Alternative Binding Agents

I'm sure that you have already been thinking of egg whites, and those are helpful unless you want to avoid egg completely.   Then there is the 1 tablespoon soaked in 3 tablespoons of water.  I have been looking for other alternatives as well.  It is always good to have backup plans an substitutes in cooking, just in case you run out of something.

Eggs of a Quail (Coturnix sp.), in comparison to a chicken's egg.
German description: Wachteleier (Coturnix sp.) im Vergleich zu einem Hühnerei.

• Photo by: Mnolf
• Date: 16.07.2005
• Location: Rum / Tyrol / Austria

 

Eggless cooking.com has many great suggestions and how to best use the different egg re-placers.

Announcing Baking Event Using Egg Replacements – Silken Tofu

If eggs are binders in a recipe, it can be replaced with Arrowroot, Soy, Lecithin, Flaxseed Mix, Pureed Fruits or Vegetables, Silken Tofu, Unflavored Vegetarian Gelatin Powder (agar agar). The ratio is, for every egg replaced, 1/4 cup of the substitute is used.If eggs are leavening agents, Buttermilk, Yogurt, Baking Soda, Commercial Egg Replacement Powder such as Ener-G can be used.
If eggs are moisturizers, Fruit Juice, Milk, Water or Pureed Fruit can be used.

Egg SubstituteQuantityBest Suitable ForHow is the result? Based on the information provided in The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and Cooking Free: 200 Flavorful Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensations by Carol Fenster. 

Silken Tofu
Substitute ¼ cup of whipped silken tofu for each egg.Rich, dense and moist cakes, cookies, breads and browniesBaked goods won’t brown as deeply, but they will be very moist and heavy. 

Flaxseed Powder
Whisk/blend together 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder with ¼ cup of water for each egg to be replaced. Flaxseed has a nutty flavor, so it works best that are grainier and nuttier, such as waffles, pancakes, bran muffins, breads and oatmeal cookies. Best in dark colored dishes.The baked goods are heavier, dense. 

Pureed Fruits (mashed bananas, applesauce, apricots, pears, prunes)¼ cup for each egg. Increase leavening by 25-50%. Bake items slightly longer, if necessary.Cakes, quick breads and brownies. 

Vinegar and Baking soda1 teaspoon of baking soda along with 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar and white distilled vinegar can be used.Cakes, cupcakes and quick breads. 

Buttermilk, Yogurt or Baking SodaIf there are no other ingredients to make the baked item rise, then one of these can be used in place of the egg. Replace the liquid in the recipe with same amount of buttermilk or thinned yogurt. Replace baking powder with ¼ as much baking soda.cookies, bars and flatbreads.

Commericial Egg Replacer Powder (like EnerG)Whip together in a food processor or blender 1 ½ teaspoons powder and 2 tablespoons water. Sometimes 2-3 times as much powder in the same amount of water gives better results.All baked goods, especially cookies.Flavorless, won’t affect the taste of the baked goods.

Potato Starch

Potato starch is the active ingredient in many commercial products such as Ener-G egg replacer and Orgran No Egg natural egg replacer. Potato starch provides leavening, or a rising, effect in baked goods. Potato starch, which is tasteless, comes in a powder form that must be mixed with liquid before adding it to a recipe. Other starches, including cornstarch and xanthan gum, also can be used to replace eggs as binders and thickening agents in baked goods.

Pureed Fruit or Vegetables

Applesauce, mashed bananas and pureed pumpkin can all be used to bind bread or muffin dough. Approximately 1/4 cup of puree is equivalent to one egg. Applesauce and other pureed products also have the added benefit of providing appropriate amounts of liquid for each replaced egg.

Gelatin

When egg is used in a recipe to bind together a dough, unflavored gelatin may be an adequate, though tasteless, replacement. Gelatin comes in powdered form and must be mixed with a liquid. Approximately 1/4 cup of gelatin equals one egg as a binding agent.

Baking Soda

At times, egg-free products can be dense after baking. In recipes that include baking soda as a leavening ingredient, additional baking soda may provide a more airy texture. Similar effects can be seen with liquid leavening agents such as yogurt or buttermilk. Replacing eggs with egg substitutes in recipes requires patience and experimentation.

 

Homemade Egg Substitutes
All these homemade and easily accessible egg substitutes, can be used as a nice fill-ins in cakes, pies, cookies and food products, where eggs are used as fillers and binders.

Flax Seeds
This is the best egg substitute used for baking. Flax seeds have great nutritious value. Flax seeds contain a reasonable amount of the alpha-linolenic acid, which is a very useful cure for the inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease, arthritis and many such diseases. Flax seeds also contain a chemical, named lignans, that helps to prevent cancer. Flax seeds can be used in both whole as well as ground forms. You can replace one egg by mixing the flax seeds in water in 1:3 ratio (1 spoon of flax seeds and 3 spoons of water) to make a gelatinous batter.

Potato Flour
Potato flour is made of the cooked, dried and ground potatoes. It is a good form of egg substitution as it is totally gluten-free. Potato starch, mashed potatoes, etc. are also good egg substitutes. To replace one egg you can use some potato flour, ¼ mashed potato or two tablespoons of potato starch.

Applesauce
Applesauce is also pretty useful as an egg substitute. You just have to use the unsweetened applesauce. ¼ cup of applesauce easily replaces one whole egg. It helps the allergic people to enjoy the baked recipes, as well as the weight-watchers, because it helps to make fat-free recipes.

Banana
Mashed bananas can serve as good egg substitutes. One medium sized banana replaces one egg.

Commercial Egg Substitutes

Xanthan Gum
Xanthan gum is used as a rheology modifier and a food additive. It is made from the fermentation of glucose and sucrose, with the help of the exoskeleton of the bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris. The Xanthun gum is a white powder, used as a binder to enhance the texture of egg-free cakes and milk-free ice creams. The amount should be one teaspoon per recipe.

Soybean Lecithin
Lecithin is a class of animal tissue phospholipid that contains esters of glycerol, one molecule of phosphoric acid and two molecules of long-chain aliphatic acids. The lecithin in egg yolk is replaced with soybean lecithin. It is used as an additive and emulsifier in many food products. It works as a wetting agent that makes it, a good egg substitute, even though it must be used in amounts of about one percent of the total weight of the recipe.

Ener-G
It is a good example of the commercial egg replacers that are easily available in the market. They are relatively less flavored and can be used in baking cakes, muffins etc.

Other Egg Substitutes

• Egg is also used as a leavening agent. So, to replace one egg you can use the mixture of one tablespoon of vegetable oil + one tablespoon of water + one tablespoon of baking soda.
• Egg white is used as a glaze on some recipes. For the purpose you can use beaten margarine. It proves to be as good as the beaten egg white.
• When using as a binder, you can use two tablespoons of powdered gelatin + one cup of boiling water.
• One tablespoon of smashed Tofu and a tablespoon of water, can prove a good egg replacement.
• Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, vegan custard and chickpeas also work as egg substitutes.

The choice of egg substitutes may depend upon the dish that you are cooking. There are many options available, so choose the best and the most comfortable substitute. Above all, it becomes highly important to read the labels of the ready to eat food products as even the products that are said to be egg substitutes may contain eggs.

With such a wide range of egg substitutes, you really don't need to sacrifice your urge to eat variety of foods by worrying about the egg allergy.
By Rutuja Jathar

So here is a good start, and you can find more on the egglesscooking.com website.   

Okay, so it's not a sexy post, here but it is informative.  In using coconut flour many many eggs are used for a binding agent, and if you want to replace one or two of them you need alternatives.  If you have an egg allergy you really need to know that there are options.  I'm fond of eggs, and I use them often as well as egg whites, but I do know that there are others with concerns or sensitivities to them, including our vegan friends.  Personal convictions are included in sensitivities in my book, and should be held in high regard.

PCOS and other health concerns do not need to slow down your love for baking or good food, and not all substitutes taste awful, find the things that work for you and keep good notes on your recipes so you never forget them.

 

Sites for liquid sweetener substitutions

Okay, I've found myself getting lost in recipes on the Tropical Traditions website.
I've been slowly changing my diet, and I have all sorts of new flours such as soy, almond, flax, and now coconut.  I will may or may not keep up my stock of some of these, but for now it's nice to have them to try all of these amazing recipes that I have recently found.  But I have not gotten many new sugar options. I have Splenda, Stevia, and of course regular white sugar and brown sugar, and honey. I'm still working on looking into any other substitutes that I would like to keep around, and I'm thinking about brown rice syrup and coconut sugar.  But for now these are not yet a part of my pantry.  So I needed some ideas for substitutions, and I thought I should share them with others.
The Cook's Thesaurus has many different helps, and these are the one's I needed help with tonight. 
I have a brownie recipe that came in with my coconut flour order, and I'm thinking that this weekend would be a great time to try it out.  So I will be substituting brown rice sugar for honey since I do happen to have that in my pantry.  Change does take time, and I'm taking it one step at a time.

Liquid Sweeteners

liquid sweeteners   Notes:  This category includes various syrups, honey, and molasses.

Varieties:
almond syrup

barley malt syrup = barley syrup = malt syrup = dark malt syrup = malted cereal syrup = extract of malted barley  Notes:  This tastes a bit like molasses, and it's not as sweet as sugar or honey.  It's mostly used to make beer, but it's also used to make breads or other baked goods.   Substitutes:  molasses (1 cup barley malt syrup = 2/3 cup molasses) OR rice bran syrup (1 cup barley malt syrup = 4/3 rice bran syrup) OR maple syrup

black treacle = dark treacle  Pronunciation:  TREE-cull   Shopping hints:   This is the British version of America's blackstrap molasses.  It's common in Britain, but hard to find in the United States. Look for it in specialty markets.  Don't confuse this with golden syrup, which is sometimes called light treacle.   Substitutes:   blackstrap molasses OR molasses OR golden syrup (Many cooks prefer this over black treacle for their treacle puddings and tarts, since it's less bitter.)

blackstrap molasses = black strap molasses   Notes:   This has a strong, bitter flavor, and it's not very sweet.  It's sometimes used to make chili.  Look for it in health food stores.

brown rice syrup = rice syrup = rice bran syrup = rice malt = yinnie syrup   Notes:   Health buffs like this because it contains complex sugars, which are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream.  It's about half as sweet as ordinary table sugar. Some rice syrups include barley malt, and may pose a problem for people with gluten allergies.  Substitutes:  maple syrup (substitute 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons liquid for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR molasses (substitute 1/2 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR barley malt syrup (substitute 3/4 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR honey (substitute 3/4 C honey plus 2 tablespoons liquid for every cup of brown rice syrup)

coconut syrup   Notes:   Hawaiians like to pour this syrup on pancakes, but it's also used in several mixed drinks.  To make your own:   See the recipe for coconut syrup posted on kitchenmixes.com.   Substitutes:  cream of coconut (for mixed drinks)
Falernum  Notes:  This is a Caribbean cane syrup that's delicately flavored and slightly alcoholic.  It's sometimes used in rum-based cocktails.  Substitutes: simple syrup (less expensive)
flavored syrups  Notes:  These are often used to flavor Italian sodas or coffee.  They come in dozens of flavors, but some of the most popular are vanilla, almond, raspberry, Irish cream, and hazelnut.  Popular brands include d'Arbo, Monin, and Torani.  To make your own:  Make a simple syrup with equal parts sugar and water, then add flavored extract to taste.  Store in the refrigerator.  Substitutes:   liqueur OR fruit syrup OR syrup from cans of fruit packed in heavy syrup
fruit syrups

golden syrup = cane juice = jus de canne = cane syrup = sugar cane juice = light treacle   Notes:    This amber-colored liquid sweetener is popular among British, Caribbean, and Creole cooks.  It's made by evaporating sugar cane juice until it's thick and syrupy.  Lyle's Golden Syrup and Steen's Pure Cane Syrup are popular brands.   Substitutes:  Combine two parts light corn syrup plus one part molasses OR equal parts honey and corn syrup OR maple syrup (This is thinner, and not as sweet.) OR dark corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet as golden syrup.  If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.) OR light corn syrup (This is thnner and not as sweet or flavorful as golden syrup.  If you like, try reducing the corn syrup in a saucepan to thicken it.)

honey
Karo syrup
khus syrup  Notes:  Indians use this to make desserts and drinks.  Substitutes:  rose syrup

maple syrup   Notes:   Made from the sap of sugar maples, maple syrup is a traditional topping for pancakes, waffles, and French toast.   It's also used to make candies, frostings, candied yams, meat glazes, and baked beans.  Lighter syrups usually have a more delicate flavor.  Refrigerate after opening.  Don't confuse authentic maple syrup with the cheaper and more commonly used pancake syrup, which are based on corn syrup.  Substitutes:  pancake syrup OR berry syrup (on pancakes) OR brown rice syrup OR brown sugar (on hot cereals) OR light molasses (on pancakes or hot cereals) OR honey thinned with apple juice OR granulated sugar (If you're baking, substitute 1 cup sugar for every 3/4 cup of maple syrup, then increase the liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons per cup of sugar.  If baking soda is used, decrease the amount by 1/4 teaspoon per cup of sugar substituted, since sugar is less acidic than maple syrup.)

mint syrup   To make your own:  See the Mint Syrup recipe on CooksRecipes.com.

molasses = treacle   Pronunciation:  muh-LASS-sis Equivalents:  One cup = 8 ounces Notes:    Sugar is made by extracting juice from sugar cane or sugar beets, boiling them, and then extracting the sugar crystals.  Molasses is the thick, syrupy residue that's left behind in the vats.  It has a sweet, distinctive flavor, and it's a traditional ingredient in such things as gingerbread, baked beans, rye bread, and shoofly pie.  There are several different varieties.  Light molasses = sweet molasses = mild molasses = Barbados molasses is taken from the first boiling.  It's the sweetest and mildest, and is often used as a pancake syrup or a sweetener for beverages.  Dark molasses = full molasses = full-flavored molasses is left behind after the juices are boiled a second time.  It's less sweet but more flavorful than light molasses, and it's a good choice if a recipe simply calls for molasses. Blackstrap molasses comes from the third and final boiling.  It's too strong and bitter for most recipes, and it's mostly consumed for its alleged nutritional benefits.  Most of the molasses sold in supermarkets is unsulfured.  Sulfured molasses has sulfur dioxide added as a preservative, and isn't as mild and sweet as unsulfured molasses.  Food grade molasses is almost always made from sugar cane.  Sugar beet molasses is very bitter and is mostly used as cattle feed or as a medium for growing yeast.  When measuring molasses, grease the cup and utensils to keep molasses from sticking.  If your molasses crystallizes while being stored, heat it gently to dissolve the crystals.  After opening, you can store molasses in your cupboard.  Substitutes: dark corn syrup OR maple syrup (works well in gingerbread cookies) OR honey OR barley malt syrup (weaker flavor; use 1/3 less) OR brown sugar (Substitute 1.5 cups brown sugar for every 1 cup molasses)

orgeat = orzata = almond syrup  Pronunciation:  OR-zhat   Notes:   This sweet almond-flavored syrup is used in many mixed drinks.  Look for it in liquor stores.  To make your own:  See the Almond Syrup recipe on the ichef website.

orzata
palm syrup   To make your own: melt palm sugar, then strain

pancake syrup = maple-flavored syrup    Notes:  This is the inexpensive version of maple syrup that Americans love to pour on pancakes and waffles.  It's usually based on corn syrup, and flavored either with artificial flavoring or real maple syrup.  To make your own:   See the recipe for  Mock Maple Syrup on RecipeSource.  Substitutes:  maple syrup OR berry syrup (on pancakes) OR brown rice syrup OR brown sugar (on hot cereals) OR light molasses (on pancakes or hot cereals) OR honey thinned with apple juice OR granulated sugar (If you're baking, substitute 1 cup sugar for every 3/4 cup of maple syrup, then increase the liquid in the recipe by 3 tablespoons per cup of sugar.  If baking soda is used, decrease the amount by 1/4 teaspoon per cup of sugar substituted, since sugar is less acidic than maple syrup.)

rice bran syrup
rice malt
rice syrup
simple syrup = sugar syrup   Notes:   This is a mixture of sugar and water that's brought to a boil and simmered for about five minutes so that the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes syrupy.  When it cools, it's used to make mixed drinks, liqueurs, baked goods, sorbets, sauces, and many other things.   The thickness of the syrup depends upon the ratio of sugar to water used.   Many simple syrup recipes call for equal parts sugar and water.  For a thinner syrup, combine two parts water with one part sugar.  Rock candy syrup, a heavy syrup used to make some liqueurs and mixed drinks, is made with two parts sugar and one part water.   

sorghum molasses = sorghum syrup   Notes:  This is made from sorghum cane juice, and Southerners sometimes use it instead of molasses to make things like barbecue sauce, baked beans, and gingerbread.  Look for it in health food stores.   Substitutes:  golden syrup OR molasses (not as sweet)