What is Aquafaba and How to Make It
Aquafaba or ‘water-bean’ is the viscous liquid drained from the cooked legume seeds. You can get aquafaba from the liquid leftover found in canned or cooked chickpeas. Though it is a recent addition in the ever-growing food culture, it is gradually being widely recognized for its affordability, accessibility and vegan characteristics.
If you are someone who regularly uses chickpeas in numerous recipes, then you may be already familiar with the aquafaba. While you can directly use the liquid aquafaba as an alternative of egg white, you can also widen the usage range by spending a few more minutes in whipping it up and creating an all-purpose aquafaba.
Uses of Aquafaba
Aquafaba is mostly known as one of the cheapest and simplest egg substitutes. If you are a vegan or enjoy trying different food variations, you will be amazed at the versatility of aquafaba. Here are some of the most popular uses of this wonderful food item:
- Alternative of Egg White
The liquid aquafaba can be used in many recipes where you require an egg binder. Aquafaba mayo is one of these recipes that also comes packed with flavor.
- Alternative of Whipped Egg White
Gluten-free waffles, macaroons, Yorkshire pudding, buttercream, cheese- name any of your favorite sweet or savory recipe requiring whipped egg whites, chances are that you can replace it with whipped aquafaba.
Aquafaba Recipe
Ingredients
- Chickpeas/ Canned chickpeas – 1 15-oz. can
- Cream of tartar (optional) – 1/8 tsp.
Instructions
- Drain the Chickpeas
If you are using canned chickpeas, carefully drain the chickpeas in a large mixing bowl. For making aquafaba, you want to reserve the liquid instead of the chickpeas. 1 15-oz (425g) can may yield about 1/2 cup of liquid which produce 2-3 cups of aquafaba after the whipping process.
As for the home-cooked chickpeas, you can go for the steaming, boiling, microwaving or pressure cooking to form the liquid aquafaba. After you have gained at least 1/2 cup of liquid, drain it and pour it in a mixing bowl. While you advance into the next step, keep the cooked chickpeas in a separate container for using in another recipe.
- Whip up the Aquafaba
After mixing the cream of tartar with the liquid aquafaba, start whipping the ingredients with your hand mixer to achieve a desired consistency. It may take about 3-6 minutes to form semi-firm peaks on the aquafaba. You can either stop here and use it as an alternative of egg whites or whisk a few more minutes until it creates stiff peaks on top.
Tips for Making the Best Quality Aquafaba
Aquafaba is a relatively new discovery and therefore, there are only a handful of methods that have been tried and tested. As our recipe is primarily aimed at the home cooks, we can give a few tips to help them prepare the best quality aquafaba with the available ingredients.
- Go for Canned Chickpeas
While you can easily use regular chickpeas for this aquafaba recipe, the thickness of the liquid may vary depending on the amount of water. This may result in an aquafaba with a relatively thinner consistency and may even take a very long time to prepare.
This is why we recommend that you go with the canned chickpeas. Here you will have the clear idea of the amount and the thickness of the liquid. You can also decide to use more than one can for preparing a larger batch.
- Use Cream of Tartar
Cream of tartar is an optional ingredient in this recipe. You can easily skip this without causing much changes in the recipe. However, we found that adding a small amount of cream of tartar helps the aquafaba to form peaks a lot faster. It also helps the mixture to create firmer peaks which are especially required in recipes like aquafaba meringue, baked Alaska, Vegan pavlova, etc.
- Use a Mixer
Although the cooking time for aqufaba is roughly 5-6 minutes, it may take longer depending on the quality of your mixer and the amount of the liquid. Whipping up the ingredients by hand consumes more time but might not provide the best outcome. Therefore, we would suggest that you rely on your trusty hand mixer in this recipe.
Overall…
Aquafaba is a healthy alternative to egg white that also contains low-carb and has minimal calories. Due to its multi-purpose uses, you can easily incorporate aquafaba in different recipes and create many exquisite recipes on your own.
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