Egg Shortage

Diane Lane

Diane Lane

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Joined
24 Apr 2015
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598
Location
Texas, United States
Here in the U.S., we're having an issue with Avian Flu in the Midwest, and it's affecting our egg prices and availability here in Texas, for some reason.

One local store is limiting the number of eggs that can be purchased at one time. 3 dozen might seem like a lot of eggs to some people, but I go through 4-5 dozen in a month, and that's when I'm not doing a lot of baking or making things like flan, that could require 8 eggs in one dish.

I can't think of a substitute, since eggs have been a staple in my diet since childhood, and are (or were) a cheap source of protein, I've built my cooking around them. Does anyone know of another item/product that would be a suitable substitute, just in case the situation persists or gets worse?
 
Diane Lane said:
Here in the U.S., we're having an issue with Avian Flu in the Midwest, and it's affecting our egg prices and availability here in Texas, for some reason.

One local store is limiting the number of eggs that can be purchased at one time. 3 dozen might seem like a lot of eggs to some people, but I go through 4-5 dozen in a month, and that's when I'm not doing a lot of baking or making things like flan, that could require 8 eggs in one dish.

I can't think of a substitute, since eggs have been a staple in my diet since childhood, and are (or were) a cheap source of protein, I've built my cooking around them. Does anyone know of another item/product that would be a suitable substitute, just in case the situation persists or gets worse?
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You could use powdered egg. Its available from Amazon. I've never tried it but it was used in the war when there was an egg shortage. Its supposed to work quite well in cakes but not when reconstituted to make scrambled egg! Or you could go the vegan route. There are loads of options from fruit puree to buttermilk. SatNavSatsSraightOn will have lots of ideas, I'm sure.
 
morning glory said:
You could use powdered egg. Its available from Amazon. I've never tried it but it was used in the war when there was an egg shortage. Its supposed to work quite well in cakes but not when reconstituted to make scrambled egg! Or you could go the vegan route. There are loads of options from fruit puree to buttermilk. SatNavSatsSraightOn will have lots of ideas, I'm sure.
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Thanks, yes, I mainly use them for my daily poached egg on toast and scrambled eggs for the cat food I make. I will check into the powdered, because maybe those would suffice in cakes or possibly the cat food. I'd never heard of using buttermilk as a substitute, I'll have to research that, as well, thanks! Hopefully the cost of those won't be rising as well.
 
Diane Lane said:
I can't think of a substitute
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A lot of baking does not require eggs. They are used as a binding agent nothing more and often can be omitted from the recipe entirely without any issues. Just add a touch more baking powder.
I often make scones which require an egg. A touch more baking powder and (dairy free) milk and you don't need an egg and no-one notices and suddenly my scones are vegan.

Also you can easily halve the number of eggs in something like a sponge cake (if it wasn't 4, use 2), just add more baking powder and more milk.
As for a flan, there is no reason as to why you can't drop it to 6 eggs and a touch more cream/milk to compensate. A spot of corn starch will aid setting if you think it needs it, or arrowroot, xanthan gum etc.

What else do you cook that needs eggs that we can make suggestions for?
 
@sidevalve you have reminded me, that my Grannie's recipe book which I have (think 2 folders here, not really a recipe book as such) contains a lot of WWII recipe which have lots of variations without eggs or with minimal eggs, so I can have a look through it later today @Diane Lane and if there is anything specific you are after, yell and I will see what is about. WWII recipes don't feature a lot of eggs at least not in the UK they did not.
 
Thanks, Y'all. Today's the last day of the garage sale, thankfully, and I'll have more time to figure it out after that. One major issue is the eggs are a poor man's protein, and so I use a lot of them just for eating period, as well as in the kitty food. I can handle paying a little more (although I don't exactly consider $1/carton a little), but an all out shortage would be rough. I wasn't aware of the substitutions in baking, that will definitely come in handy, since that's probably where I'll have to cut back. Apparently it takes ~ 6 months for new hens to come into their egg laying phase, so that's about how long it will take (at least), until their ranks can be replenished, assuming the farms/companies can get the avian flu under control.
 
Diane Lane said:
although I don't exactly consider $1/carton a little
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how many are in a carton?

I ask because I am comparing that to the price in the UK!
If you want something other than barn fed eggs (hens never see light of day and are overcrowded IMO), and a free-range egg that is actually allowed to roam free and not in desperately over crowded conditions (2,500 hens are allowed per hectare and called free range - that is a lot of hens per hectare and not great IMO), we pay (from supermarkets) £3 per 10 roughly for the cheapest I could find that met something like 'humane' condition. But I did find these at £2 for 15 but they are 'mixed' which means they have farmed off their smaller eggs to you!
We are lucky because all around this area (and once I get back out on my trike I will be able to make use of it again) we have plenty of people with chickens who sell the eggs at the side of the road and if I take an egg box or two with me I can pick up completely free range (often to be found in the road as I cycle passed them - the hens that is not the eggs) eggs at £1.80 a dozen, which just goes to show the mark up supermarkets put on eggs!
 
Shermie said:
Never knew that there was an egg shortage! :headshake:
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There may not be one up there. There shouldn't be one here, because it seems there are plenty of eggs here and in other states that are unaffected by the Avian Flu, but some stores apparently ship their eggs from affected states, so are experiencing a shortage. Either that, or they're just increasing the prices to make a larger profit. Either way, I don't agree with it. A friend picked me up some eggs yesterday at Kroger, and said there were tons of eggs there, so I think they're going to be picking up HEB shoppers who are disillusioned with that store's egg limitations.

Hopefully it's just a transition period for them, so they're temporarily limiting the amount purchased until they can locate new suppliers outside of the affected states. I find it concerning though that Whataburger is also cutting back on their breakfast menu, reportedly due to the egg shortage.

@Berties, I didn't look at the meat when I was grocery shopping the other day, but I'll check next time I go. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the prices of chicken and turkey go up as well, even though from what I've heard, there is a huge supply in deep freeze, so you'd think prices wouldn't be affected.

Here are a couple of articles on the situation, in case anyone's interested: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/03/health/bird-flu-cdc/
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/bird-flu/bird-flu-news.php?country=us
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
how many are in a carton?

I ask because I am comparing that to the price in the UK!
If you want something other than barn fed eggs (hens never see light of day and are overcrowded IMO), and a free-range egg that is actually allowed to roam free and not in desperately over crowded conditions (2,500 hens are allowed per hectare and called free range - that is a lot of hens per hectare and not great IMO), we pay (from supermarkets) £3 per 10 roughly for the cheapest I could find that met something like 'humane' condition. But I did find these at £2 for 15 but they are 'mixed' which means they have farmed off their smaller eggs to you!
We are lucky because all around this area (and once I get back out on my trike I will be able to make use of it again) we have plenty of people with chickens who sell the eggs at the side of the road and if I take an egg box or two with me I can pick up completely free range (often to be found in the road as I cycle passed them - the hens that is not the eggs) eggs at £1.80 a dozen, which just goes to show the mark up supermarkets put on eggs!
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I would definitely prefer to buy all of my products natural, humane and free range, but right now, I have to buy what's cheapest and sort those those items for the healthiest I can find. The price I paid the other day was $4.24 for 18 eggs. A carton is usually 12 eggs, some are 18, though, and occasionally, they can be purchased 6 to a carton, or in larger numbers. My mom would sometimes buy the larger packages, but I forget how many are in those. I'm usually relegated to 12 or 18 depending on budget, and occasionally can squeeze in an extra 6 pretty cheaply at the dollar store. I've started buying the 18-packs, since the cost of meat has risen quite a bit, so I'm substituting egg protein and peanut butter for the more expensive meat protein. That's mainly why a shortage is such an issue for me, as well as others on tight budgets.
 
Diane Lane said:
I would definitely prefer to buy all of my products natural, humane and free range, but right now, I have to buy what's cheapest and sort those those items for the healthiest I can find. The price I paid the other day was $4.24 for 18 eggs. A carton is usually 12 eggs, some are 18, though, and occasionally, they can be purchased 6 to a carton, or in larger numbers. My mom would sometimes buy the larger packages, but I forget how many are in those. I'm usually relegated to 12 or 18 depending on budget, and occasionally can squeeze in an extra 6 pretty cheaply at the dollar store. I've started buying the 18-packs, since the cost of meat has risen quite a bit, so I'm substituting egg protein and peanut butter for the more expensive meat protein. That's mainly why a shortage is such an issue for me, as well as others on tight budgets.
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Don't forget that you can get a considerable amount of protein from lentils, beans, pulses and dals. All of them have a high protein content and are good substitutions. If you are able to get this cookbook, it has some stunning recipes in The Dal Cookbook - tonight's evening meal is from it, though the meat recipes we substitiute something else for, being vegan+eggs. We have few issues getting enough protein into our diet using many of the dals that are unknown to westerns who don't experiment away from the norm. Luckily for us we have a high Asian population where my husband works and that means the local Morrison's supermarket has good range of less popular dals and other Asian produce which I am more than happy to eat/experiment with and have found a taste for.
 
Diane Lane said:
@Berties, I didn't look at the meat when I was grocery shopping the other day, but I'll check next time I go. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the prices of chicken and turkey go up as well, even though from what I've heard, there is a huge supply in deep freeze, so you'd think prices wouldn't be affected.
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It's a sellers market,the price will more team likely rise,but as the meat is in deep freeze you can freeze eggs ,and I'm sure a lot of manufacturers use pasteurised frozen eggs,not a whole egg I know for poaching but it's ok ,there is egg yolk ,white and whole egg
 
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@SatNavSaysStraightOn Yes, thanks for the reminder. I am not familiar with pulses and dals, so will look for that book. Maybe I can get it on Amazon or at the library. I have been incorporating more lentils into my diet, and not having any issues. I do have some health concerns, so have to be careful of some things, such as black beans. I can't eat those at all, but can tolerate most others I've tried (other than onions, garlic and mushrooms), and I use a lot of chickpeas, too. I love Asian, so am fine with going in that direction. Some stores here have decent international sections, although many are severely limited. I call those white bread stores, because when I moved down here, almost all I could find was white bread. The more 'evolved' people ate wheat, which I don't care for, but I grew up eating a wide variety of items that are difficult to obtain here. Thankfully, things are changing, now that people are more health conscious, and it's not as difficult to find a variety of foods, including those from some other cultures, as long as you know where to look, and can afford them. :hungry::thumbsup::cook:
 
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