Between the chicken and the egg now comes a plant substitute

Indians have long accepted the phenomenon of “eggless” confections, especially as it makes a wide array of comestibles available to vegetarians. After all, India is the only country where being non-carnivore is the default assumption rather than non-vegetarian as in the west.

From cakes and pastries to mayonnaise, custard and ice-creams, there are many viands that vegetarians no longer have to chicken out of eating thanks to Indian ingenuity, egged on by market demand no doubt.

Given that the rest of the world is also waking up to the vegetarian ethos, it should not surprise Indians that a Bill Gates-backed San Francisco start-up that hatched a plan for plant-based substitutes that copy eggs taste for taste and even in nutritional value and cooking properties, has now got additional funding for research.

It is heartening to note that they have identified 22 functional features of eggs and aim to replicate these with non-animal alternatives to make “plant eggs”. The appeal of such a product among a health-conscious clientele is obvious, but any slip-up could leave them with egg on their faces.

And, as India takes the cake when it comes to all matters eggless despite being the world’s largest producer of eggs after China and the US, those scrambling to market “veggs” here in the future may find this a hard market to crack.