Kitchen science
The idea that cooking and baking rely heavily on science isn't new: Reactions between different types of ingredients are based in chemistry, and this food science, or kitchen science, is what determines whether a recipe succeeds or fails. Places like America's Test Kitchen explore the science behind recipes in detail. In fact, food science, defined by the Institute of Food Technologists as the study of the physical, biological, and chemical makeup of food and the concepts underlying its processing, is a complex topic for food professionals. |
Ingredient interactions are essential not just for researchers but also for cooks. One example of the importance of using the right ingredients at the right amounts is in the Cook's Illustrated Science of Good Cooking cookbook, which puts "50 core principles" of ingredients combinations into practice. These principles highlight the subtle and essential changes to ingredients that help our cakes rise, remove bitterness from products with baking soda, and keep our cookies soft and moist.
Ingredient interactions are essential not just for researchers but also for cooks. One example of the importance of using the right ingredients at the right amounts is in the Cook's Illustrated Science of Good Cooking cookbook, which puts "50 core principles" of ingredients combinations into practice. These principles highlight the subtle and essential changes to ingredients that help our cakes rise, remove bitterness from products with baking soda, and keep our cookies soft and moist.
But, learning to adapt recipes and replace ingredients like eggs or dairy without losing their contributions to a dish can be messy and discouraging for families who, like mine, are not professional cooks or bakers.
Using science to make or change a recipe at home is more about experimentation and less about lab work: You might try a dish two different ways, without analyzing the exact percentages of fats or measuring the chemical reactions. But it's still chemistry in action! The principles of food science apply whether the ingredients are eggs or powdered leaveners, dairy or another source of moisture and fat.
Approaching food replacement as a creative experiment makes cooking and baking without old "essentials" a family-friendly adventure.
Try these science-based egg replacements in one of your own recipes
Try mashed apples, bananas, pumpkin, or sweet potato (1/4 cup per egg) to keep your results moist.
Add an extra acid like lemon juice or vinegar (1 tsp) to recipes with chemical leaveners like baking soda or powder so that your baked goods will rise. Thickeners like cornstarch, tapioca flour, or flax can keep your egg-free recipes from falling to pieces. Likewise, unflavored vegan gelatin binds other cooked ingredients together. Chickpea flour is a good thickener alone or when combined with olive oil in savory foods. And my all-time favorite replacement for eggs in baking, at least as a good starting point, is 1-2 Tbsps each of mashed fruit, water or juice, and cornstarch (adjusting an acid as needed to get a just-right rise). |