Egg-Cellent Egg Substitutes Amid Soaring Prices: CA Bakers Talk

CALIFORNIA — If you love cooking or baking, it may feel like the sky is falling when shopping for ingredients. As of Friday, in southern California eggs were selling for an average of $8 per dozen. Though many retailers are now selling cartons by the half-dozen, at around $4.50 each, cracking open one egg, let alone three for a recipe, is enough to make amateur bakers pause.

The cost of eggs is also causing a pinch for restaurant owners and professional chefs.

Patch had a chat with Temecula restaurateurs Brad and Alicia Trevithik, owners of Temecula's popular The Goat and Vine restaurant, who discussed the challenge of running not one but three restaurants during the Bird Flu epidemic when egg prices remain in the rafters.

"The egg situation for restaurants is tough, but it’s not a new problem, " said Trevithik. "Every year, several of our key ingredients can skyrocket, usually without much warning." She explained that restaurant margins "are so tight that when a product essential to your business quadruples in price, it’s almost impossible to absorb the extra cost."

Eggs are key ingredients in many of their recipes, she said, adding: "When our new concept, Little Goat Kitchen + Bakeshop opens, they'll use more eggs than ever, with the addition of breakfast sandwiches and more pastries that require eggs."

For the home baker, substitutions are possible but should be used with a little trial and error. We looked to the Pioneer Woman cooking and baking website, for some ideas on how to get by with 10 egg substitutes, a selection from her full list of possibilities.

"It's worth noting that the finished product won't be the same as real eggs," the Pioneer Woman website reads. "The texture may be slightly different, but overall, expect the flavor to remain intact."

Before you shell out the big bucks for another carton of eggs, here are our top 10 selections from her list that you may have on hand in your kitchen already:

1. Vinegar + baking soda: 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar + 1 teaspoon baking soda = 1 egg. "Eggs are often used as "leaveners" to make baked goods rise, like cakes.
2. Liquid Egg Substitute: Use as an option for egg replacement, scrambled eggs.
3. Powdered Egg Replacer: This commercial egg replacement is a dehydrated egg mixture that when you add water, has all those egg qualities.
4. Flax seeds + warm water: 1 tablespoon of finely ground flax seeds + 3 tablespoons warm water and ten minutes of time = one egg, says Drummond. Also called "flegg," ground flax seeds and water make a mixture with an egg texture.
5. Vegetable Oil + baking powder + water: Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil + 1 teaspoon of baking powder + 1 1/2 tablespoons water = one egg. This is an ideal substitute with ingredients you won't have to purchase.
6. Applesauce: 1/4 cup unsweetened plain applesauce = one egg. If you just need an egg substitute for binding and moisture, not the rise, this is ideal.
7. Mashed banana: 1/4 cup mashed banana = one egg. Lots of moisture, but will not help anything rise.
8. Aquafaba: 3 tablespoons = 1 egg: Liquid from canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) is a binder, and can be whipped into a meringue, she says.
9. Chia Seeds + Water: 1 tablespoon chia seed + 1/3 cup water + 15 minutes = one egg. If you've ever added water to chia seeds, you know the gooey mixture has an egg-like texture. A good binder for breads and brownies, Drummond says.
10. Arrowroot Powder + water: 3 tablespoons water + 2 tablespoons of arrowroot powder = 1 egg: This is perfect for binding and moisture and best if used with another leavening agent, such as yeast, she says.

But how do you choose one substitution over another? The Pioneer Woman explains that simple solutions for egg replacements depend on how you plan on using the egg, whether as a binder for moisture or with another leavening agent, like baking soda, baking powder, or active or instant yeast, to help the rise.

Substituting eggs may not be an option for the Little Goat Kitchen + Bakery, The Goat and Vine, and The Two Travelers Wine Bar menu items, each explicitly created for taste and appearance.

"We have always been a restaurant that strives to have no product waste, and because we make everything in our restaurant from scratch, we usually find a way. Extra bread becomes croutons and bread pudding, and cut ends of tomatoes become tomato jam," she explained. "The timing of high egg prices is unfortunate, but we will figure it out," she said.

"We will do the same with eggs; if we need yolks for one recipe, we will create a new product like a lemon tart with torched meringue that can use the whites. Some recipes may have to go on hold until egg prices come down, but this gives us a chance to get creative and develop new ones."

See the full list of ThePioneerWoman's egg substitutes here.

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