How-to 11: Make a "Flax Egg"

Flax seeds are nutritious and a great egg substitute when ground and mixed with water.

As we recently bought a big bag of flax seeds (aka linseed), I decided to look into making "flax eggs"; many cooks who don't use egg use these to replace it. Flax eggs can be used wherever you need an egg-like binder, such as vegeburgers or nut loaf, to make a crumby coating stick, and even in pancakes, cookies or cakes. If using in cakes, you are advised to include another raising agent such as baking powder, as a flax egg will bind and add structure to a cake beautifully, but not rise it. (Flax has a different protein structure from eggs.) Some people think flax eggs have an intrusive flavour so they use chia seeds instead, but we haven't really noticed that in what we've made so far. Do grind your own flax seeds, as ready-ground ones don't keep well and will turn rancid very quickly. (You could always grind a larger batch and keep them in the freezer until needed.)

1: Use one tablespoon of flax seeds to three tablespoons of water to make one flax egg.

2: Grind your flax seeds (we ground about 4 tabs here) using a high speed blender or coffee grinder.  This was one job our Magimix couldn't handle, but I suspect a Vitamix could. You can see (above) how fine they need to be to get a smooth end result.

2: Now place your finely-ground flax seeds in a bowl and add the water.

3: Use a balloon whisk to blend thoroughly. This really only takes seconds.

4: Refrigerate for at least half an hour. You will end up with a thick and gloopy (quite gelatinous) mixture very similar in texture to beaten egg. It is now ready to use in your favourite recipe!

Need any suggestions for using your flax eggs? Try:
http://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/blueberry-banana-and-cinnamon-breakfast.html
and
http://theyogivegetarian.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/eggless-aumlette-vegan-and-gluten-free.html