THE NOBLE

 

EGG SUBSTITUTES - FOR YOUR EGG CRISIS BAKING!

EGGS provide valuable protein in our diets so we are in a crisis when we cannot afford them. However, we can use other ingredients to substitute for eggs in our baking, perhaps leaving the real eggs to be eaten boiled or scrambled.

Eggs provide a binder - a substance that holds other ingredients together - when we bake.

APPLESAUCE can be a terrific egg substitute in baking, especially because it ads a little flavor but not overwhelmingly so.  I've used this with success.

1/4 cup APPLESAUCE for every 1 egg - There is no fat in the applesauce so you may want to add a little more oil.

1/4 cup mashed BANANA for every 1 egg.  These do have oil but will add a banana flavor...  So you can make banana bread that is eggless.

FLAX SEEDS... ground.,,, also called "meal." One tablespoon seed to three tablespoons of water.  Let then soak and stir to get consistency.

TOFU - the silky soft kind (made of soybeans) and a fairly neutral flavor. 1/4 cup for every one egg.   Adds protein as well.

BAKING SODA and VINEGAR - helps the loaf rise.  1 teaspoon of soda to 1 tablespoon of vinegar.  Since baking soda is already in many recipes, I confess to not being sure how to adjust a recipe using this option.

PLAIN YOGURT  - 1/4 cup for every 1 egg.

BUTTERMILK  - 1/4 cup for every 1 egg.

PEANUT BUTTER - 3 tablespoons for every 1 egg.  Has oil. Influences flavor.

OTHER NUT BUTTERS - ditto.

CARBONATED WATER also called SODA WATER - 1/4 cup for every 1 egg. Helps the rise.

Now, almond butter or carbonated water might work if you're making pancakes.  Peanut butter cookies might be a better use for peanut butter.

I've had great luck with Yogurt as a substitute.

GELATIN - 1 Tablespoon gelatin to 1 Tablespoon cold water.  Like the FLAX SEED MEAL give it a stir as it's a binding agent. Then add 2 tablespoons of boiling water and stir some more... you should see that it's turning into gel.

I haven't tried this but a friend suggests that even flavored gelatin could be a great addition to plain cookies or white cake batter. Such as lemon or orange.

I hope these ideas will help you feel a little less deprived!

Coming up in the next few months, some How To's on making use of groceries one may find in a Food Bank box!

PAPRIKA PAPRIKA PARIKA : HUNGARIAN/ HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN STEREOTYPE

 

Hungarians supposedly use PAPRIKA generously and more so that salt.  I mean on EVERYTHING not just Chicken paprikash.  When I started this series on nationalistic stereotypes, I mentioned goulash.   You say "I'm Hungarian."  They say "Oh, Hungarian goulash."

 Well, it seems goulash has paprika in it too.  So do many recipes that have become traditional.  Hungarian cooking is said to be the only European fare that embraces heat.

 So what's the 'scoop?'

In Hungary there are many varieties of the peppers that were introduced, like tulips were, by the Turks, who were so much the enemy that they slaughtered two thirds of the Hungarians in order to occupy and take over the country. But then maybe the Hungarians only borrowed the name for the plant from Turkish words and were more comfortable with the notion that the peppers originated in Portugal. The Hungarians liked these peppers, not to be confused with the Spanish/Mexican peppers, as these have a more sweet taste. Peppers are higher in Vitamin C than citrus and provided much of the vitamin C at a time when citrus was a tropical fruit that didn't grow in a temperate climate and wasn't imported much either. There are a variety of these peppers with different degrees of heat, from none to mouth burning.

Supposedly if you buy paprika you should use it within 6 months because of flavor changes that could mean the taste goes bitter but I've had the same tin longer than that, from an American grocer too, and it's just fine sprinkled on boiled eggs after 'deviling' the yolks, and on potato salad or on freshly made humus.

So here's the catch. In the United States only one type of paprika spice is generally sold (but for a little importing into rare specialty stores) so many a Magyar-American may not even know about the other flavor varieties available in Hungary and so have a limited number of recipes to use it in. (American paprika is often a product of California.)  Depending on the region of Hungary, the soil there, the pepper has a different flavor.

Which means that Hungarians in Hungary have the variety and the knowledge on how to use the various peppers and paprikas made of them and are judicious.  And get this : a pepper is a pepper and a chili is a chili... sometimes they look the same but they are not, so if you enter a hot chili eating contest you're not eating hot pepper. Sweet, hot, or smoked, you basically have two varieties, and the one that began to be integrated into Hungarian cooking in the 17th century is from Szeged. 

No, Hungarians DO NOT lavish paprika on everything or without first tasting the dish before deciding to sprinkle more on.  However, paprikas are used in very many recipes. So, as for this stereotype, perhaps it's one to be applied more to the Hungarians than the Hungarian-Americans?

Here is a good discussion about the history and use of paprika! THE HUNGARIAN PAPRIKA

C 2022 Magyar-American BlogSpot

A WONDERFUL HUNGARIAN / HUNGARIAN AMERICAN COOKBOOK

ZSUZSASCOOKBOOK BLOGSPOT = WONDERFUL HUNGARIAN COOKING  New link here May 31, 2024

Canadian of Hungarian Heritage, Zsuzsa has given us fantastic recipes to follow!

EXCERPT:  From LENTIL STEW - LENCSE FOZELEK
This is a repost with a motto.  If your lentils and green peas end up in the same jar, separate them or discard the whole lot, because nothing good can come from cooking them together.

“Még nyílnak a völgyben a kerti virágok,

Még zöldel a nyárfa az ablak előtt,

De látod amottan a téli világot?

Már hó takará el a bérci tetőt.”

Petőfi Sándor, Szeptember végén

The flowers still bloom in the valley gardens.

The tree is still green outside the window.

But over there can you see the winter’s world?

Mountain tops already wrapped in snow.

Sándor Petőfi, September’s End

Yes fall is upon us. Bitterly cold air blew two weeks ago when grandchild and I embarked on a bit of shopping. I don’t know why but I thought of lentil stew as we made our way from the car to the mall. And so here is what I made from a new bag of lentils. Now that’s much better. This is real lencsefőzelék. I don’t cook it for New Years out of principle. Nobody can accuse me with superstitions, because knock on wood, I don’t have one.