Amazing Aquafaba

What is aquafaba? No, it’s not an eighties pop band, it’s the magical liquid hiding in your tin of chickpeas! Never throw out the brine ever again: It can be used to replace eggs in baked goods and in a never-ending array of recipes. This is fantastic news for vegans and also for those of us who do not like any waste, who are cutting down on cholesterol, or just don’t want to eat as many eggs.

It’s very simple to use: all you have to do is swap out three tablespoons of aquafaba per egg – easy as that. You can use it to replace egg whites or the whole egg, when baking a quiche or lemon meringue pie for example. I’ve been playing around with aquafaba over the weekend, and here’s what I’ve learned so far.

How To Make Aquafaba

To make stiff egg whites you’ll need 3/4 cup aquafaba and 1/4 tsp citric acid, beat for 5-10 mins

If you are using it as a binder you’ll need to whip it with an egg beater until foamy but not stiff

One egg is the same as 3 tablespoons aquafaba and 2 tablespoons aquafaba is the same as egg white from one egg.

When replacing a whole egg the aquafaba should be the same consistency of runny egg whites to function well

A can of chickpeas has around 1/2 to 3/4 cup of brine which is around eight to 12 tablespoons.

It does not make very good scrambled eggs (in fact they were terrible) and most definitely will not replace poached eggs

It’s best to use chickpeas or other legumes (I tried black beans which was fine when baking a brownie but not so good when making mayo) that are not in salted water, especially when making sweet dishes

You can dry aquafaba in a food dehydrator, once done blend into a powder and store in a jar until needed.

It makes the most amazing mayonnaise, meringues, aioli, ice cream, vegan butter and even mozzarella ‘not cheese’

Instead of chickpeas you can use any other legumes, even the liquid that’s around your block of tofu is aquafaba (although I haven’t tried this yet)

You can also cook your own legumes and use the liquid, if it’s too watery simmer on the stove in a pan on low until it reduces

Aquafaba is so popular it even has it’s own website, check it out here