and form foams), together with raising agents. They are really useful to be used in baked goods. However they’ve little or no dietary value in comparison with an egg.
Flaxseed meal and chia seeds
Use either a tablespoon of flaxseed meal, or chia seeds, added to about three tablespoons of water. Allow the mixture to take a seat for just a few minutes to form a gel.
The gels might be utilized in baked goods, nevertheless this selection isn’t as low-cost because the others, and has a slight nutty taste.
Both these seeds provide dietary value. They are each wealthy within the plant-based omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. We can convert this fatty acid into healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but at a slow rate. These seeds also provide fibre, polyphenols and antioxidants.
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Tofu
Tofu, which is constituted of soybeans, is widely available and fairly low-cost. It has essentially the most “eggy” appearance and so makes it ideal as an alternative choice to scrambled eggs and in quiche. However, you’ll need to make use of silken tofu and puree it.
Tofu is very nutritious and provides protein, fat, calcium, polyphenols and anti-oxidants.
You could also use soy flour. Add one tablespoon to a few tablespoons of water, then use immediately in baking and for binding ingredients together. However, soy flour doesn’t contain calcium, which tofu does.
Mashed fruit
Mashed bananas or applesauce are also used as egg substitutes. These mainly act to bind and hold moisture within the food and help carry the flavours.
You also get the dietary value of the fruit. Due to the natural sugar that in fruit, it will sweeten your baked goods so you’ll need to drop the sugar by a few tablespoon (or more) for each bit of fruit you add.