Costlier eggs to make Christmas expensive for Mumbaikars

Alefiya Jane runs ‘She Bakes’ in Dahisar

Alefiya Jane will not be making date rolls, among other items, this Christmas because of the rising prices of eggs in the city. While there are many other items on her menu that need eggs, the Uttan local says it is impossible for her to make the sweet treats without eggs. "The only reason I have not made date rolls this time is because eggs are expensive, and I have to use the egg yolk to brush the date rolls," she says, continuing, "I cannot afford the extra cost of the eggs for them because I would need to buy eggs worth at least Rs 200-300 for the amount I usually make, which is a lot."

Jane, a home baker who runs ‘She Bakes' in Dahisar, feels the pinch even more because she makes a wide variety of gourmet and bespoke cakes. She adds, "Eggs are crucial binding material for my cakes because their quality depends on the binding material that I am using depending on the clients I am catering for. For my heirloom recipe, I have had to make a vegetarian version to factor in the cost of dry fruits."

Pearl Dsouza's Christmas menu also includes cookies

While it is okay to give alcohol a miss, it is impossible to not use eggs. The 37-year-old prefers to buy premium eggs from Henfruit instead of the local seller as she is quite particular about their freshness. She buys a carton having 10 eggs for Rs 110, but the local ones, she says, have gone from R75 to R81-82. "The eggs I use are more yellow and much better tasting and also don't have the after smell."

Bakers like Jane highlight that the cost of sugar and butter has also increased along with dry fruits, making it even more challenging for them. "I would have to increase the cost of my heirloom cake on the Christmas menu by about Rs 200-300 this year," shares Jane, who says it happens because she wants to maintain the quality and doesn't want to compromise on the eggs. "I would also have to decrease the quantity of my cake and increase the rate to factor in the quality for it to stay the same."

Jane would be selling the cakes this season priced at Rs 1,200 for 500 grams against the usual price of Rs 950 for 750 grams. Pearl Dsouza, another home baker from Bhayandar who runs Pearl Cakes, says while buying it in bulk may not make much of a difference, but buying eggs for one cake does. Apart from cakes, her Christmas menu also includes cookies, cupcakes, marzipans, and other Christmas sweets, most of which are made using eggs.

Pearl Cakes in Bhayandar

"People who buy a single cake do not understand that the butter, eggs, and even sugar is costing us so much to make one cake. They bargain, and it is difficult for home bakers to deal with it," shares Dsouza, who says that home bakers have to often face the brunt of this price rise. Just like Jane, Dsouza, too, increased the prices of her items by Rs 200 based on current costs, but that was before the prices of eggs increased.

"This year, the increase has been a major difference compared to the other years because of the prices of butter, eggs, and sugar, too," she says. Dsouza, who usually gets a discount of Rs 75 on a bulk order of 100 eggs, is now getting only Rs 50. Dsouza observes that the prices of eggs have gone up from Rs 70 to Rs 85 before they shot up to Rs 100.