One of the more difficult parts of baking and cooking when you’re allergic to a staple is finding a reasonable way to salvage the binding capabilities of the egg into something less likely to make your throat close. Fortunately, there’s flax. The flax egg is a workhorse in the world of food substitutions: It does its job and it does it well.
Flax is also known as Linseed, and it’s an herbaceous plant used for food and for clothing. I used to see it dousing cut up banana pieces at the supermarket in a misguided attempt to get two sales for the cost of one free sample, but I never indulged. The very things that make flax a good healthy food ingredient are the same things that make it incredibly unappetizing to look at. To whit, it’s brown, it’s gummy, and it sticks to things.
Ground flax really shines in baking, where I can whip together a flax ‘egg’ and set it aside to gel while I put together the rest of my ingredients. It works for pancakes, cookies, casseroles and sauces, though there are alternatives such as tapioca or arrowroot powder if you don’t want the little brown flecks it leaves in the food. I store my ground flax in the freezer (it keeps longer) after opening, and dole it out as needed!
Making a vegan, gluten-free, plant-based egg to cook with turns out to be incredibly simple! It’s a 1:1 substitution for traditional eggs, and I’ve never had any trouble baking with them. (I don’t recommend it for things like Pavlovas, or as a substitute in mousse however. There simply isn’t enough air in a flax egg for those types of dishes)
You’ll need (1 egg):
1 Tbsp. ground flax
3 Tbsp. cold water
Put the flax and the water into a small bowl, give it a little stir, and then set it aside to congeal into a gel for about 10-15 minutes. After that, you can add it to cookies, cakes, and pie crusts with no problems at all! Once you have this basic substitution in your wheelhouse, you’ll be cranking out the baked goods in no time.
But What Can You Eat? 