In US, a pastry chef attempts to crack an egg-free menu
Since avian flu turned eggs into a luxury item, pastry chef Annie Clemmons has spent countless hours in her Maryland workshop, racking her brains about how to replace them in her recipes.
"It won't taste like chickpeas!" she told AFP as she poured aquafaba -- the watery byproduct of the cooked pulses -- into the bowl of her electric mixer.
A customer had recently ordered a meringue-based red fruit pavlova, and requested that it be delivered the same day.
Instead of beating egg whites until they are stiff, as in the traditional recipe, Clemmons uses an alternative well known to vegan and egg-intolerant cooks.
"It takes a bit longer," she said, adding: "you won't see the difference in color or taste."
And for the custard, she uses cornstarch as a thickener.
"It won't be as creamy," she said, adding a spoonful of cardamom to enhance the flavor.
- 'Like gold' -
The increasing number of outbreaks of avian flu on US farms has made eggs an expensive -- and rare -- commodity.
And so Clemmons has been looking for ways to replace this "foundational ingredient."
"They're like gold," she said, showing off the 20 eggs she still has in stock. "Never in a million years did I think it would be a luxury item."
She estimates that an egg that used to cost eight cents now costs 45 cents -- more than five times the price.
The 51-year-old set up Chapman's DC -- a pastry home-delivery business -- in 2020, after her hotel and restaurant-sector work dried up due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"I have to think really hard about when I'm going to use those eggs," said Clemmons, whose business delivers to homes in the Washington metro area. "I don't know next time I'll be able to use eggs with abandon."
"I'm grateful again that I have substitutes and other tools to use, but I really, really wish we could get the egg back soon," she added.
- No end point -
The White House this week touted a sharp drop in wholesale prices for standard eggs "for three straight weeks."
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, this is the result of both sluggish demand in the face of high prices and a respite of avian flu, which has so far led to the euthanasia of more than 30 million laying hens.
"However, these declines have yet to be reflected at store shelves," the agency said in a recent statement.
According to consumer price index data, egg prices increased by over 12 percent in February, and by close to 59 percent from a year before.
Clemmons noted that President Donald Trump promised that the price of groceries would start to fall on the day after he took office.
"I can't see the end point," she said.
The single mother said she prides herself on her customers' support when they are faced with adjusted recipes or price increases.
But, she added, the new administration's mass layoffs of federal workers has undoubtedly hampered demand for her cakes.
"I live in the Washington DC area and a huge portion of my community has suffered a disruption, this upheaval of losing their income, their jobs, their livelihood," she said.
"People are being a little more cautious with their spending," she added. "So I don't get as many orders."
Beyond eggs, Clemmons said she is also concerned about a potential knock-on effect from Trump's tariff policies on another essential ingredient: sugar.
If sugar prices were to rise sharply, Clemmons expects she would then reach her limit, and could be forced to start looking for a new job.
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