Hacker News Reader

Comment by mcdonje | Hacker News Reader

Vegan here. Based on the screenshots, I don't think I'll use it. It looks like it just recommends brand name products to buy.

Not all recipes call for the same substitution for the same ingredient. And not everyone has the same philosophy about how to substitute.

For instance, eggs. There are several different uses for them in recipes; binding, leavening, moisture, protein content, etc. There are several different substitutions and most do some of those things better than others. Picking a good egg substitute, or choosing to simply leave the eggs out, requires knowledge and experience, or at least a flow chart.

There's enough of an art to it that I'd rather see how others solved the problem than consult a browser plugin that seems geared more to sell me stuff than to help me solve problems.

View on HN

My wife and I are both vegan.

We got this book as a Christmas gift: https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Everybody-Foolproof-Plant-Based...

It does a great job at the beginning of the book addressing various substitutes for things like eggs, mayo, etc... Since it's done by America's Test Kitchen, they've tested everything extensively, and explain which subs are the best for baking, flavor, and other factors.

Totally buying this. Thank you very much.

Thanks for the book recommendation. It looks interesting. Does this book lean towards processed or whole foods meals?

Definitely leans more towards whole food meals. Very little processed/pre-made ingredients, and even with those it provides recipes to make your own subs i.e. mayo and stock.

Purchased! Thanks!

I keep seeing this recommended. How interesting is this book if you already own a big amount of vegan cookbooks?

We own several vegan cookbooks as well, and have been leaning on this one pretty heavily since we got it. Everything has been quite tasty, albeit slightly labor intensive.

Since it's produced by America's Test Kitchen, I'm more inclined to trust the recipes at face value with little modification. Other vegan cookbooks I have found require adjustments to get the flavor correct.

I've not read this particular cookbook, but anything from America's Test Kitchen is generally leaps and bounds ahead of any other cookbook you've ever read. They use a lot more cooking theory and testing methodology, compared to "grandmas old recipe" or similar old wives tales.

The flip is like any analytical process, the results vary based on the scope.

You really need to watch the show, as the sometimes they make assumptions that don’t make sense to me that drive the whole process. That isn’t captured in cookbooks. They get the best output based on the criteria set.

If one of the books you have is the veganomicon, I don't think you need another cookbook.

This was the first (of many) vegan cookbooks I've collected over the years and to this day is still the one I reach for the most, very well thought out.

As someone who’s been allergic to eggs their entire lives, and tried every egg substitute under the sun, I find that the best course of action in replacing eggs in a recipe is simply finding a recipe that was developed without eggs, rather than do direct substitutions.

I like to think I’m a pretty good cook and okay baker and understand different egg substitutes and where and when to implement them based on the function of eggs in the recipe, but 99% of the time I’m left eating a sweet that turned out like total garbage.

But following recipes that are egg free from the start makes it more like 75% of the time it turns out great!

Interesting. Would love to include feedback from users into the recommendations based on recipe types.

This would be a great feature! There’s many great cooks and bakers out there who might have these sorts of odd, situational substitutions down to a science.

I also like the extension, I’ve been trying to cut out more animal-based products and I’m excited to try it out. I look forward to seeing how it will continue to develop!

I'm allergic to chicken eggs, but I've found that other birds don't bother me. Have you had any success trying duck or quail eggs? Aside from being tough to find sometimes, they work very well to replace chicken eggs.

On the plant based side, I've had pretty good luck with Just Eggs for a lot of things; it's not perfect (won't work for a custard) but works pretty well for a lot of baking.

I read about people with egg allergies tolerating duck eggs and immediately ran to an Amish market that carried them and excitedly ate just a few grams of the resulting scrambled eggs and spent the night vomiting and developing a full body rash.

I’ve been tempted to try quail eggs, as the same Amish market has them as well. But besides being worried of suffering a similar fate as the duck eggs, or in a cruel twist of fate, I can tolerate quail eggs and am forever forced to use many tens of these mini eggs when following a recipe or making an omelette!

Just egg was such a great experience, I actually teared up when I ate my first bacon, ‘egg’ and cheese bagel. Such a cool product.

Thank you for your feedback!

We do plan on introducing chef tips and user-generated reviews of veganized recipes.

Currently the substitutes aren't specific to cooking style or type of food. It's tricky but not impossible. And we are on it!

Brand recommendations are important too. But maybe with user feedback and applicability. Most transitioning vegans don't know which cheese melts and which milk works best with coffee. And I think that's how our recommendations should evolve.

This is what I have observed as well. It substitute the brand instead of the alternative itself.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com