I've read in this discussion that a number of people use egg replacers
if they have decided not to eat egg whites. I have cooked with a some
of them and found them quite adequate in recipes. The exception is
if you are trying to make FF breakfast foods, like French toast. I have
used Egg Beaters for these recipes and found they turned out beautifully,
but I ALWAYS use day old bread that I have made myself. Using fresh
bread does not work out as well, in my experience. Egg Beaters, (some
cholesterol free egg repacers have FAT added, you need to read the labels)
however are Pastuerized.
I would caution those who use real egg whites, which are very convenient,
and increase the protein value of almost any food enormously, to be very
careful about "testing" the recipes while making them. Typically this
would be when you are seeing if they are "sweet enough" while adding
various sugar type replacements, or even plain sugar.
UNCOOKED EGGS CAN CONTAIN SALMONELLA!
This could make you very sick and for children, it could be especially
dangerous, causing severe dehydration. I know that Michelle does not
want to make this into a "health" line, but I think this is
relevant.
I'm sure that most of you already know this, but just in case, I
thought I'd remind everyone. I always taste the recipe BEFORE I
put the eggs in and make it the last item I install. For those of
you who use egg substitutes, it's not a problem. There are pasteurized
egg white powder's available, I believe, but they don't mix very easily,
and usually there are lumps left in them. I have not found the lumps
to be a problem though--in any recipes I've used this stuff.
Whipped egg whites to be used in any recipe uncooked can be dangerous,
in my opinion. Just browning them in the oven is not good enough.
I know that people have been eating pies, etc. with meringue on it,
but then they may have gotten very ill and thought they had the Flu
instead of food poisoning. Who knows. I tend to be wary of any animal
based products because you can never be "sure" of their processing.
At one time, I thought that because we are vegetarians, we would be
less likely to get food poisoning, but that was BEFORE unpasteurized
fruit juice (Odwalla) made some kids very ill.
Some vegetarians would also argue that plant food can be contaminated
as well. However, I think that it is less common for plant foods to
be contaminated, unless they are in contact with animal foods, or
sprayed with dangerous pesticides.
Just some thoughts on foods that might make you sick. For those of you who are
Vegan, I guess you have less to worry about.
Mike Rosenblatt
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