Product Review: Egg Replacer
A single chicken egg contains multitudes! It provides moisture and structure to baked goods sometimes binding and leavening them without chemicals like baking soda and/or powder.
With or without starch, eggs can create a quintessential frying batter – or simply be a batter for omelettes and crêpes forming a flexible yet durable protein network to house other ingredients.
Eggs may be separated, whipped, boiled, poached, pickled, scrambled, flipped, baked, microwaved… They can even thicken custards and emulsify sauces! Indeed, no ingredient is more versatile –
And I don’t use them.
Before I begin…
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The Contestants
At the time of this writing, only two egg replacers are US-nationally available:
1. Ener-G Egg Replacer
Seattle-based Ener-G Foods is a dedicated wheat-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free bakery. Though not an exclusively plant-based company, their egg replacer is vegan consisting of:
- Potato Starch
- Tapioca Flour
- Leavening (Non-Dairy Calcium Lactate, Calcium Carbonate, Cream of Tartar)
- Cellulose Gum
- Modified Cellulose
2. Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
Just a few hours down I-5 is the Milwaukie, Oregon-based Bob’s Red Mill.
Their 4-ingredient egg replacer contains:
- Potato Starch
- Tapioca Flour
- Baking Soda
- Psyllium Husk
Prediction
While I have been a fan of the various grain products from Bob’s Red Mill for decades, my journey into veganism started 5 years before their egg replacer was released in 2016. Ener-G Foods, by contrast, pioneered the overall existence of such products with theirs hitting shelves in 2005.
Thanks to timing and several successfully-transformed egg-containing recipes, I adopted Ener-G Egg Replacer as my default substitution. I became loyal to this product, and faithful in its quality; surely, 11 additional years of research and development translated to a more perfect “egg”! This post was just silly…
right?
Part I: Cookie Test
Initially, the only recipe I planned for testing egg replacers was Magic Peanut Butter Cookies, a vintage recipe uncovered by Dylan Hollis. With only 3 ingredients (peanut butter, sugar, and an egg), it offered a perfectly precarious platform to expose any lack of binding and/or leavening power in my substitutes.
Several elements were controlled including:
- Brand of Every Non-“Egg” Ingredient – I’m not brand-loyal by default, but when I create content, I source US-nationally available products. The following were used for this comparison project:
- Pan and Method of Preparing It – Two Calphalon rimmed nonstick baking sheets each lined with a Miu France silicone mat went to work! (I chose rimmed sheets in case of disaster.)
- Mixing Bowls, Utensils, and Method of Mixing – Since I am able to stir by hand, I grabbed a 3-qt/L stainless steel mixing bowl and silicone spatula.
- Method of Measuring – Every ingredient was weighed to the gram.
- Appliance – As a business of one, I have only one oven!
- Cook Time – Both batches baked for 10 minutes.
- Temperature Upon Tasting – I waited until all cookies were at room temperature before taking bites and notes.
Ener-G Egg Replacer and Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
These products worked nearly identically at first. My muscles were instantly recruited to work against their binding capabilities after adding them to my peanut butter-sugar mixtures. I also struggled to roll and cross hatch both sticky doughs they made having to keep my fingers and fork damp to avoid disaster.
Upon removal from my oven, however, their differences began to manifest; the cookies made with Ener-G Egg Replacer looked better bound and leavened than those with Bob’s –
until I transferred them from my baking sheets…
Ener-G Egg Replacer
Shockingly, on the underside of the cookies made with Ener-G Egg Replacer, a conspicuous undercooked circle glared at me. These cookies consequently folded between the first and second bites rendering them messy and therefore difficult to enjoy.
Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
Those made with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, by contrast, were thoroughly cooked boasting enough integrity to keep their shape through all three bites needed to eat one. Clearly, I could no longer rely on Ener-G Foods!
Winner: Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
But I demanded more proof!
Part II: Custard Test
Conveniently, the Ener-G Egg Replacer box lists multiple recipes. I set to stretch the Bob’s Red Mill equivalent to its limits certain that Ener-G Foods would win in their own formulae. muahahaha!
Ener-G Egg Replacer
Alas, I cannot unsee the warm pot of preschool paste that was supposed to be this custard. While this sticky, stretchy blob was less so after refrigeration, its initial resemblance to something wholly inedible affected my experience of tasting the finished dessert.
Perhaps to someone who didn’t make it, it would be OK?
Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
This custard did not remind me of boogers, and therefore was more pleasant to eat once chilled. (What a review!)
I’m uncertain if the vanilla flavor was actually stronger in this dish, or if it only seemed so because my disgust was less.
Winner: Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer won again, but I won’t be repeating this recipe anytime soon.
Part III: Pie Test
I think I conducted a lemon pie test because the longer I studied the box on which it was printed, the more I craved it. If I had a scientific reason for making this pie, I’ve since forgotten it!
Ener-G Egg Replacer
I’m still mad this recipe doesn’t mention how long it takes.
Continue stirring until smooth and thick.
simple enough. Yet after 5, 10, 20 minutes, little had changed in the consistency of my lemon Ener-G Egg Replacer mixture.
Indeed, much to the dismay of my children, this filling required 45 minutes of mama’s uninterrupted attention. The resulting concentrated lemon flavor was outstanding, but not so much so that I wish to be captive to my stove again.
Besides, it fell apart upon serving.
Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
Refreshingly, the same pie filling made with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer came together astonishingly fast!
It didn’t taste as good unfortunately. Perhaps some lemon extract would help? After all, at least it held together!
Winner: Ener-G Egg Replacer
Determining a victor here was tricky. I ultimately declare Ener-G Egg Replacer won based on flavor, but I won’t be making this particular pie again.
Interlude: Package Analysis
As I worked extensively with both products, I uncovered 4 curiosities on the Ener-G Egg Replacer box:
1. Volume vs. Weight
I prefer to measure by weight, and often reference the Nutrition Facts label for the volume-to-weight conversion of an ingredient. This label for Ener-G Egg Replacer states 1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) of product is equivalent to 4 g.
I paused and thought, “Similar ingredients like potato starch and cornstarch would weigh 6 g for that same amount.” I proceeded to weigh 1 1/2 tsp (7.5 mL) of Ener-G Egg Replacer –
6 g
“Is that a fluke?” 6 g. “Could this really be a mistake?” 6 g. “This box says to pack my measuring spoons. What if I don’t?” 5 – no, wait, the display on my scale changed to 6 g.
And so, I concluded, 4 g is a typo.
2. Will or won’t it whip?
I was compelled to add a whipping test after reading these 2 sentences within the same rectangle on the back of the Ener-G Egg Replacer box:
It will not make scrambled eggs, nor can it be whipped…
If recipe calls for egg whites beaten stiff, beat Ener-G Egg Replacer with water until stiff.
Which one is true?! Will or won’t it whip?
3. Asterisk to Nowhere
Three of 8 recipes on the Ener-G Egg Replacer box include vanilla*
*but there’s no asterisk offering more information about that vanilla!
4. Overenthusiastically Egg-Free
On the side of the Ener-G Egg Replacer box are 4 egg-free recipes: Egg-Free Banana Bread, Egg-Free Muffins, Egg-Free Pancakes, and –
Egg-Free Whipped Cream?
Even before going vegan, I never thought to put eggs in my whipped cream…
I must acknowledge that Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer does what its package says it will do. I am pushing its limits – and my luck – by using it in custards and pies!
Part IV: Whipping Test
Among many discrepancies on the Ener-G Egg Replacer box are the words that it can’t be whipped and that it should be whipped when replacing beaten egg whites. I was compelled to investigate.
Ener-G Egg Replacer
Indeed, Ener-G Egg Replacer will whip! Yet my excitement dwindled upon tasting as I could feel its starchy granules claiming every bit of moisture on my tongue for their own hydrophilic pleasure.
Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer
It almost doesn’t matter that Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer doesn’t whip because:
- its package doesn’t claim it will
- whipped Ener-G Egg Replacer is gross
Winner: Ener-G Egg Replacer
This product only won the whipping test because it does. I’m uninterested in eating it however.
The Ultimate Winner and Parting Notes
I am amazed that Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, the rookie product in which I had less faith, outperformed Ener-G Egg Replacer in some of its own recipes. While I suggest limiting any egg replacer to items such as cookies, cakes, muffins, quick breads, brownies, and pancakes, Bob’s can definitely withstand a challenge!
Should you wish to play it safely, however, checkout my tested recipes with egg replacer. (The 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies may be my favorite…)
And as an added bonus, one 12-oz (340-g) bag of Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer costs roughly the same as 12 eggs – but replaces 34! Though there are undeniably times when swapping vegan for conventional ingredients is more expensive, swapping these “eggs” for eggs is not one of them.
Did I miss one?
Leave a comment if you see an egg replacer at Walmart, Target, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and/or Whole Foods Market that’s not on this list. I’d love to test it against my winner and update my content!
Please know I support and shop local when I can. Everywhere I’ve lived – and the number of places is many and growing – I have discovered numerous small companies making fantastic vegan alternatives.
Yet as much as I commend them, they are not the focus of this blog. My goal instead is to curate and present information that travels with me to wherever I go, and then travels again from wherever I am to wherever you are ❤️
