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I had a great low fat recipe for a squash pie that had in it four eggs. I tried to take only the egg-whites with no yolk but the pie didn't come out right. It just didn't coke completely, it took about 2 hours till it was almost cooked (instead of 1 hour) and the inside wouldn't cook while the top was almost burnt. it didn't rise i.e. it was shallow in its height. In addition to not putting the yolk in, I also forgot to preheat the stove.

Does anybody know how can I make the pie well without the yolk? Was this only a preheating the stove problem?

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    I don't want to get into a health debate - but the majority of 'good stuff' in eggs, is in the yolk. And most of the 'bad stuff' in it, is really a bunch of over eager media attention.
    – rfusca
    Nov 20, 2011 at 22:38
  • What about cholesterol and calories?
    – lital maatuk
    Nov 20, 2011 at 22:49
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    Welcome to Seasoned Advice. We welcome questions on substitutions (including low-fat/low-cholesterol/etc.) but please refrain from making general health claims in questions or answers. We are here to answer questions about cooking; if you have concerns about nutrition, consult a dietitian.
    – Aaronut
    Nov 20, 2011 at 22:56
  • A pumpkin pie isn't supposed to rise.
    – Marti
    Nov 21, 2012 at 17:16

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Since my wife is on a low-cholesterol diet, I often substitute egg whites for whole eggs in may recipes. I have never had the rising issue you describe; if anything, egg whites have more rising power than egg yolks. Think of a souffle; it's mostly egg whites.

So if your pie isn't rising, it's for some other reason. Given that you cooked it for 2 hours without it being completely done, I suspect that in addition to not pre-heating the oven your oven never really got up to the right temperature -- or you got the recipe wrong, or it's just a terrible recipe.

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When eggs- and especially whites- are beaten in a batter air is incorporated. When the batter is baked at a high temperature the air and moisture puff up the batter with a lot of steam.

If your oven was not preheated then the puffing would not have happened. The batter would stay very dense and without the increased volume it would fail to bake all the way through.

Egg yolks add, besides a lot of flavor, a fair bit of fat. They will whip a little air in but nothing compared to the whites. The fat, in a custard pie which squash pies often are, makes a much smoother texture. Leaving them out would effect the texture and flavor but not the results that you saw.

Blame it on your oven.

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