Eggs are a kitchen staple used in many dishes from breakfast scrambles to baked goods. However, with the rising popularity of plant-based diets and concerns over sustainability, many people are looking for vegan egg alternatives to use in their cooking and baking. Just Egg is one such popular egg substitute made from mung beans. But how does it compare to the real thing when it comes to baking and cooking performance? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Just Egg?
Just Egg is a liquid vegan egg substitute made from mung beans. It was created by food technology company Eat Just and is made through a patent-protected drying process to give it a light, fluffy texture similar to real eggs. The main ingredients are water, mung bean protein isolate, and plant gums. It cooks up into a scrambled egg-like texture and can be used to replace eggs in many recipes.
Some key attributes of Just Egg:
- Protein-rich: Provides 7g of protein per serving from mung beans.
- Cholesterol-free: Free of dietary cholesterol found in eggs.
- Non-GMO: Made from non-GMO ingredients.
- Soy-free: Does not contain soy.
- Kosher and Vegan: Certified vegan and kosher pareve.
- Low calorie: Contains just 50 calories per serving.
The makers of Just Egg promote it as a sustainable and nutritious alternative protein source. The production process uses 98% less water, releases 93% fewer carbon emissions, and uses 86% less land than eggs. Many people choose Just Egg due to ethical concerns over the egg industry or to reduce their environmental impact.
How Just Egg Behaves in Baking and Cooking
When it comes to baking, eggs serve several important functions. They provide structure, leavening, moisture, richness, and binding. Real eggs are made up of proteins and emulsifiers that give baked goods lift, a light and airy crumb, and a rich taste and texture.
Here is how Just Egg stacks up as an egg replacer in different cooking and baking applications:
Binding and moisture
Overall, Just Egg performs well as a binder in baked goods and other dishes like omelets. The plant gums provide viscosity and adhesion properties. When cooking, Just Egg forms a fluffy scrambled egg-like texture that holds together nicely. In baking, it can adequately bind ingredients together.
For retaining moisture in baked goods, Just Egg also does a decent job, but doesn’t quite match up to regular eggs. Some users note baked goods made with Just Egg tend to dry out faster.
Rising and leavening
One difference is that Just Egg does not have the same rising and leavening powers as chicken eggs. Eggs provide natural emulsifiers like lecithin that help cakes and quick breads rise. Just Egg relies solely on baking powder or soda for lift.
Recipes that depend heavily on eggs for leavening may not rise as high with Just Egg. An extra raising agent like baking powder often needs to be added to compensate.
Structure and density
The proteins in real eggs provide structure, richness, and a dense, creamy texture in baked goods. Just Egg contains mung bean protein, but not at the same concentrated levels as egg protein.
Therefore, baked goods made with Just Egg tend to have a more delicate, eggy crumb compared to the dense structure provided by whole eggs. Cakes and muffins, for example, will be lighter and spongier with Just Egg.
Flavor
In terms of flavor, Just Egg has a relatively neutral taste on its own. It absorbs flavors well during cooking. The product can lend a faint eggy or sulfur-like taste to dishes, but it does not have the same rich egg taste. Some extra flavorings may need to be added to replicate the eggy flavor in baked items.
Browning and binding
Whole eggs promote browning in baked goods due to natural sugars and proteins. Compared to regular eggs, Just Egg results in a paler exterior with less browned color on items like muffins. An extra egg wash can help products brown better before baking if desired.
Nutrition
One benefit of Just Egg is that it packs protein and nutrients without cholesterol. Regular eggs contain around 6g of protein each while Just Egg provides about 7g per serving. It does not contain cholesterol, saturated fat, dairy or other animal products.
For those looking to add more plant-based protein or avoid dietary cholesterol, Just Egg provides a nutritious alternative. But keep in mind it does not contain some micronutrients found in eggs like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, riboflavin and choline.
How to Bake and Cook with Just Egg
With some modifications and experimenting, Just Egg can work for many egg-based recipes. Here are some tips for cooking and baking with Just Egg:
- Replace each regular egg with 2 tablespoons of Just Egg. So if a recipe calls for 2 large eggs, use 4 tablespoons Just Egg.
- Add an extra raising agent like baking powder to ensure enough lift.
- Increase binding ingredients like flours or nut butters for structure.
- Reduce baking time and temperature slightly to prevent over-browning and drying.
- Add extra liquid or non-dairy milk to help keep baked goods moist.
- Boost flavor with extracts, spices, or soy sauce if needed.
- Use an egg wash with turmeric or plain Just Egg to help products brown.
- For omelets and scrambles, cook on medium-low heat and stir gently to get fluffy curds.
The exact adjustments will depend on the particular recipe. Expect to do some experimenting to get the right texture and flavor. Look online for Just Egg recipe ideas or substitute it into your current egg-based recipes.
Just Egg Baking Experiments and Results
To provide some real baking examples using Just Egg, experiments were conducted making banana muffins, lemon poppyseed muffins, and vanilla cupcakes. In each case, one batch was made with real eggs, and one with the same amount of Just Egg measured out by tablespoons.
Here is an overview of how the Just Egg batches compared to the real egg versions:
Banana muffins
- Just Egg batch baked up lighter in color with less browning. Added turmeric to remaining Just Egg muffins to improve browning.
- Real egg muffins had a dense, cake-like texture. Just Egg were lighter and slightly more muffin-like, with more air pockets.
- Just Egg muffins were taller before baking but had less rising power, resulting in a flatter shape.
- Flavor was similar, Just Egg batch was slightly more mild.
- Both batches were moist, but real egg muffins retained moisture better after several days.
Lemon poppyseed muffins
- Just Egg batch was paler yellow and did not brown as much as real egg muffins.
- Real egg muffins had a coarse, crunchy lemon sugar top. Just Egg tops were lighter and more delicate.
- Just Egg again resulted in a muffin-like shape while real eggs made denser cake-like muffins.
- Just Egg batch had a pleasant lemon flavor but more subtle than real egg muffins.
- Both remained moist for 2-3 days stored covered at room temperature.
Vanilla cupcakes
- No difference in browning noticed between batches.
- Just Egg cupcakes rose higher initially but sank more during baking, resulting in a flat top.
- Crumb texture was lighter and finer with Just Egg. Real egg crumb was dense and velvety.
- Vanilla flavor not as prominent in Just Egg batch.
- Cupcakes dried out faster with Just Egg, becoming stale after 2 days.
Overall, the Just Egg performed well in place of real eggs but some modifications to the recipe would improve results. Extra leavening, moisture, and flavor boosters would better optimize baked goods made with Just Egg.
Pros and Cons of Just Egg
Here is a summary of some pros and cons to consider when deciding whether to use Just Egg as an egg replacer:
Pros
- Vegetarian/vegan and cholesterol-free
- High in plant-based protein
- Lower environmental impact than eggs
- Mimics texture of eggs when cooked
- Works as a binder in baked goods
- Easy to use and readily available
Cons
- Does not replicate egg flavor perfectly
- Less effective at leavening than eggs
- Can result in paler baked goods with less browning
- May create more delicate, spongy texture in baking
- Baked goods dry out faster
- Nutritionally different from eggs
Tips for Best Results with Just Egg
Keep the following tips in mind to achieve better results when using Just Egg as an egg substitute in recipes:
- Experiment with the ratio of Just Egg. Try slightly more or less until you achieve the right consistency.
- Add extra raising agents like baking powder to help Just Egg lift and leaven baked goods.
- Include extra binding and moistening ingredients in a recipe like flours, nut butters, bananas, or non-dairy milks.
- Adjust baking temperature and time to prevent over-browning.
- Use an egg wash made with Just Egg and turmeric to improve browning.
- Enhance flavor with extracts, spices, or soy sauce as needed.
- Avoid recipes that rely heavily on eggs for structure like soufflés or meringues.
- Look for recipes developed specifically for Just Egg or other egg replacers.
Is Just Egg Worth Trying?
For those seeking a vegan, environmentally friendly egg alternative, Just Egg is certainly worth trying. With some tweaks, it can work well for scrambled eggs, omelets, baking, and other cooking applications. Just keep in mind that the results may not perfectly mimic the taste and texture of real eggs in all recipes.
One of the benefits of Just Egg is its neutral flavor that allows dishes to shine. Even if it does not replicate eggs exactly, it can produce satisfying baked goods and meals with the right adjustments. Just Egg shines when used in vegan recipes specifically developed for egg substitutes. With some creative substitutions and experimenting in the kitchen, Just Egg can be a tasty and sustainable egg alternative.
Conclusion
When it comes to baking and cooking, Just Egg stacks up reasonably well against chicken eggs. While it does not replicate the taste, rising power, browning, and dense texture of real eggs perfectly, it can be used successfully in a wide range of egg-based recipes. With a few modifications like extra leavening and liquid, Just Egg makes a decent egg substitute in baked goods from muffins to cakes.
The results will vary by recipe based on the role of eggs in terms of moisture, structure, rising, and binding. Cookies tend to turn out better than spongey cakes. For fluffy omelets, tofu scrambles and binding ingredients together, Just Egg performs admirably. While expected differences are present, Just Egg is an accessible and vegetarian/vegan-friendly alternative to real eggs worth exploring in the kitchen.