Egg allergy: Christmas treats to eat with caution

Egg allergy is among the most common food allergies worldwide and particularly affects children. An egg-free diet often is a challenge – especially in the holiday season.

What would Christmas be without cookies and candies? But if you are allergic to eggs, it can be difficult to find suitable alternatives. It’s not without reason that many foods contain eggs: They serve as an emulsifier and as a binding agent; they add fluffiness to doughs and provide a delicate yellow color. The lysozyme from the hen’s egg serves as a preservative and the egg white can be used for the fining of wine. This means that people suffering from egg allergy must not only avoid eggnog at Christmas, but also many other treats that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to contain egg. Here’s a list of foods for which allergy sufferers should carefully read the label before consumption:

• Cake and pastries, e.g. fruit cake, gingerbread, cookies, macaroons, fruit bread
• Chocolate and confectionery, e.g. nougat, pralines, candies, marshmallows, cotton candy
• Desserts, mousses and ice cream
• Soups, sauces and dressings
• Potato products, e.g. dumplings
• Pasta, ready meals, breadcrumb coatings
• Bread and bakery products
• Spreads, cheese, meats and sausages
• Beverages, e.g. eggnog, wine, beer, fruit juice, cocktails

By baking your own Christmas treats, you can play it safe and replace egg e.g. with applesauce, avocado, peanut butter, yoghurt or a banana. Many delicious recipes also work without egg. Here’s a simple recipe for egg-free Christmas cookies:

Egg-free Christmas sugar cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups flour
• salt

Preparation:

• In a large bowl mix together the butter and sugar until creamy.
• Add the milk and vanilla extract. Beat well.
• Stir in the flour and salt and mix well.
• Divide the dough into 5 portions, form it into logs, wrap them in plastic wraps and cool them in the fridge for an hour.
• Preheat the oven at 180 °C.
• Slice the log to cookies, decorate them as you like and bake them for 7-9 minutes.