Last time you were at the grocery store, did you do a double-take when you checked the price of eggs? Wait till you hear what Californians are paying for eggs this week.
Our local Walmart has a relatively good regular price on large eggs in my area -- this week, eggs are about $5.50 a dozen for Great Value brand (cheapest brand). The LA Times reported yesterday that eggs are now bumping up against $9.00 per dozen on average in California. That's on average. So, in some places, eggs are even more expensive! Are we going to reach $1 per egg at some point?
I have about 18 fresh eggs and about 2 dozen frozen eggs remaining. Obviously, I'm doing what I can to use fewer eggs right now. My plan is to buy as few cartons of eggs at these higher prices between now and spring (when prices usually drop just before Easter).
This morning I was baking a loaf of banana bread. I had enough bananas to make a batch and a half.
My mother's 1970's recipe calls for 1 egg. As I was making a 1 1/2 batch, I would've needed 1 1/2 eggs. I decided to use just one egg and add a half-egg equivalent in baking powder for the leavening.
I looked up possible substitutes in this post from 2022 on choosing which egg substitute to use. I ended up using the extra baking powder plus an extra splash of soy milk. The batter itself tasted good, so I was pretty sure the bread would turn out well.
It rose as I would expect for a 1 1/2 batch in a single loaf pan.
The texture looked great upon slicing into the loaf, dense but still plenty of tiny air bubbles throughout.
The proof is really in the pudding, as they say. It tasted great and was plenty moist, no hint of a lacking 1/2 egg.
What are egg prices like in your area? How expensive is too expensive for eggs in your mind? Do you ever make substitutions for eggs in baking?
If you need some help deciding on an egg substitute, see this post: Egg Substitutes: Choosing Which to Use.
Very timely, Lili. It's been on our minds, as well. I don't remember what DH said the price was last two trips he made to the store, but the first one after New Year's, there was only one brand/size of eggs in the store. Every other shelf was empty! I've never seen that here. Fortunately, I'd just done some cooking ahead for the freezer which uses eggs; so it'll be easier to go light on using eggs for a while. The last things I needed to replenish were two kinds of meatloaf. So (since I forgot your post about this), I went hunting on the internet, and decided on "flax-eggs". I think the recipe I used called for 1 tablespoon flaxmeal plus 1/4 cup water (they seem to vary.) For meatloaf, a little more/less liquid probably matters less than for baking; but the meatloaf was delicious, and indistinguishable from my normal recipe, except for the occasional bigger bit of meal, which we actually like fine. (We always grind a quart of frozen flaxseeds at a time in our blender, and keep the meal in the fridge for easy access/use.) Happy New Year (except for the prices!), Everybody. Sara
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
DeleteI'm glad you found a substitute that you liked. I've used flax meal a few times, too. I can imagine it makes a delicious addition to meatloaf. I hope the eggs get restocked in your stores soon.
Eggs in Michigan (Aldi) are $4 per dozen. Prices range from store to store. But Michigan is now only allowed to sell cage free eggs so I'm guessing prices will go higher and probably stay high.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteHere in Washington state, eggs have to be cage-free too. I think that did add a bit to their cost when that law kicked in. I'd guessed that prices in the mid-west might be a bit lower on eggs than the west coast. But I bet $4/dozen feels high. I hope you can find ways to compensate for the higher egg prices.
Is there a Trader Joe's near you? I found eggs there yesterday for $3.49. They were around $8 a dozen elsewhere. Costco had no eggs in stock at all when I was there a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Tina,
DeleteThank you for this! The Trader Joe's nearest us is about 20 minutes away. When I go that direction I'll stop in a check their eggs. I also need to check Grocery Outlet. I found eggs there in the fall for lower than at other stores. I had heard that some stores were running out of stock of eggs. I've been finding myself rethinking recipes lately, trying to come up with different ways of making something similar (with family favorite dishes) that wouldn't use eggs. Thanks for sharing about Trader Joe's.
$9 a dozen? Wowza. That's crazy. This has been a heavy-egg-use season for us, what with having the kids home, but in general we don't go through tons of eggs. Alice already gave the Michigan egg update. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteDoesn't that sound crazy?! Eggs shouldn't be expensive. They've traditionally been a budget quality protein source, especially useful for people with small grocery budgets. Let's hope this all gets sorted in the next few months.
One dozen Kroger brand eggs in Fairbanks, Alaska were $9.49 a few days ago. It might be time to start keeping my own chickens - at this point the cost may not be that different!
ReplyDeleteHi Lynne,
DeleteOh, wow! I've been seriously considering getting a few hens this spring. We would need to add some fencing to our yard. Do you have a set-up with your property that you could keep predators out of a space where chickens could be kept?
Happy belated New Year to everyone!
ReplyDeleteEggs are running $4-4.50/dozen here.
I had an egg dilemma yesterday. I have been in and out of town to tend to my mother for the last 10-12 weeks. I did 2Christmases also, both out of town, so life has been hectic. I got around to checking two partial dozens of eggs(16) and they were seriously out of date. I was sick thinking they might be spoiled. I did the “egg test” and shockingly they weren’t! So then I began the big egg bake to use them up asap. I made quiche, breakfast casserole, hard boiled some, made corn bread and plan to use the remaining 4 tomorrow. Then I guess I’ll be thinking about buying some at the higher prices. :(
I do have some Aquafaba and flax seeds to use for substitutes. I want to re-read your resource Lili on additional possibilities.
Hey, Lynn. Our son is the king of the egg test. We're actually amazed how long they last, sometimes, which has been good, since our use pace sometimes varies. Seems so many things go bad fast, we're very excited when we get an extra couple of days on the eggs to hurry and use them up, as you did! : ) Sara
DeleteHi Lynn,
DeleteYou could freeze those last 4 eggs, in 1-egg containers, to use in cooking later. I posted how I freeze eggs, here: https://www.creativesavv.com/2013/08/freezing-eggs-no-this-is-not-article-on.html
In early December I had a bunch of eggs past expiration, so I froze them all. I'll be able to use those in cooking and baking when my 18 (now 16 after cooking today) fresh eggs are gone. Good luck to you!
Lili, thank you for your link. I thought it was you that had shared about this before. I like this option as I hated just using these eggs willy nilly. So they are in the freezer now, in 1 egg portions, following your directions, to be used at my leisure! Thanks so much.
DeleteI'm glad freezing those last eggs was workable for you, Lynn!
Delete