The Magic of Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the liquid that chickpeas and other pulses are cooked in.
I thought writing an article on aquafaba would be fairly straightforward, bland even, but then I embarked on a full vegan meringue adventure and discovered that aquafaba is literally MAGIC!
Aquafaba, or as I like to affectionately call it “magical bean juice,” is the liquid that chickpeas are cooked and canned in. “Aquafaba” is a combination of the latin words for water and bean—aqua and faba. Usually I dump this precious stuff down the drain, but then I saw several Pinterest pages and footnotes in recipes that were talking about how you can use aquafaba to mimic egg whites in vegan recipes. The idea that I could make something delicious from something I previously viewed as food waste got me so excited.
Vegan replacements that actually act like their animal product counterparts can be tough to find. Mimicking the texture of something like eggs when baked or whipped means there has to be a lot happening chemically in order for things to feel “normal.” Aquafaba, has risen to the top with vegan bakers after a french cook realized that it could be used as an egg substitute and foaming agent in 2014. Aquafaba has really expanded the realm of what’s possible with vegan baking —which many of us are very, very thankful for.
Pulses, like beans and lentils, contain a relatively high amount of carbohydrates, primarily in the form of starch. Starch itself is composed of two polysaccharides—amylose and amylopectin
When pulses like chickpeas are cooked, the starches absorb water and eventually break down, causing amylose, amylopectin, some proteins and some sugars to leach into the water. Once this happens...bam! You’ve got that thick aquafaba we’re all familiar with. If you’re cooking dry chickpeas yourself and are rehydrating them, you will likely have a soaking step. The water that you soak them in is not aquafaba, but rather, the liquid they are actually cooked in. This cooking liquid does work just as well as the canned version, and we always support purchasing dry beans in bulk!
Aquafaba can be stored in the fridge for up to a week before use.
Now if you’re not a big chickpea fan, you might be wondering if other bean liquids can be used as aquafaba. Chickpeas are the most common because they have such a neutral taste and the liquid is white when whipped. However, from our understanding, you could use the same liquid from other beans, like white beans, but chickpeas seem to be the most common in recipes that we can find.
Me? I live off of chickpeas. As someone recently diagnosed with a soy allergy, chickpeas are my absolute favorite protein source. I make hummus, throw them in pasta salad and curries, and roast them into little crispies all the time. The realization that I can make more delicious things from a byproduct that has previously been going to waste has me filling every extra jar in my fridge with aquafaba (if you don’t know what they are, you might think they’re urine so I recommend a label if you have roommates…). As someone who eats chickpeas pretty much everyday, I usually end up with more on my hands than I can use. However, it can be stored for up to a week in the fridge. Which means you can spend your entire weekend making vegan baked goods! Well, I know I will…
“What can I use it for beyond baked goods?” Aquafaba is often used by bartenders to replace foamy egg whites in cocktails (have you seen our Drinking Responsibly series?) and is a great way to make vegan mayo for sandwiches or salad dressing (did you see our salad dressing guide?).
Have you used aquafaba for anything? We’d love to hear about how it went!
