ExclusiveRecipes of the Great Depression and World War 2 offer creative egg substitutes

During the past few months, egg prices have risen to all-time highs. The bird flu, which has spurred widespread culling of US egg-laying hens, has caused egg shortages as well as shockingly high prices. Because of this, some people are looking for more affordable, readily available alternatives to the increasingly precious egg. This search is nothing new. Two major disasters in the early 20th century, the Great Depression and World War II, forced American and British cooks to find creative alternatives as they faced high prices, shortages, and rationing of foodstuffs.
When the Great Depression caused widespread poverty in America, many families couldn’t afford eggs. Thus, housewives came up with creative substitutes, especially in baking, resulting in recipes like Crazy Cake and Water Pie. During World War II, Americans had to limit or do without many of their favorite ingredients, like sugar, coffee, beef, and processed goods, because of shipping restrictions or because the war effort took priority. Luckily, eggs remained a convenient source of protein and nutrition, since they weren’t heavily rationed in America. However, the shortage of grain led to so many hens’ death that British citizens were left with just one fresh egg per week. Besides that, they had to turn to substitutes, like potatoes, or use dried eggs in tins from the US.