While the bird flu is a newer problem, Mainers have faced uncomfortably high egg prices many times in the past. In a 1909 edition of this newspaper, a columnist wrote that with eggs reaching 50 cents per dozen, “egg economy was simply forced upon me,” with “ruin staring me in the face.”
She went searching for eggless recipes then, as some of us might be doing right now.
Luckily, today’s grocery stores carry some solid substitutes and online recipes for vegans offer new inspiration. Here are a few bright ideas from the present and the past for cooking without eggs.
Scrambled tofu
If scrambled or fried eggs are a regular part of your diet, tofu might be the closest replacement. For a basic “tofu scramble,” mash some firm tofu and cook it like you would eggs, adding seasoning once most of the water has cooked off. If it’s too dry, add some milk while it’s still in the pan.
If it’s the protein in eggs you’re missing, not the taste itself, beans are a good source that you can buy in bulk at a reasonable price. Cottage cheese, yogurt, fish, nuts and oatmeal are other often affordable options.
Chickpea water “whites”
Today’s vegans commonly use aquafaba, or the water from cooked or canned beans, as a substitute for egg whites. Chickpeas are a common choice because they have a milder flavor than most other legumes; prepare the water by whipping it until it forms glossy peaks (adding a little cream of tartar will help), and try using three tablespoons per each egg. You may have the best luck if you search for recipes that are specifically developed to use aquafaba.
Ground seeds
Ground flax seeds and chia seeds mixed with water will also get, for lack of a better word, goopy. They’re also used in vegan baking as replacements for the binding action of eggs. Once ground, three tablespoons of water mixed with one tablespoon of seed can replace an egg.
Fruits
A quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin puree can replace an egg in most baking recipes. In denser breads, loafs or cakes, half a mashed banana stands in for an egg if the flavors don’t conflict.
Carbonated water
If you’re adventurous, try replacing each egg with a quarter cup of carbonated water. In lighter, fluffier baking recipes such as cupcakes that don’t rely on the fat in egg yolks to work, carbonation makes a light and airy product.
Eggless, butterless, milkless cake
We’d be remiss not to include this BDN classic, originally offered by longtime columnist Brownie Schrumpf. Versions have been published since the early 20th century and rediscovered in 2009 when a reader wrote to more recent BDN recipe writer Sandy Oliver searching for it. The raisin spice cake has a “lovely, chewy, moist texture,” Oliver wrote when egg prices were up in 2020.
Eggless, Milkless, Butterless Cake
Yields 1 9×9-inch cake
Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup seedless raisins
⅓ cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 cup water
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×9-inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
2. In a saucepan mix the sugar, raisins, oil, spices and water, bring to a boil and cook for one minute.
3. Take off the heat and allow it to cool to the touch.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda and powder and salt.
5. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar and oil mixture, and mix well.
6. Pour into the baking pan and shake it until it fills the corners.
7. Bake for 40 minutes or more until a tester inserted comes out clean.
