Egg Alternatives in Cooking

One of the most sweetest and most dearest families I have babysat for growing up has a son with a few major food allergies. He has a rare disease called Eosinophilic Esophagitis and the poor guy undergoes endoscopies every few months to monitor his condition. Some of his food allergies include eggs, milk, and shellfish. We can definitely relate on the milk-free living struggles and his mom and I trade tips frequently. When I come across recipes that have milk and egg in them, I usually try to make an egg free version to find an option for their family that's both allergy and texture friendly, which is quite a challenge. I'm still working hard on my mom's pumpkin bread recipe, baking egg free is hard!

Here are a few cheats I have found for baking and cooking egg free:

1. Applesauce. In some recipes, a 1/4 cup of unsweetened, original flavored applesauce can replace each egg in a baking recipe. I find that you still need to add about 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder per 1/4 cup of applesauce, otherwise you will end up with a rather flat and dense end product. I've also found in really delicate flavor profiles, like pumpkin bread, the taste of apple can be pretty overpowering to the other flavors. It's not that all you taste is apple, simply that the flavors you would have tasted in a normal recipe become muted.

2. Pumpkin, Bananas, or Sweet Potato. Often times a 1/4 cup of a mash or puree of one of these can work to replace eggs. You may need to add a bit of water, modify your sugar, add a bit more baking powder, or modify your bake time (or several of these).

3. Egg Replacer. Please do not read this as Egg Substitue. The two are very different-substitue has egg and replacer does not. Egg replacer is a culinarilly enginerred substance that will act like egg in your baking recipes. This one is made with potato and tapioca starch. It is most easily purchased online or can be found in some Krogers or Whole Foods.

4. Baking Soda and Vinegar. This one sounds like a science experiment to me, so I haven't actually tried it, but it is supposed to work in the ratio of 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 tablespoon of white vinegar for each egg. Let me know if you give this one a shot!

Have you tried something that works well for you? Post in the comments below and share!