Need help for party??

Here is something from Google that may be of help

I would ask the kid's parents for a recipe. If something goes wrong there will be hell to pay. I would want to know exactly what the allergy was and who diagnosed it. I think that a lot of people make assumptions about allergies. For instance, if the kid ate a bag of nuts, three dozen doughnuts, and a quart of orange soda and then vomited, they assume that the kid is allergic to nuts. If the child is indeed allergic to nuts, there is a great risk of a life threatening reaction. Even a small amount of peanut butter from your kid's morning toast could be a problem. You kitchen might not be a safe place in that case. On the other hand, if the allergies are selfdiagnosed, any random misfortune might be attributed to you like the kid not being picked as the student of the month.

I'd search google for something. If you are allergic to eggs would you be allergic to meringue powder as well? I know that I'll use meringue powder instead of eggs for some recipes. If that works for allergies as well you could google for gingerbread+meringue.

I did find a recipe at

The cookies don't have eggs and it is pretty close to a recipe I usually use. I'd use similar spices but I'd drop the cardamon and nutmeg and add 1/4 to

1/2 tsp pepper.

Meringue powder = dried egg white.

But are people allergic to eggs allergic to the egg whites, the yolks or both? Obviously, if you are allergic to the egg whites you are allergic to meringue powder.

That's the $64,000 question. Do you want to experiment on someone's kids after being told they are allergic to eggs? As I mentioned in an earlier post, this has all the makings of litigation. I would want exact details. What exactly are they allergic to? Who diagnosed it? What happens when they eat eggs? Ultimately it wouldn't be worth the bother. I would just ask the parent to give me a recipe. If it is a serious allergy they have already solved the problem either by finding an acceptable recipe or deciding not to eat eggs or nuts. Why reinvent the wheel when doing so may put someone at risk of a serious reaction and subject yourself to litigation? When someone tells you their kids are allergic to eggs and then you feed them eggs, then you are probably willfully negligent. Insurance companies often refuse to pay claims resulting from willful negligence. You could lose your home over a cookie.

Food allergies are frequently protein sensitivities - the primary example is nut allergy, where studies have repeatedly shown that people with severe peanut allergies had no reaction to foods cooked with peanut oil, if they didn't know it was there. Modern seed crushing and oil extraction methods leave basically no protein present in consumer grade and commercial grade oils - though i do remember some cloudy bottles of peanut oil in my youth.

Albumen is pretty much protein and water, and the websites that come up when you type "egg allergy" into google indicate that most egg sensitivities are albumen sensitivities, though some are sensitive to the yolk. Also that kids generally outgrow this sensitivity by the age of 5 or so.

So, someone allergic to eggs is likely to be allergic to meringue powder.

With parents these days, over-reacting to everything, it's entirely possible that the kid is over it and they don't know because they've never tried it again. But that's your neck to stick out, not mine. I do know a family with kids that are sensitive to all sorts of things, including corn. I am well acquainted with their family and believe their allergy issues to be genuine.

People, and indeed animals, can be sensitive to just about anything. Generally allergies are related to very large molecules, and nearly always these are proteins.

I don't know how sensitivity to metals - e.g. nickel - fits into this.

My sister's dog, a black & tan german pinscher, the poor thing, she's actually allergic to herself, and has skin problems if not bathed regularly. It's a side-effect of a natural defense against insects, and many humans are allergic to her sweat and saliva as well. I get a rash if she slobbers on me and i don't wash up within a few minutes, and I've never been allergic to any other animal. My brother Andrew gets a rash if he pets her. And my brother Jens can't be in the same house as her.

*Highly refined* hot-pressed peanut oil appears to be safe; cold pressed oil (often called "gourmet") is not.

Interesting. I did a quick check and egg yolks have almost as much protein as egg whites. So I guess there is a strong chance someone might be allergic to both.

My wife's family has a lot of allergies. They try things every once in a while just to see if they are still allergic. My brother-in-law is anaphallaxic (sp?) to peanuts so he will not try that but he has tried other things he was allergic to as a kid and found he is not allergic to many of them now.

I guess the people in my area are different. Everyone I know who has kids is willing to test every so often. Mind you, we have free health care so I can go to an allergist and get tested for free whenever I want.

What about shell fish? Is that a protein thing as well?

That is sad. I wonder if that is what is wrong with my dog. For the last year or so he is always red and scratching. Maybe I need to bathe him more often. Then we have the problem of dry skin. 8^(

I'm not suggesting anyone experiment with some kid. Talking to the kid's parents is a sensible choice but I wouldn't do it because I fear litigation. Maybe the parents are willing to see if the kid is still allergic to eggs. If it is not a severe allergy it might be worth trying. They can just keep some Reactine or Aerius around to relieve the itching.

If it was a friend's kid I would be willing to put forth the effort. Then again, I have never known anyone to sue anyone over something like this.

I have years of experience with this subject in the medical field. People often say they are allergic to things when they aren't. When you start asking questions you find that they have no idea why they think they have an allergy or the consequences of eating something or taking a particular drug are not consistent with an allergic reaction. There are a variety of reasons why this happens. Unfortunately you never know for sure so you have to play it safe. This is doubly true with kids because you can't get reliable information from them in an interview. I think some parents say that the kids have allergies because it makes them "special"

One problem with the "try and see" method that you suggest is that if they are truly allergic to something, the next reaction could be anaphylaxis. You may have a mild to moderate reaction with the first couple of exposures and then have a massive, life-threatening reaction.

There are egg substitutes that you can use instead of eggs. They can often be found in the Kosher section of a supermarket's dairy area, and come in cartons. No egg at all... totally vegetable. I know SOME people who use it in baking...

Also, if the allergy is to the yoke, you can buy egg white and use it instead. That is a common allergy, but you need to check with the allergist to be certain.

has thefollowing as egg substitutes [I've removed the ones that add their ownflavour]. * 1/4 cup of any kind of tofu blended with the liquid ingredients in the recipe. Light or reduced-fat tofu cuts down on the fat and calories in the finished product.

• 1-1/2 teaspoons of a commercial vegetarian egg substitute, such as Ener-G Egg Replacer, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water. This product is a combination of vegetable starches and works wonderfully in virtually any recipe that calls for eggs. Natural foods stores sell it in 1-pound boxes.

coversthat egg replacer, which you likely can make yourself as theingredient list is provided.] * A heaping tablespoon of soy flour or bean flour mixed with atablespoon of water. This mixture works similarly to vegetarian eggreplacer.

• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch beaten with 2 tablespoons of water. This, too, works much like vegetarian egg replacer.

• 1 tablespoon of finely ground flaxseeds whipped with 1/4 cup of water. The flaxseeds gel and bind with the other ingredients.

R.S. (Bob) Heuman - Toronto, ON, Canada ======================================================= Independent Computer Security Consulting Web Site Auditing for Compliance with Standards or Copyright retained. My opinions - no one else's... If this is illegal where you are, do not read it!

don't know whether you found a receipe or not but you could try the gingerbread receipe at

Just search for gingerbread. It is an English receipe so you may find it difficult to get ingredients. I have a friend with an egg allergy so I know how difficult it is to find receipes without eggs in.

Sarah