Morning Moo's Dried Egg Product - Egg Mix (Powdered Eggs)

I was having a brief discussion with some siblings about food storage.  I mentioned that I used Powdered Eggs more than I thought I ever would.

My brother thought that was pretty funny... but only because he never knew such a thing existed.

So, are you ready for another Food Storage Review?

Dried Egg Product - Egg Mix

First of all, there are a LOT of different types of egg products out there for food storage.  There are powdered eggs, egg mix, egg whites, yolks, and more.  I have yet to try them all.

Although I will share all the information I have currently, I am hoping to get more in the future.

The Basics: (text taken directly from can)

Directions: Add three Tbsp. dry egg mix to three Tbsp. warm water and mix well.  Cook as desired.

Use in omlets, french toast, etc.

(For this particular brand, 2 Tbsp. egg mix + 2 Tbsp. water = 1 egg)

When using with other dry ingredients, it is not necessary to reconstitute the Whole Egg Powder.  Simply add them dry together with dry ingredients and increase liquid requirements by necessary amounts.

Ingredients: Pasturized Whole eggs, non-fat dry milk, vegetable oil (may contain soybean oil or corn oil), salt.

Contains dairy and eggs.

Processed in a plant that handles wheat, egg, dairy, soybean, peanut, and tree nut products.

Contents can be stored up to 10-15 years under proper storage conditions.

No preservatives added.

Store in acool dry place.

Here is what it looks like:

Lets try them!

Like it mentioned, if using them in a recipe, simply add them to the dry ingredients.  Add the water necessary to the wet ingredients and blend together.

I made pancakes... the batter looks pretty normal to me.

How about just plain eggs?

On the left is our powdered egg mix, with regular eggs on the right.

I used 2 eggs for each.

Here are the finished products - powdered egg mix on the left, and regular eggs on the right.

Now lets do a Quality Check:

Smell: The powder itself has a slightly sweet smell to it.  It smells absolutely nothing like eggs.

When used in recipes there is no noticable difference.

As soon as you mix it with water it begins to take on the egg smell... only not a pleasant one.  I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't stick my head in the bowl, so it isn't powerful.

When scrambled, there is a slightly 'off' smell, but not enough for it to be un-appetizing.  Just different.

Taste: Absolutely no noticable difference when used in recipes.

When scrambled... there is obviously a noticable taste difference, but they are probably the best powdered eggs I've tried (and I've had my share). 

Some brands I could only down when they were smothered with a large helping of syrup. 

I was suprised that I took several bites and didn't want to puke.  I could eat these... not even just in an emergency.

The other thing to note is that I tried them plain, just adding salt and pepper.  They would be much better in an omlet, with the aid of other flavors.  And I have used them to make french toast, with no noticable taste difference.

The thing that throws me off most is the texture...

Texture: Regular eggs have a light, airy texture; a quality that allows them to be used in so many wonderful ways.  When dehydrated, they lose this ability.

Eating any type of powdered egg, when scrambled, you will notice it has a heavier, thicker consistency.  The outsides crisp up just like a regular egg, but the inside is still moist, and dense, not light and airy.

The powder itself contains moisture, so if you pack it together, it will stick (like brown sugar).  This can produce small lumps when using in a recipe, so I like to whisk the dry ingredients together to break it all up before adding the wet ingredients.

As you probably noticed from the picture, when mixed with water, it is still quite runny.  It's like pouring water into a skillet and expecting it to harden.  But miraculously it does.

The down side to this is when making french toast.  The bread soaks up a great deal more than it would with regular eggs.  But, as I mentioned before, I couldn't taste a difference.

Looks: The biggest difference is the lack of egg whites - scrambled powdered eggs are completely yellow.  They also combine into smaller, thicker clumps, as you can see in the photo above.

I have never noticed a difference in the way a recipe looks when using powdered eggs.  I once made Butterhorn rolls (which called for 12 eggs), and they still turned out looking the same.

What about the Nutrition Facts?:

Regular Eggs vs. Egg Mix

Calories: 70  vs. 155

Calories from Fat: 40 vs. 90

Total Fat: 4.5g vs. 5g

Sat. Fat: 1.5g vs. 2g

Trans Fat: 0g vs. 0g

Cholesterol: 215mg vs. 0mg

Sodium: 65 mg vs. 63mg

Total Carb: less than 1g vs. 5g

Protein: 6g vs. 6g

So... the egg mix contains over double the calories, a little more fat, and more carbs. 

Regular eggs contain more colesterol. 

Everything else is pretty similar.

So how much do you get?

This #10 can uses 2 Tbsp. of powder per egg, and contains enough powder for 96 eggs

What about Price?:

Powdered egg mixes usually run around $15 (on sale), or $20 regularly

So... that would be .15 and one half cent per egg (on sale), and .20 cents per egg (regularly)

And depending on how many you buy, you could probably get fresh eggs for .06-.08 cents each.

So price is about double for egg mix.

(This particular brand uses 2 Tbsp. per egg.  I should mention that there are some powdered egg products that only require 1 Tbsp. of powder, which would essentially double your amount of eggs, depending on how much they include... but I'll get to that later).

Going back to the price however, you have to take into account the Shelf Life:

Sealed #10 cans of powdered egg mix can be stored for 10-15 years under proper conditions.

Once the can is opened, I have used it over a period of 12 months with no noticable differences.

The fact that it doesn't have to be refrigerated or used within a few weeks makes up for the price in my opinion.

Now lets talk Brand Differences:

Like I said, I haven't tried them all, but I do have experience. 

The first can I ever tried, if I can remember correctly, was Morning Moo's Whole Egg mix.  It required only 1 Tbsp. of powder per egg, but I was NOT satisfied! 

Not only did the powder reek worse than anything I have ever experienced, but they did not scramble.  They were good only to be added to recipes.

 However, I should add that Morning Moo's has discontinued one of their egg products.  My most recent trip to the store made me believe that it was the one I am talking about, but I can't be sure.

Despite the smell and lack of scrambling, having them for cooking was still convenient enough for me to try another type... and I'm glad that I did.

Personally, the smell alone of the egg mix brand I am reviewing today is worth using twice as much powder (yes, the first brand was THAT bad).

And the taste is much better.

Another thing I should add is that there are brands that offer powdered eggs with imitation bacon bits.  These taste better (because of the bacon), but I would not recommend them.  Having the bacon would limit you on your abilities... you could only use them for breakfast, not in your recipes. 

Unless you are going to be eating eggs every morning for breakfast, I would recommend buying your bacon bits seperately (because yes, they do offer those in bulk).

Aside from this Egg Product Mix, there are also powdered whole eggs available.  I haven't tried these yet, but the only difference is the ingredients.  The egg mix we are talking about contains powdered milk and oil.  The whole eggs are 100% egg.  They use the same amount of powder, but only have a shelf life of up to 5 years.

Basically, I would definately recommend Dried Egg Product Egg Mix for your powdered egg needs.

I am sure there will be more powdered egg reviews in the future, but this would be a good brand for you to try first.

I guess that would answer my next question... Yes, they are worth it.

During a period of me testing my food storage abilities I didn't have fresh eggs for 2-3 months (at least).

These provided everything I needed in an egg minus the physical attributes that accompany real eggs such as coating a pork chop or whipping whites to become stiff.  Which, if you think about it, could easily be left out or substitued in an emergency situation.

Realistically, these are a major pantry staple at my house.  I never have to borrow eggs from the neighbors!

So, if you are going to add them to your food storage, how much do you need?

How many eggs do you generally go through?
12 cans would average about 3 eggs per day for a year
7 cans equates to just under 2 eggs per day for a year.

The most important thing is to think realistically.  If your breakfasts mostly consist of cereal (or other store-bought items), that you wouldn't have access to in an emergency, you would have to start cooking more, which would require more eggs than what you use right now.

Personally, when our family went without fresh eggs, we used anywhere between 2-3 eggs per day; so 1 can would last us a month and a half or so.

If you do a lot of baking you would want to increase your storage amount - if you hardly ever use eggs, decrease it, but don't go without.  You never notice how many things require eggs until you don't have any.

Remember, this estimate was based off of NEVER having fresh eggs. 

But because powdered egg mix has such a long shelf life, you can buy several cans and use them sparingly over 15 years, replacing as necessary - without having to waste anything.

Which to me, is the whole point of food storage!

**UPDATED 11/11/13
Morning Moo's product has been out of the grocery store for quiet a few years, so I thought I'd throw in my recommendation for where I get the powdered eggs I currently use to date.  They are actually a better product than the Morning Moo's mentioned above, and they are also available online, so you are not restricted dependent upon your location.  Click the link below for more information:
Thrive Whole Egg Powder
Just as the name implies, these are whole eggs, not egg substitute.  That means that the only ingredient is eggs, which I love.  Because of this, the shelf life is 3 years sealed, and 1 year once opened.  They also carry egg whites and scrambled egg mix, all of which I think are fantastic products.