The “what-are-we-going-to-do- about-Passover-with-the-shortage-and-high-cost-of-eggs?” as discussed on the front page of this week’s IJN, harkens back to a very different time when eggs were considered enemies of the state — they were unhealthy!
Not so long ago, health conscious people avoided eggs like the plague because prevailing scientific thinking said they contained too much artery-clogging cholesterol.
That led to all kinds of egg substitutes, which didn’t taste very good and who-know-what-they-were-made-of?
That led to throwing out egg yolks and cooking only with egg whites.
That led to cookbooks galore with recipes that excised eggs and pushed substitutes like applesauce to give baked goods the qualities that eggs normally provide.
That led to Passover cookbooks and recipe columns devoted to eggless work-arounds for eggs-asperated cooks.
Then, after some further scientific nutritional research (remember, believe the science!), eggs got a reprieve. There weren’t so bad after all. In fact, they were rebranded as the perfect protein, healthier than meat! Plus, they were perfectly pareve, indispensable for the kosher kitchen.
Alas, eggs are now in short supply due to avian flu and animal sacrifices (chickens in the millions). Alas, eggs, if found, can only be purchased after taking out a second mortgage.
Alas, Jewish meal planners are wringing their hands about how to come up with Passover-compliant meals for a whole week without eggs (perish the thought), or (two-penny relief) without as many eggs as usual. As written in Scripture, it is hard enough to get a cake to rise without leavening — but without eggs??
Rabbi Mordecai Twerski once told a reporter for the Intermountain Jewish News who was doing a story on healthier Passover eating that he prefers to make Passover food as simple and as basic as possible, without all the commercially processed Passover products. He suggested simple, pure foods, unadulterated, vegetables, fruits — remember those?
That same approach could apply to using few eggs, or (perish the thought) no eggs this Passover, beyond the very minimal requirements for the seder.
That might mean sacrificing so many people’s favorite Passover dish — matzah brei — or (worse?) having it only once for the entire holiday.
Alternative: Make friends with a vegan and find out how they do Passover.
© IJN 2025
