Discovering Egg Substitutes for Vegetarian Cooking

[Ellise]

Discovering Egg Substitutes for Vegetarian Cooking
Adapted From: Vegetarian Cooking For Dummies®
The next time you feel the need to run to your neighbor's house to borrow an egg, think again. Chances are you have a number of ingredients in your refrigerator or cupboard that would substitute nicely for the egg in that recipe.

Eggs serve a variety of functions in recipes. They often work as binders, holding the other ingredients together, as in a casserole or cake. Eggs also can act as leavening agents, providing lift and affecting texture. The purpose of the egg in a recipe determines what you can use as a substitute. In some cases, you can omit the egg altogether, and the recipe isn't noticeably affected.
Ousting eggs from baked goods
Eggs are used in baked goods for leavening, or lightness. They also may serve as a binder. The purpose the egg serves in the original recipe — as well as the amount of egg the recipe calls for — determines whether you need a substitute and, if so, which alternate ingredient will best serve the function of the egg in the recipe.

Flat foods such as pancakes and cookies don't rely on eggs for lift. In fact, in many cases, you can eliminate the egg without noticeably affecting the final product. That's especially true if the recipe calls for only one egg. If you do omit the egg, however, it's a good idea to add a tablespoon or two of additional liquid — soymilk, fruit juice, or water, for example — for each egg omitted to restore the recipe to its original moisture content.

When a recipe calls for three or more eggs — as many cakes do — the eggs perform a vital function and need to be replaced with an ingredient that can deliver a similar effect.

In recipes for baked goods that have a light, airy texture, replace eggs with an ingredient that provides lift. Any of the following ingredients can replace one whole egg in a recipe:

Half a small, ripe, mashed banana. This substitution gives the food a mild banana flavor, which can be nice in recipes for muffins, cookies, pancakes, and quick breads.

1/4 cup of any kind of tofu blended with the liquid ingredients in the recipe. Light or reduced-fat tofu cuts down on the fat and calories in the finished product.

1-1/2 teaspoons of a commercial vegetarian egg substitute, such as Ener-G Egg Replacer, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. This product is a combination of vegetable starches and works wonderfully in virtually any recipe that calls for eggs. Natural foods stores sell it in 1-pound boxes.

1/4 cup of applesauce, canned pumpkin or squash, or pureed prunes. If you use these foods, know that, depending on the recipe, they may add a hint of flavor. If you want to give the food a lighter texture, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, because using fruit purees to replace eggs can make the finished product somewhat denser than the original recipe.

A heaping tablespoon of soy flour or bean flour mixed with a tablespoon of water. This mixture works similarly to vegetarian egg replacer.

2 tablespoons of cornstarch beaten with 2 tablespoons of water. This, too, works much like vegetarian egg replacer.

1 tablespoon of finely ground flaxseeds whipped with 1/4 cup of water. The flaxseeds gel and bind with the other ingredients.
Replacing eggs in casseroles, loaves, burger patties, and main dishes
Some recipes need an ingredient that binds all the other ingredients together. Eggs are famous for acting as the glue that holds meatballs, meatloaf, and casseroles together. Lacto vegetarian and vegan versions of these traditional foods need something to serve the same purpose. Fortunately, you have many options.

As you might suspect, your choice of ingredients to replace eggs in these types of foods depends on the degree of "stick" you need, as well as how the ingredient will blend with the other flavors in the recipe. Cooked oatmeal may work fine as a binder in a veggie burger patty, for example, but may not be a welcome addition to a vegetable casserole if you don't care for the flavor or texture that it brings to the dish.

If you're altering a traditional recipe, you have to experiment a bit to determine just the right amount of an ingredient to serve the purpose. A good starting point with most recipes in which egg acts as a binder is to use 2 to 3 tablespoons of any of the following ingredients (or a combination of them) to replace one whole egg. If the original recipe calls for two eggs, start with 4 to 6 tablespoons of egg substitute.

Tomato paste

Arrowroot starch

Potato starch

Cornstarch

Whole-wheat, unbleached, oat, or bean flour

Finely crushed breadcrumbs, cracker meal, or matzo meal

Quick-cooking rolled oats or cooked oatmeal

Mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, or instant potato flakes

You can also try 1/4 cup of any kind of tofu blended with 1 tablespoon of flour or 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetarian egg replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons of water.
Replacing eggs in sandwich fillings, salads, and scrambled eggs
Finding substitutes for eggs that are hidden in recipes is one thing; finding suitable substitutes for eggs that are more visible in foods is quite another. Fortunately, tofu looks remarkably like cooked egg whites and functions in much the same way in several popular recipes.

You can use chopped firm or extra-firm tofu in place of egg whites in egg salad. Use your favorite egg salad recipe, but substitute tofu for the hard-boiled eggs. You can even replace regular mayonnaise with soy mayonnaise for a vegan version.

Cubes of chopped firm tofu are a nice addition to a mixed green salad or spinach salad, standing in for the customary chopped hard-boiled eggs. You can also add chopped or minced tofu to a bowl of Chinese hot and sour soup.

Try scrambled tofu instead of scrambled eggs at breakfast. Natural foods stores stock "tofu scrambler" seasoning packets, which you may also find in the produce section of your regular supermarket, near the tofu. Many vegetarian cookbooks give recipes for scrambled tofu. The recipes usually include turmeric to give the tofu a yellow color similar to that of scrambled eggs. You can also use scrambled tofu to fill pita pockets or as a sandwich filling on hoagie rolls.