One immutable reality of food formulation is that—at some point or another—every ingredient faces scrutiny to determine whether or not it’s essential. Such decisions are simplified when the ingredients in question serve multiple functions in food—and when consumers come to expect to see them on the ingredient statement.
Few ingredients, notes the American Egg Board (AEB), bring as many functional attributes to the table as eggs. And when it comes to baked goods, eggs are regularly part of the formulation package. Based on recent analysis by Strategic Growth Partners (SGP), Roselle, IL, baked goods is the largest product category for use of eggs, representing 33% of all applications where eggs were an ingredient during 2008.
However, egg replacers have seen more use in baked goods of late, going into 42% of baked goods during 2008, per SGP. Although formulators sometimes resort to using replacers when egg prices rise, Craig “Skip” Julius, an ambassador to the egg industry, notes that such knee-jerk reactions are short-sighted: “People get so focused on preserving the margin ‘right now.’ They overlook the fact that all food commodities eventually revert to the mean.” Reformulation also costs an enormous amount of money, he says—and quality is a factor. “Every time one makes a formula change, a little something gets lost, compromises are made,” he says.
AEB notes that eggs bring a wide range of functionality to baked goods, including—depending on the application—adhesion, aeration, browning, coagulation, coating, color, drying, emulsification, finishing, flavor, foaming, fortification, freezability, gloss, humectancy, insulation, moisturizing, protein enrichment, richness, shelf-life extension, structure, tenderization and texture.
When replacing eggs in applications like angel food cakes, muffins and yellow cakes, multiple replacers—including whey, soy, starch and/or gums—are generally required to mimic the functionality of eggs, notes Glenn W. Froning, Ph.D., AEB food technology advisor. For angel food cakes, high-whip egg white—dried, frozen or refrigerated, depending on the formula—should be used. For muffins, he recommends frozen or liquid whole eggs. In yellow cakes, frozen or liquid whole eggs—or dried, sugared, whole eggs—come into play. “Some sponge cakes are formulated using a combination of high-whip egg white and egg yolk,” he says.
“In these applications, foaming, coagulation and texture are the specific functions provided by egg proteins,” continues Froning.
Eggs also fit into the category of “natural foods,” a clean-label movement that’s picking up steam. “There is a huge move to natural ingredient labels,” says Julius.
