All Those Eggs?

Someone has observed that I use quite a lot of eggs in my recipes. That might be true, or it may be just because I have been posting holiday recipes, and there do tend to be a lot of eggs in special occasion foods such as Zabaglione and Pizzelles.

I admit that I don't avoid eggs, partly because cholesterol is not one of the health issues in our family (heaven knows we have plenty of other issues!) and partly because I have been persuaded by recent studies that refute the old fears of egg yolks.  Eggs, or rather, truly natural eggs, are a real food that has been safely consumed by humankind for millenia. The idea that we should suddenly eschew the egg in favor of an expensive artificial  substitute smells rather suspicious to me. Someone is making a profit from our fear, and that someone isn't the chicken.

Having mouthed off with my own opinion, I immediately have to say that you shouldn't take anything I say as Gospel, or as medical advice, either. Follow your own doctor's instructions about what you should and should not eat.

OTOH, egg allergies are becoming more common, and that is a valid reason to avoid eggs. I have to wonder WHY food allergies are increasing as our food supply becomes more artificial and industrial, but that's probably just my suspicious nature. Besides, truly natural, locally produced or organic eggs can be prohibitively expensive even where they are available, so that could be another valid reason to reduce consumption of eggs of questionable quality.

When making substitutions for eggs in any recipe, you need to determine what the eggs contribute to the finished dish.

Do they cause the batter to rise, as in cakes? If cholesterol is the issue, you could use only the egg whites, using two whites per whole egg, or perhaps using three egg whites for every 2 whole eggs called for in the recipe. Or you could try replacing the eggs with baking powder, or buttermilk and baking soda.

Do they act as a binder, holding other ingredients together, as in a custard or in Chinese Chews cookies? You need to provide a different binder, such as cornstarch, turning the custard into a pudding, or perhaps chocolate, turning the Chinese Chews into Truffles.

Do the eggs contribute to the richness of a sauce, without acting as a thickening? Butter or a neutral oil could be used instead, with a touch of annatto to provide color.

Do eggs add body, volume or protein to the dish? Soft tofu might be a good substitute.

Now that you mention it, all those eggs stir up all sorts of questions.