Egg Allergy Substitutes

Tap to Read ➤ Rutuja Jathar

Egg allergy is very common in childhood, and rarely develops at an older age. There are many food items that can replace eggs with the same efficiency. This write-up explains some of these substitutes.

Eggs are a commonly used food item, as it is a compound of numerous proteins, and hence, it can prove as an allergen to many children.

The sensitive reactions to eggs are triggered at infancy, and usually disappear around the age of five to seven. Badly cooked egg whites or raw eggs, egg shells, tasting raw egg batter, etc., causes more allergies than the actual egg yolk.

Did you know?

Our immune system reacts to egg proteins by creating special antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). It induces certain chemicals in the body including histamine affecting the skin (eczema), respiratory system, cardiovascular system (nausea, stomach ache, itchy hives around the mouth or urticaria, headache, wheezing, etc.) and the gastrointestinal tract.

The master key to be free of all egg allergies is to avoid contact with them. Skipping them from your daily diet may seem hard, but there are various natural as well as commercial replacement products, which are available in the market.

Homemade Replacements

All these replacement items can be used as nice fill-ins for cakes, pies, cookies, and food products, where eggs are used as fillers and binders.

Flax Seeds This is the best substitute used for baking. These seeds have great nutritious value, and contain a reasonable amount of the alpha-linolenic acid, which is a useful cure for the inflammatory bowel disease, heart diseases, and arthritis.

Flax seeds also contain a chemical named lignans that helps to prevent cancer. These seeds can be used in both whole as well as ground forms. You can replace one egg by mixing them in water in 1:3 ratio (1 spoon of flax seeds and 3 spoons of water), to make a gelatinous batter.

Potato Flour This is made of the cooked, dried, and ground potatoes. It is a good form of egg substitution, as it is totally gluten free.

Potato starch, mashed potatoes, etc., are also good egg replacements. To replace one egg, you can use some potato flour, ¼ mashed potato, or two tablespoons of potato starch.

Apple Sauce This also is pretty useful as an egg substitute, and you can use the unsweetened type. ¼ cup of applesauce replaces one whole egg.

It helps the allergic people to enjoy the baked recipes, as well as the weight-conscious persons, as it helps to make fat-free recipes.

Mashed Bananas Mashed bananas can serve as good egg substitutes. One medium-sized banana replaces one egg.

Commercial Replacements

Soybean Lecithin Lecithin is a class of animal tissue called phospholipid, which contains esters of glycerol, one molecule of phosphoric acid, and two molecules of long-chain aliphatic acids. The lecithin in egg yolk is replaced with soybean lecithin.

It is used as an additive and emulsifier in many food products. It works as a wetting agent that makes it a good egg substitute, even though it must be used in amounts of about one percent of the total weight of the recipe.

Xanthan Gum

It is used as a rheology modifier and a food additive. It is made from the fermentation of glucose and sucrose, with the help of the exoskeleton of the bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris. This gum is a white powder, which is used as a binder to enhance the texture of egg-free cakes and milk-free ice creams. The amount should be one teaspoon per recipe.

Ener-G

This is easily available in the market. It is relatively less flavored, and can be used in cakes and muffins as a replacement for an egg.

Other Replacements

Egg is also used as a leavening agent. Hence, to replace one egg, you can use the mixture of one tablespoon of vegetable oil + one tablespoon of water + one tablespoon of baking soda. Egg white is used as a glaze on some recipes. For this purpose, you can use beaten margarine. It proves to be as good as the beaten egg white.

When using as a binder, you can use two tablespoons of powdered gelatin + one cup of boiling water. One tablespoon of smashed Tofu and a tablespoon of water, can prove a good egg replacement. Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, vegan custard, and chickpeas also work as good substitutes.

The choice of these replacements may depend upon the dish that you are cooking. There are many options available, and hence, choose the best and the most comfortable one.

Above all, it becomes highly important to read the labels of the ready to eat products, as even they are said to be egg containing substitutes. With such a wide range of replacements, you really don't need to sacrifice your urge to eat variety of foods by worrying about the egg allergy.