I use Egg Beaters for almost everything, and so far, everything has turned out just fine. No one can tell the difference. I stopped using eggs for most of my cooking last year after my coronary artery stent.

My DD and I make pancakes, waffles, cookies, cakes, key lime pie (a favorite), meat loaf, coating for chicken, my moist sweet cornbread, spoon bread, bread, cottage pudding, brownies, etc. etc . Scrambled eggs - yes, though I add cheese, and I can make them in the microwave, directions are on their site. We substitute Egg Beaters in pretty much any recipe that calls for eggs.

Neither the grandkids, nor coworkers and friends who've eaten my food can tell the difference.

I'm sure the "actual" shelf life is longer than seven days, too. I buy the four pack at Sam's Club and keep 4 or 5 boxes in the freezer.

There aren't too many recipes that have to have egg yolks, so Egg Beaters are just fine. The few times we felt we needed whole eggs, we used both eggs and Egg Beaters.

I also keep dry egg whites for recipes that need whipped egg whites. We just don't use many eggs any more.

I use "Egg Beaters" (or a less expensive store brand) for homemade ice cream when I make a recipe that isn't a cooked custard and calls for raw eggs. I've also found 100% liquid egg whites in the refrigerator case with other egg substitutes and have used them for a few recipes that required a number of egg whites and I didn't need the leftover yolks. The liquid egg whites are less expensive than powdered "Just Whites".

Another good camping substitute is powdered whole eggs, especially OvaEasy Egg Crystals. I purchase them from Honeyville Grain in #10 cans for home food storage, and you can find packets of them on Amazon.com. Each #10 can contains six 4.5-oz. bags, and each bag equals a dozen eggs.

One thing you miss when using powdered eggs on a regular basis is hard cooked eggs for egg salad, etc. I cook the reconstituted OvaEasy Eggs in (as-seen-on-TV) EGGIES and they come out like hard cooked eggs and can be used like hard cooked eggs.

-Grainlady

That's great! Thanks ladies! :)

The 7 day shelf life is after opening a package--before opening it's really long.

The dried eggs are interesting...I'll look into those (that?) too.

Eggs in the shell don't need to be kept in the fridge. Supermarkets don't keep them in the fridge in europe. I would trust a fresh, natural egg rather than some industrial, fake product. Good cholesterol too.

Islay, I agree, I don't have to refrigerate fresh eggs. Unless the shell is breached and bacteria is introduced, they do not spoil. They will dry out and the whites will spread, and they do last longer in the refrigerator. This information came straight from my Michigan State University agricultural extension service director, BTW.

Here when you buy an egg from the store, it's probably already a month old, they're never really fresh and I don't know how long they would keep unrefrigerated after cracking them.

I still don't buy Eggbeaters or their ilk. My doctor told me that an egg a day will not affect my cholesterol levels, which are quite high and controlled only by daily Crestor doses. "Statistically insignificant", he said. He also told me that saturated fats are actually the culprit in high cholesterol levels, not intaking cholesterol itself. They used to tell me not to eat shrimp, loaded with cholesterol. Now they say shrimp is excellent, low in fat, high in protein and the body doesn't convert that cholesterol to higher cholesterol levels. There are all kinds of new studies out about cholesterol and saturated fat and trans fats and eggs.
So, minus a health problem like Momj47's something like Eggbeaters saves only about 40 calories per egg and you lose all those naturally occurring good nutrients to be replaced by commercial substitutes.

In addition eggs from pastured hens are high in Vitamin E, have the same good Omega 6s that salmon does (in lesser quantities, of course,) and have less saturated fat that the commercial eggs.

However, in the case of the camping trip, I'd probably consider them for their convenience, as I know I'd break regular eggs in my backpack or cooler and have a heck of a mess.

If you just want to avoid egg yolks, I just separate the eggs and feed the yolks to the dog/cat/chickens/etc, it's still cheaper than Eggbeaters. Here a dozen eggs will set you back less than $1.50, more if you buy the commercially available "free range" eggs, less if you buy from the local farmer's market. Eggbeaters are upward of $4 a small carton.

I go through a couple of dozen eggs a week, so never worry about them spoiling. I only worry about the chickens not laying enough and having to buy those pale imposters at the local grocery!

Annie

Real food, please.

Eileen

I don't want to get into a natural vs unnatural vs farm fresh vs factory farming debate please. :) Next someone might insist we have home-made marshmallows available for roasting!

I'm not looking for nutrition. I'm looking for eggs that don't have to be packed in a lot of material to keep from breaking. That cook up somewhat like eggs. I'd be okay with whole eggs packed in a jug too--but I'd want them pasteurized. Convenience food!

Don't wanna be stuck in the wilds of Utah with little kids suffering from salmonella, either.

How about real powdered eggs? I use them for baking mixes to send to a friend. Unfortunately I have never been able to find them in a local store. I order them through Amazon.

E

I haven't tried powdered eggs in years, I'm assuming they are better than they were twenty years ago but I never see them anywhere.

As I mentioned, for your camping trip, I'd go with the Eggbeaters. Even minus a refrigeration problem, I used to have one of those egg containers for camping that was supposed to keep the eggs from breaking. They didn't work very well. I know I'd have a mess from trying to pack whole eggs.

Absent a health problem, that is probably the only instance that I'd ever consider Eggbeaters for. They are OK for baking but I just don't like them for eating plain. Then again, I don't really love scrambled eggs or omelets or eggs cooked hard, I like the runny yolks.

So, camp scrambled eggs for the kids? I'm sure they will be fine.

Annie

I use Egg Beaters for making 'egg mcmuffins' for quick breakfasts. I often have digestive problems when I eat regular eggs alone. I'm fine if I use regular eggs in baking etc, but for just an egg, I use Egg beaters. I think their being pasteurized makes them easier on me. My biological mother is the same way, can cook w/eggs but can't tolerate them alone.

Occasionally if we're out of reg. eggs, I've used them in baking, the end result is fine/comparable to using regular shell eggs. They're more expensive than regular eggs, and are basically egg whites, so if I weren't sensitive to shell eggs, I wouldn't buy Egg Beaters.

I just made marshmallows, sprinkled with crushed peppermint candy. No eggs.

Very good.

I get enough cholesterol in my diet without eating eggs very often. I need to live 25 more years.

I'll chime in here and say that we, too, use Egg Beaters for almost everything. My husband had a heart attack about 5 years ago and was told, "no more than 3 eggs per week". So when I bake, I use either Egg Beaters or the store brand of same. Nobody can tell the difference. Even when I bring baked goods to a potluck at work, or to a bake sale, no one can tell the difference. (At a bake sale, customers have said, "Oh, I can't eat anything made with eggs," so I point out the cookies or brownies that I've made and tell the customers, "These have Egg Beaters, not eggs." The result is usually a sale.)

We do keep eggs around, so that my husband can eat a couple of fried eggs every week. He still enjoys them.

I guess doctors can't decide, is an egg bad for a heart patient, or not? My husband's cardiologist leans towards "moderation" with his recommendations.

Donna

Thanks all!

I wasn't sure if the stuff would bake up properly, not that pancakes on a campstove are going to be all that successful anyway.

Soooo...I need a non-sticky maple syrup substitute! Whatcha got for me? :)

(Baby wipes is probably the best we can do. My kids won't even eat restaurant pancakes because the syrup is never correct. No substitute for maple allowed!)

I go car camping all the time in the summer. I put my store bought eggs, still in their cardboard or styrofoam container in a paper bag, don't refrigerate them, and as long as they aren't cracked, I use them during the camping trip. No problems and even though my car is often chaotic, I have never broken an egg. This is very cost effective for me. Egg beaters are egg whites with some other chemicals and yellow food coloring. Why pay extra for something that is largely just egg anyway. I guess if you're worried about breaking eggs and want something liquid and shelf stable. But regular old eggs unrefrigerated work fine for me.

I'm more worried about saving space than breaking eggs. I've found store egg packaging to be really good, but those rounded containers (AKA "shells") waste more space than cube-shaped eggs would.

The eggs must go in the fridge along with any fruit or they might freeze. I'm sure they're fine after freezing but it sounds messy.

Oh, assuming eggs ARE fine after freezing, any reason I couldn't freeze shelled eggs in baggies and just thaw before use? We have a very tiny freezer we can use. Maybe I'm overthinking this. :) Yeah. I am. But a carton of eggs would take up a quarter of my fridge.

I used Eggbeaters to make Caesar dressing a few weeks ago because it was for a large pot-luck party. I usually use raw eggs for my dressing for just the two of us, never a problem. But with the Eggbeaters, I could tell the difference, so I just used a lot more Parmesan cheese to mask it. We tried to scramble some of the leftover EB, yuck, tossed it out after one taste.

Even if you are on an egg-restricted diet, how much egg is in a slice of cake? Unless you have an allergy to eggs, you're getting a small amount (3 eggs to a cake recipe, 12 servings in the cake, is all of 1/4 egg per generous serving.)

(My brother was allergic to eggs, or so he said, but he ate just about anything with eggs in it, as long as he didn't identify it as such, like in baked goods, and never had any reaction.)

LOL, sushipup, I have a cousin who is "allergic" to eggs, but eats all the baked goods, potato salad, etc., and has no problem. Now she says she's only allergic to them if they aren't baked. I don't really think that's possible. (grin)

I tried using Eggbeaters in ice cream because I didn't want to cook custard and it was nasty, and I won't eat them cooked other than in baked goods. I'm really picky, though, so others might find them acceptable.

fori, I freeze eggs regularly during the summer months when the chickens are laying regularly. I beat them up, put two in a container and freeze, then used them in baked goods, pancakes, quiche, whatever. They don't freeze well unless beaten, though, so I can't freeze a whole egg and then thaw it and fry it. If you have a freezer there's no reason you couldn't beat up the eggs, put them into any container you choose to take, and thaw them when you need them. One egg is about 1/4 cup if you need to measure them out.

Annie

Thanks for the tip about beating before freezing, Annie. That seems doable. Just slip a ziploc baggie of eggs under the dog to thaw for a few minutes before breakfast. :P

Annie, I have I guess you would call it an intolerance to eggs. They call it an allergy at the doctors office but I have often wondered about their wording. I have always had a problem eating regular eggs. After I eat an egg I am in the emergency room with abdominal pain and violently ill. Like food poisoning ill, which the first couple times it happened that is what I thought it was. It happens less than an hour after consuming them.

For along time it was only things like a breakfast that I would eat one egg or a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit things of that sort that caused me the issue.

Within the past year I have noticed that the intolerance/allergy has gotten much worse. I used to be able to eat things that had mayonaise in it. I loved a good chicken salad sandwich or potato salad. Now I can't even eat those things, It took me having a reaction to salad dressing to realize it had gotten worse. I did not even know that particular salad dressing even had eggs but after getting sick I went and checked the bottle and sure enough made with eggs,

But so far. I can eat baked goods made with eggs. I know it sounds funny but it is true. I do not eat a lot it but I can eat it. My doctor said that it has something to do with the duration and temperature the egg in baked goods is cooked and it kills the protein that I react too.

That all could be him telling me a crock of BS but makes sense to me.

So now I am in the process of trying to find ways to make my favorite egg based foods without the eggs. Like chicken salad, potato salad. It isn't easy for me as I don't care much for vinegar based items.

That totally makes sense, April. Cooking proteins does change them, and depending on what part of the protein is setting you off, it could be enough to make them safe. There are probably all sorts of different reactions to different egg proteins out there that account for why different people have different egg sensitivities.

A lot of the time we use "allergy" and "intolerance" interchangeably but they really are different physical reactions.

On the bright side, vegan alternatives are getting better and better.

April, my son is the same way. The first time he had a cooked egg as a toddler, his face got all puffy & his eyes swelled shut. He is a teenager, but still tests highly positive to both the white & yolk, but he does tolerate pancakes, cookies, etc. We don't make french toast, or quiche, or anything like that. With his nut allergy on the other hand, he can't have the littlest bit in any form.

I am so happy to see there are others like me. My family and friends think I am strange and just use it as an excuse not to use eggs.

April, my old doc told me that some people have food "sensitivities", that aren't actually allergies, but they cause people to not feel good or have bad reactions to certain foods. For instance, just because you aren't a celiac doesn't mean your body will tolerate gluten well. . My daughter is lactose intolerant, but she doesn't have a true allergic reaction, she has gas and bloating, not anaphylactic shock but she sure doesn't feel good.

However, as I noted above, my cousin who says eggs must be baked will eat potato salad which has hard boiled eggs. When I told her there were eggs in it she said she'd "just pick them out". I don't think you can do that when I mash up egg yolks and put them in the dressing. She also eats the homemade ice cream made with egg custard and mayonnaise based pasta salads, as well as the bread, cake, cookies, pancakes, bread pudding, etc. As a result, I don't think she has an allergy or even a sensitivity as it appears she can eat anything she likes that contains eggs. I still always warn her.

So it's possible to be allergic to eggs cooked one way but not when they are cooked another way? I learn something new every day.

Fortunately I'm not allergic to anything except bee stings and poison ivy, I can eat anything I want although my bathroom scale would probably love it if I developed an allergy to butter!

Annie

Was Fori's question answered satisfactorily, as I don't want to be contributing more to hijacking this thread? If this should be taken to another thread, say the word. Annie, your question is interesting, and I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if my son has outgrown the egg allergy, which we know beyond a doubt that he had (we don't do potato salad with hard boiled eggs or anything like that). But he still tests very positive and we don't want to find out the hard way, so we just do what we've been doing that we know he doesn't react to - use small amounts in baked goods, but no eggs otherwise - no merigue or any recipes with high concentration of eggs.
A while back, I posted a question about the Cook's Illustrated version of mac & cheese, which calls for stirring in 2 eggs after the pasta has been cooked & drained. I was wondering if those eggs get sufficiently "cooked" - and the response seemed to be yes. That recipe contradicts what I have otherwise felt comfortable doing with eggs regarding my son's allergy, but we tried it & he hasn't had a reaction. Some of the concern is that eggs pose a potentially anaphalactic reaction, as with nuts & shellfish, which he is also allergic to, but can't have the littlest bit of those. I'm like you in that I have no food allergies. I eat & love just about anything (although oddly, the last few months, I have developed what seemed to be random hives, but may be linked to appearing a couple hours after I have ingested nuts - I hope it's not that).
Guess people just have to do what they think is best for themselves and their family members & others need to respect it.

annie, the more well-cooked the egg, the better I can tolerate it. I never have issues with baked goods, but the amount of egg is pretty small per serving. I'd say I have a sensitivity to eggs, not an allergy. My bio mom says she's allergic & hasn't had certain vaccines due to presence of eggs.

I can't speak for the others here, but for me, even a well-cooked egg usually gives me trouble. Soft-cooked eggs, I almost always have immediate reactions to. Pasteurized eggs usually not. I use EB because they're cheaper than a dozen past. eggs in my area. It's gotten worse in the last 2 years, I wasn't always this way with eggs. Kinda stinks, cause I like eggs a lot! But the reaction is NOT worth eating an egg for me. Major tummy problems, yuck.

Yes, I think I've gotten enough info to run a few experiments. :)

Eggs are funny because so many people have intolerances and allergies and often to different parts of the egg.

Usually intolerances require more exposure to make you sick than allergies. So a guy with a nut allergy will go the the ER after inhaling a speck of walnut when the gal with the nut intolerance will have to eat one before puking. The autoimmune response is usually more sensitive than whatever the heck it is that makes one "merely" intolerant. They can both be pretty awful though!

Aprile- if you haven't tried vegan mayo, I can recommend Follow Your Heart's Veganaise. I buy the organic version - haven't tried the original or other versions. It's found in the refer section, so I think tastes better than some of the nasty shelved vegan mayos. I get it at my food coop, but Whole Foods or a health food store would carry it. The texture is a bit different than regular mayo, but once you are used to it, it's quite good - the flavor is fresh and tasty. My grandson has egg allergy and it's worked very well for me. I really can't tell the difference in tuna or chicken salad, or potato salad either.

Second the Vegenaise! It's very good and people I have served it to can't tell the difference between it and regular mayo.