Flaxseed as a substitute for eggs

[beac]

http://www.herbcompanion.com/herbs-in-the-kitchen/flax-seed-benefits-kitchen-secrets.aspx


Can't wait to try this out the next time I'm out of eggs!

[Warpy]

1. Flax gel, which is hard to find except at hard core health food places

whips almost as well as egg whites do. I'm sure you could find it online.

Another substitute for whole egg is soy flour or even soft silken tofu. I have a lot of eggless recipes that call for silken tofu. One chocolate mousse recipe is so good that I never make the real kind any more.

[hippywife]

2. I made a soy chocolate cheese cake once.

It looked beautiful but tasted disgusting. Not even the lovely chocolate helped override the nasty tasted. Blech! What a waste of time and money that was.

I do used milled flax seed in some recipes for quickbreads and muffins as an oil replacement and to add fiber and added nutrition.

[Warpy]

3. The chocolate mousse is heavy on the melted semisweet chips

and fairly light on the tofu. It's truly wonderful stuff.

I've found some real clinkers with soy, too. Notable successes are the mousse and using tofu with ricotta half and half to reduce fat and increase protein in lasagna. The texture is a little different but the taste is sublime.

I've also used it in cornbread instead of an egg and gotten decent results. Not great, but decent. Throwing in some green chile helped.

The worst thing about using soy is the expectation that it's going to taste exactly like the real thing. It doesn't, it can't, and it won't.

However, a rare recipe, like the mousse, can be superior. Others can be perfectly acceptable as variations on a general theme.

[buzzycrumbhunger]

4. That's just weird

I have soaked flax too long before running through the Champion for a sprouted bread (sprouted grains, ground to mush, seasoned, and dehydrated for bread or crackers, depending on how thin you spread it) and was disturbed to see it poured out like okra snot. It did not adversely affect the bread. Will have to revisit this.

I always keep egg replacer on hand because I don't use eggs, but you can also use 2 T. plain yogurt per egg for baked goods, to good effect.

[beac]

5. Flax must be an 'oleaginous seed' like arugula.

I learned this term when I accidentaly got my packet of arugula seeds wet while planting them. I quickly had a slimy mess of gooey-coated seeds. I was still able to plant them, but it wasn't pretty.

Makes sense that that gooey-ness would bind in baking like eggs do. Good to know about the yogurt option too!

[CrispyQ]

6. I have used flaxseed several times & have never been happy with the results.

The baked goods ended up with a bizarre consistency. I'm curious how your experiment goes.

I use applesauce or Ener-G for egg replacement in baked goods & have had better success than flax.

[beac]

7. Hadn't heard of Ener-G and Googled it.

looks interesting. I wonder if my local health food store carries it?

Thanks for the tip!

[CrispyQ]

8. That's where I get it - in the baking aisle of my HFS.

You mix it with water. I use a whisk & make sure it's real frothy before adding to my recipe. I have used it in cookies & brownies, but haven't tried it with cake. Applesauce is nice, too, but sometimes I use applesauce to replace some of the fat in a recipe & then you can't also use it to replace the eggs.