Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 138, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1920 — SUBSTITUTES DO NOT REPLACE FRESH EGGS [ARTICLE]

SUBSTITUTES DO NOT REPLACE FRESH EGGS

Dish May Be Acceptable, but Food Value Is Not Same. Flour or Starch May Be Used to Give Same Appearance, but There la a Great Difference in the Composition. Many housekeepers know it Is possible, when eggs are lacking, to use other foods which will give something the same appearance as eggs. Flour or starch may be used to thicken custards or gelatin used In making an icing or a pudding The dish may be acceptable, but the food value Is not the same as if eggs were used, say home economics specialists of the United States department of agriculture. There are a number of commercial products designed as egg substitutes, some of which approach eggs in composition much more nearly than others. Of these products, some are fairly well known to housekeepers while others are used chiefly in commercial baking and for similar purposes. The various kinds differ much in composition, some being inuch“ffiore like eggs in protein content and energy value than others. In judging such products one should not rely upon appearance. Yellow color does not necessarily indicate other egg yolk characteristics. Some of these egg substitutes, at least, are manufactured from skim milk and are said to contain milk casein and albumin mixed w’ith a little flour. Such a product Is evidently rich in protein. Other egg substitutes have been devised which consist of mixtures of animal or vegetable fats, albumin, and starch or flour. Goods have also been marketed for use as egg substituted which contain little or no albumin, but which are apparently made up quite largely of starch, colored more or less with some yellow substance. They are commonly advertised for making custards and puddings similar in appearance to those in which fresh eggs are used. If the housekeeper wishes to use them she should not overlook the fact that in the diet they cannot replace fresh eggs, since they do not contain the same kind or quantity of nitrogenous matter, particularly if such an egg substitute is used in the diet of invalids or children in the belief that it contains the same nutrients as eggs.