Do You Ever Use Egg "Products"?

We've never actually cooked with egg products or liquid eggs like EggBeaters, preferring to stick with whole eggs that we can crack ourselves. But every once in a while we come across a recipe that calls for them. Is there a time and a place for egg substitutes?

Egg products and egg substitutes are loosely defined as eggs that are removed from their shells before being processed. They can be liquid, frozen, or dried, and they usually have one of two functions: to provide a low-fat/low-cholesterol alternative to whole eggs or to provide pasteurized eggs.

The low-fat kind are mostly egg whites with extra ingredients added to give the color, consistency, and flavor of whole eggs. As you might imagine, this is a common ingredient in low-fat recipes and dieting guidelines.

Pasteurized eggs are primarily used when serving high risk populations including young children, pregnant women, older adults, and people with compromised immune systems. The pasteurization process eliminates any bacteria or diseases that could be harmful to these people. Pasteurized eggs can also be a good choice in raw-egg preparations like mayonnaise and classic buttercream frosting.

Personally, we tend to be suspicious of egg substitutes in our regular cooking because we never know exactly where the eggs came from or how they've been processed. Many egg products are made with eggs that have been graded B or below either because they're older eggs or are flawed in some way. All in all, we prefer the incredible edible egg while it's still in its original shell.

Do you regularly use egg substitutes? Or are there special times when you'll use them over whole eggs?

(Image: Flickr member spike55151 licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (23)

I have found I prefer real eggs. They are less costly and have much less sodium than most egg products.

Indeed! It's all about moderation. You won't go cholesterol crazy if you take it easy on the serving sizes. But if you're gonna eat eggs, eat eggs lol :)

I've used them a few times, but the flavor is never quite right. Plus I prefer to buy cage-free, so real eggs are much more appealing to me.

I use them when I'm baking occaisonally. For example, if I'm I'm splitting a pancake recipe in half that calls for one egg, measuring out fake eggs is easier than trying to use only half an egg.

But that's the only time I use them. Never as a substitute for scrambled eggs, etc.

I purchase my eggs weekly at the farmers market and this time of year, buy more than one dozen as my baking intensifies. However, I almost always keep a small carton of the substitute product in the fridge and find it useful when I am making a breakfast casserole or something else that calls for more eggs than I have on hand.

i've never bought a canister of egg whites, or egg beaters... and most likely never will... Just seeing it in a carton makes me feel like its much more processed and less natural then when its just straight from the egg...

I actually buy them in a six-pack and keep them in the freezer until I need them. I use real eggs for most everything, but the liquid ones are too convenient for me to resist. It's so easy to dump them in a recipe when I just want to taste some chocolate chip cookie dough, and soon. (Not that cookie dough is labor-intense, but you get the point.) It saves a few steps in cleanup and keeps potential contaminants from, well, contaminating. Unscrew the lid, pour in the eggs, put the cap back on.

I don't usually use them for applications where the eggs are meant to be tasted and seen (like a frittatta), but in baking, yes.

World War II

A carton of egg whites has 1 purpose in my kitchen but it's a vital one: cocktails! Egg white cocktails are trendy, and while it's arguably a little cooler (and cheaper) to just crack and egg and separate the white, it's a lot easier with the carton. It also helps if people are nervous about salmonella (despite the overwhelming odds of not contracting it) as cartoned whites are pasteurized.

I'm sorry, but it just creeps me out.

Camping! The only time I've used these was on a 10-day rafting/camping trip in Idaho. I took pre-cooked bacon, too! I don't use either at home, but five days down the river, those scrambled eggs with bacon tasted pretty good!

When I had chickens, though, I would freeze beaten eggs in ice cube trays to use during the winter when the hens weren't laying many. So, theoretically, I could do that for camping as well....but I'm not quite that organized.

I'm not against them, but I'm slightly more paranoid about having an open carton sitting in my fridge than uncracked eggs safely in the shell. Makes no sense, I'm sure, but the eggs are somehow easier to handle portions wise.

If I'm making raw egg goodies for friends, though, I definitely buy boxed egg whites. I know the possibility is very small, but I'd still hate to get someone sick.

Keeping them around for cocktails is an awesome idea - I love gin fizzes, but it's almost impossible to find a place that will serve them.

I love Eggbeaters for the lower number of calories. I've only ever tried the original kind, and I haven't gotten them since they changed their recipe to include some of the yolk. I tried off brand egg whites in a carton once, and they were really gross. I pretty much only use whole eggs for baking or for when I just really want a fried egg.

Since I'm a single person household, and I have a sweet tooth, I keep them on hand for single serving baked goodies. (Much easier to measure out 2T than half an egg.) I freeze them in 1 or 2T cubes to and just grab a couple to thaw when I'm in the mood for something.

I used the carton of pasteurized egg whites to make buttercream for a baby shower cake, and I'd hope anyone else making frosting for a pregnant woman, young children, or other vulnerable people would do the same.

They're really not bad. And if you've ever eaten a fast food breakfast (which I'm sure none of you saints have) than you've eaten egg beaters.

*then not than

We use them sometimes for omlettes

I see them as a logical replacement in baked recipes if you're worried about getting sick, but I have yet to use them. I'm thinking it might be a wise idea if I wanted to keep some raw cookie dough around as a sweet treat. Maybe freezing them in individual sizes? If I'm cooking eggs for breakfast, however, there is NO way I will use a carton. I buy cage free eggs and they are the best I've had.

Emily

Two nutritionists told me to put them into my smoothies because they are pasteurized. I cringed both times.

I don't routinely use them but if a recipe calls for them, that's what I'll get---haven't had any problems.

I just bought my husband a bag of peeled, hardboiled eggs from Trader Joe's. Mainly because I was just fascinated by the idea of a BAG of hardboiled eggs ;o)

I eat egg beater omelettes all the time, and I like them fine. For most egg dishes, I find egg beaters to be barely distinguishable from real eggs. They are less rich, and this can be noticeable. Certainly, the reason to choose them is that here are very few foods so high protein but low in calories and cholesterol.