Egg Substitutes

Adapting cooking to not using eggs proved difficult for me when I first stopped eating animal products but I soon found there are so many substitutes that work just as well. The Vegan Society article below gives you a wonderful breakdown of what to use.

Egg Substitutes from the Vegan Society

Eggs are used to bind a dish and, when whipped, may also incorporate air making a cake or pudding very light. There's one ready-made egg substitute suitable for vegans - General Dietary's Ener-G egg replacer - which is available from health food shops. This can be useful, especially for tricky foods like meringues. However, many recipes can be adapted using one of the suggestions below. Just remember to bear in mind the final dish - you can't use banana as a substitute when making a quiche!
instead of 1 egg, you can use...

* 1 tbs gram (chick pea) or soya flour and 1 tbs water
* 1 tbs arrowroot, 1 tbs soya flour and 2 tbs water
* 2 tbs flour, 1/2 tbs shortening, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp water
* 50g tofu blended with the liquid portion of the recipe
* 1/2 large banana, mashed
* 50ml white sauce

tips on raising agents...

* use self raising flour
* add extra oil and raising agent (eg baking powder)
* use about 2 heaped tsp baking powder per cake
* instead of baking powder, use 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 dsp cider vinegar (good for chocolate cakes)
* try sieving the flour and dry ingredients, then gently folding in the liquid, to trap air

alternative binding agents...

* soya milk
* soya dessert (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry...)
* custard (see below)
* mashed banana
* plain silken tofu
* soya cream
* sweet white sauce (soya milk, vegan margarine, sugar and cornflour)
* agar agar

Batter For savoury pancakes or deep frying combine soya flour, wholemeal flour, vegetable oil, soya milk, baking powder and salt. For sweet pancakes, omit the salt and baking powder. Use as normal battter (will keep for 1-2 days in fridge).

Burgers won't fall apart without the egg! Use gravy, mashed potato, oil or Marmite mixed with a little hot water to add moisture. Add breadcrumbs, flour or oats for a drier texture.

Custard Follow your usual recipe, but use soya milk and check the custard powder is vegan.

Glazes Brush with soya milk.

Mousse Use agar agar (1 tsp will set 1 pt of liquid to jelly - use slightly less for a mousse). Make your own creamy desserts using plain silken tofu, golden or maple syrup and a flavouring such as chocolate or lemon.

Scrambled "Egg" A delicious alternative is firm tofu mashed with a little oil, turmeric, salt, pepper and herbs. Serve hot on toast or cold in sandwiches.

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Egg Replacer Products

Ener-G Egg Replacer

Corn Mix Egg-Free Banana Nut Cake
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp unsweetened orange juice concentrate
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Egg Replacer
1/2 cup chopped nutmeats
2 cups Ener-G Corn Mix
1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine first 6 ingredients and mix. Mix in remaining ingredients. If batter is too wet add a little more Corn Mix. Grease a 9inch by 5inch by 2-1/2inch pan and smooth in batter. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until firm. Tap out onto wire rack to cool. If making cupcakes fill 3/4 full and bake for 25 minutes. Tap out of greased cupcake pans and allow cooling on wire rack.

ORGRAN No Egg

Egg-Free Mayonnaise
6 tbsp Orgran No Egg
4 tbsp water
3 cup of peanut, salad or olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp sugar
Combine No Egg with water and mix until peaks are formed. Add other ingredients (except oil) slowly one at a time, mixing continuously. Add oil one teaspoon at a time.

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