I’m trying to avoid buying eggs and products that contain egg as much as possible these days for compassionate reasons. The odd, determined egg now and then slips through the filters when I am less than diligent but so be it in an imperfect world.
First up, Jamie Oliver pasta …
Pasta does not need to be made with eggs as is plain to see from these three packs of egg-free pasta. In fact, there are numerous brands of dried pasta in the supermarket that do not contain eggs. You just need to take the trouble to read the labels. I’ve picked this brand as it is the newest, most visible and most colourful of the lot.
Here’s a close of Jamie’s statement about the ingredients on the one packs:
I have no idea why Jamie has chosen to use and so endorse egg-free pasta as he is certainly not a vegan but I am pleased nevertheless as he is a popular foodie personality, he is influential and it is truly hard to miss his flood of products into Woolworths in Australia. Whilst he has undoubtedly done some great work by promoting fresh, wholefoods for home cooking, I look forward to the day when he will use his influence to promote a more compassionate way of eating. For now, we have egg-free pasta.
So far, we have tried the fusilli in the yellow pack. It was very good. No complaints at all.
According to information gleaned off the packages, this dried pasta is made:
- of durum wheat semolina (and water);
- in Italy using a traditional recipe; and
- with extra texture so that it can hold more sauce.
Next up, egg substitutes for baking …
All manner of ingredients can apparently be used to replace eggs in baking, eg, banana, chia seeds, peanut butter, etc. Orgran’s “no egg” provides a more neutral kind of tasting substitute and I have successfully used it to make cupcakes.
I need to do more “no egg” cupcake experimentation using my own recipe from scratch but so far I have successfully made tasty, well received and seemingly conventional, egg-free cupcakes using Green’s Golden Butter Cake mix and Basco’s gluten-free Golden Butter Cake mix. As I am also trying to dodge dairy, I used a plant-based shortening instead of butter and Pureharvest Oat Milk instead of cow’s milk. I slipped up with my dairy dodging with the Greens as it contains milk solids which I discovered after the fact thanks to my less than diligent label reading! Grocery shopping has indeed become a minefield for the mindful shopper.
“No egg” is soy-free, gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free, yeast-free and is vegan. It is also very economical as the pack contains the equivalent of 66 eggs which makes it about 9c per “no egg”! I bought mine from Weigh ‘n Pay in Woodvale, Perth.
“No egg” is made in Australia. See the ingredients in the photo below. I have only used it for baking but, according to the box, it can be used to make fillings, batter, custard and meringue. I’d really like to be able to make a good vegan custard!
Last up in this post is vegan mayonnaise …
I was very happy when my local health shop, Stay Healthy, managed to source this Melrose vegan mayonnaise for me. As added bonuses, it is made in Australia and is organic. I’m very pleased to have found a readily available vegan substitute.
Mayonnaise is, however, one of those products that some people have very strong feelings about when it comes to brand loyalty and specific tastes and textures. This one is more like a salad cream to me than a mayonnaise but I am happy to have found it. The ingredients are visible in the photo below:
The next step is to try make my own vegan mayonnaise and I already have the recipe for “No Eggy Mayo” in the amazing cookbook called The Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook by Skye Michael Conroy (aka The Gentle Chef) to help me achieve this goal. See his website at gentlechef.com. His book is available in digital form for instant download and in print.
Australian Shopper 