Reintroduction of egg for children with an egg allergy

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What is this information about?

This information is about how you can safely give your child egg to eat at home if they have an egg allergy and have had an allergic reaction to egg in the past. It has recipes for foods with egg in them that you can give your child at different stages as they become less allergic to egg.

Why have I been given this information?

You have been given this information as your child has had an allergic reaction to egg. It will help you to reintroduce egg into your child’s diet.

When do children usually get an egg allergy?

Children usually get an egg allergy when they are infants or toddlers. Babies and young children with eczema are more likely to have an egg allergy. In the UK two in a hundred children will have developed an egg allergy by the time they are two years old. 

Allergic symptoms often start after children eat egg for the first time. In some children an egg allergy can gradually go away so that they’re not allergic to egg any more by the time they’re old enough to start school. For other children it can take longer for the allergy to go away, or they might always have it.

Does the way eggs are cooked change how likely they are to trigger allergic reactions?

Yes. Lightly cooked egg (like scrambled egg) is more likely to start an allergic reaction than egg which is well cooked, such as egg baked in a cake.

Children with an egg allergy can often eat egg which has been baked without having an allergic reaction.

What is baked egg, and can it help children to grow out of their egg allergy?

Yes. Baked egg is egg that is used as an ingredient along with flour and cooked in the oven. Cake is one example of food with baked egg in it. Eating baked egg often may help your child to grow out of their egg allergy.

If your child has an allergic reaction:

How can I introduce baked egg at home?

STEP 1: Make the following cakes

Mini Apple Cakes (makes 8)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 100g apple puree (jar or pouch) or 25g sugar
• 50g vegetable oil
• 80g plain flour 1 level tsp baking powder

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C fan or gas 4 and prepare 8 fairy cake cases
2. Mix the apple puree, egg and oil in a bowl until smooth
3. Add the flour and baking powder & mix
4. Divide the mixture equally amongst the cases and bake for 15 minutes.
5. The cakes can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days

STEP 2: Reintroducing egg into the diet.

Only start to introduce egg into your child’s diet when your child is well.

1. Give your child a pea-sized piece of cake to eat (see example in the image). Watch your child for symptoms for the next two hours.
2. If no symptoms appear, the next day, give your child another piece of cake that is twice the size.
3. Watch your child again for symptoms for two hours.
4. Double the amount of cake every day until one mini apple cake has been eaten. This should take about seven days.

What if my child will not eat cake?

If your child dislikes the taste or texture of cake, try:

• crumbling the cake into their usual breakfast cereal or yogurt.
• adding some of your child’s usual milk to the cake to make a paste and then stir it into fruit puree.
• using one of the other recipes given below.

Alternative recipes to cake

The following recipes can be used instead of cake in the same quantity given for the cake under STEP 2 above.

Sweet or Savoury Pancake sheet – makes 1 sheet to be cut into 8 portions

Ingredients:

• 1 medium egg (beaten)
• 200g self-raising flour.
• 1 tsp baking powder.
• 250ml milk
• 100g preferred chopped or grated fruit or vegetable that is already eaten in the diet such as raspberries, blackberries or roasted peppers.

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180C or gas mark 4
2. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
3. Mix all the ingredients apart from the fruit together
4. Pour the mixture onto the baking tray.
5. Pop the washed, chopped fruit or veg on the top
6. Bake for at least 20 minutes until golden
7. Cut into 8 portions

Banana Cookies. Makes 8 toddler size cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 75g dairy free margarine
• 140g plain flour
• 1 level tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 40g raisins

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 180C or gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with grease proof paper
2. Mix the flour, baking powder and margarine to form fine breadcrumbs
3. Add the beaten egg, vanilla extra and raisins mix thoroughly
4. Using a spoon divide the mixture into 8 round shaped portions onto the baking tray. Flatten with a fork
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown
6. Allow to cool before serving

Potato Rosti. Makes 8 rosti

Ingredients:

• 1 large (200 to 250g) white potato, peeled
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 1 onion, peeled
• 75g plain flour
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 1tsp dried thyme or parsley (optional)
• Oil or oil spray (optional)

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 190C or gas mark 5 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper
2. Coarsely grate the potato, carrot and onion
3. Wrap the grated vegetables in a clean tea towel; squeeze as much water out as possible
4. Add the beaten egg and mix well
5. Add the flour and stir
6. Using your hands make 8 rosti balls. Place onto the lined baking tray and flatten with a fork
7. Spray with an oil spray or drizzle with oil to give a crispy texture (optional)
8. Bake for 30 minutes and allow to cool slightly before serving

STEP 3: Moving on

Once your child is managing baked egg two to three times a week you can increase the amount of egg you add to the recipes. This can be done by simply increasing the number of eggs in the recipes above from one egg to two eggs. Give the food the same way as in STEP 2:

1. Give your child a pea-sized piece of cake to eat (see example in the image). Watch your child for symptoms for the next two hours.
2. If no symptoms appear, the next day, give your child another piece of cake that is twice the size.
3. Watch your child again for symptoms for two hours.
4. Double the amount of cake every day until one mini apple cake has been eaten. This should take about seven days.

STEP 4: Next steps

If your child is managing one mini apple cake or a portion of food from the alternative recipes above, then baked egg can become a regular part of your child’s diet. Aim to give your child baked egg least two to three times a week. Below are some foods that you can buy in a shop that could be used. You will need to make sure they contain egg.

• plain cakes, sponge fingers, brioche, croissants, biscuits & cookies. Remember, no icing that contains egg
• glaze on pastry. For example, sausage rolls
• sausages, meatballs, gravy granules, gluten free bread
• dried egg noodles and fresh egg pasta. Be aware, these must be cooked for ten minutes
• Quorn products
• precooked frozen Yorkshire puddings
• ready-made pancakes and scotch pancakes

Once your child has been eating baked egg at least two to three a week for around six months it is time to try them with egg that has been cooked in other ways. This may be boiled or scrambled. This is called well-cooked egg. They should continue to have the baked egg in the diet as well. It’s best to start with well-cooked hard-boiled egg.

How to introduce well-cooked hard-boiled egg at home

STEP 1: Boil a medium sized egg

Boil a medium sized egg in a saucepan of boiling water for at least ten minutes. Both the white and the yolk should be well cooked. How you feed your child the egg will depend on their age. Below is the suggested way of doing it.

STEP 2: Introducing well-cooked hard-boiled egg into the diet.

Only introduce well-cooked hard-boiled egg into your child’s diet when your child is well.

1. Mash the hard-boiled egg in a bowl.
2. Give your child ½ a flat teaspoon of the hard-boiled egg.
3. You should then watch your child for symptoms for the next two hours.
4. If no symptoms appear, the next day, give your child 1 flat teaspoon of the hard-boiled egg.
5. Continue doubling the amount of hard-boiled egg daily until one hard-boiled egg is eaten. This should take about seven days.
6. Try to offer your child equivalent to one hard-boiled egg a week.
7. If there is a reaction, then the previously tolerated baked egg should be continued, and introduction of well-cooked hard-boiled egg tried again after 3 to 6 months.

Hard-boiled egg has a strong taste so it can be added to other foods or made into a sandwich. If your child enjoys the taste and is age appropriate, slices of hard-boiled egg can be given as a finger food or picky meal.

STEP 3: Introducing other forms of cooked egg into the diet.

Once your child can eat well-cooked hard-boiled egg without having an allergic reaction, other forms of cooked egg can be offered such as a well-cooked scrambled egg or omelette. Repeat STEP 2 above using well-cooked scrambled egg made with one egg.

STEP 4: Cooked egg and cooked egg products

Once your child can eat hard-boiled and scrambled egg without having an allergic reaction, they can try other foods with cooked egg in them such as:

• fried egg (the yolk, yellow part, should be cooked through)
• omelette
• poached egg (the yolk, yellow part, should be cooked through)
• quiche
• French toast
• heated sauces. For example, hollandaise sauce
• batter made with egg
• egg custard
• bread and butter pudding
• fresh egg pasta
• pancake cooked in frying pan
• shop-bought meringues

If your child can eat cooked egg without having an allergic reaction this usually means that they have outgrown their egg allergy and you should include egg as part of their normal diet.

If your child has an allergic reaction to the foods in STEP 4 then go back to giving the types of food containing egg that they have been able to eat without an allergic reaction, like those in STEP 3. Try introducing the foods in STEP 4 again after three to six months.

How to introduce raw or less well-cooked egg at home

Once your child has been able to regularly eat foods with well-cooked egg in them without having an allergic reaction for six months, you can gradually introduce foods with less well-cooked or raw egg in them into their diet. It is these foods that your child is likely to take longest to grow out of.

Start by giving your child one small mouthful of them. For example, a lick of an ice cream that has egg in it or a teaspoon of mousse. Slowly increase the amount offered each time.

These are some examples of food containing less well-cooked or raw egg:

• ‘dippy’ uncooked boiled, fried or poached egg
• home-made mousse
• home-made mayonnaise
• some Ice cream especially fresh and luxury types
• freshly made sorbet
• royal icing (fresh and powdered icing sugar) & soft mallow
• fondant icing inside a Cadbury’s crème egg®
• tartar sauce
• raw egg in cake mix and other dishes that haven’t been cooked yet (children of all ages love to taste raw mixture from the mixing bowl or spoon!)
• chocolate bars containing egg in their filling e.g. Milky way®, Mars bar®

A summary of foods that commonly contain egg

Who can I contact if I need help or advice or want to give feedback?