Egg substitutes
Why Not Free Range?
This is something we're often asked. A lot of people don't realise that the production of free range eggs still involves animal cruelty. For a start, half of all chicks are killed because they are males (and hence no good for laying eggs). Sadly, the females don't fare much better. They may continue to live in cramped conditions in large sheds, suffer more disease than battery hens, and still undergo the stress of transportation and slaughter when their egg laying declines. In addition, the environmental and health arguments against eggs still apply. For more details, see our other information sheets.
Making the Change
So - all the eggs have gone and somebody wants a cake! Don't panic! It's actually very easy to make egg-free cakes, quiches, mousses and other traditionally eggy dishes. Most vegan cookbooks contain plenty of such recipes - see our catalogue for a selection. Meanwhile, a lot of vegetarian cookery books rely heavily on eggs - especially for cakes, pastries and puddings. These recipes can all be adapted and the following should provide you with some ideas.Egg Substitutes
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 read more
