Baking has traditionally made extensive use of egg whites, especially the way they can be beaten into a foam and then set with heat. While I eat eggs, I have a lot of people in my life who avoid them for ethical reasons, and this often limits what I can bake for them. I was very excited to learn, though, that you can now buy extremely realistic vegan egg whites!

EVERY engineered yeast to convert sugar into ovalbumin, the main protein in egg whites and the one responsible for most of its culinary function. This kind of fermentation was pioneered for insulin and microbial rennet in the 1980s, but many companies are now applying it to producing all kinds of vitamins, proteins, dyes, and enzymes.

EVERY has been working with commercial customers for several years, but you can now buy it as a shelf stable powder. At $24 for the equivalent of 45 egg whites ($0.53 each) it's more expensive than buying conventional ($0.21 each) or organic ($0.33) egg whites, but not massively so.

I learned about them from a coworker who made an angel food cake, and I've since made flourless chocolate cake [...]

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First published:
April 4th, 2026

Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/3bnsWnWG3uaNdAjLZ/chicken-free-egg-whites

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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

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Images from the article:

Round chocolate cake on white surface with crumbs scattered.

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“Chicken-Free Egg Whites” by jefftk

LessWrong (30+ Karma)