Aquafaba magic
Those of you keeping an eye on all things vegan may have come across aquafaba already, but …
What is Aquafaba, and why all the excitement?
Basically, that gooey liquid at the bottom of a tin of beans that we used to chuck away works in very similar ways to eggs.
Yes, aquafaba is just posh for ‘bean water’!
Since this discovery, over-excited and sugared-up vegans and other experimental foodies across the planet have been experimenting in an absolutely amazing way. This stuff makes meringues. Proper meringues. Seriously. Check out our Vegan Aquafaba Lemon Meringue Pie recipe and try it for yourself!
No, they don’t taste weird. And nobody gets hurt.
Aquafaba also works in cakes, bread and gives a proper ‘aero’ type texture to chocolate mousse. Oh, and it also makes amazing vegan mayo. For the gluten-free amongst you, there are also several great recipes for vegan gluten-free bread out there that is way better than commercial brands.
Picture: Blueberry & Whipped Cream Aquafaba Meringue Nests
All you need is tinned chickpeas – any type, posh or value – and a sieve them to drain and capture the juice. Store in glass jars for up to 3 days (avoid plastic).
For processing the aquafaba into meringues, mousse or mayo, you will also need an electric beater. Use either hand-held double beaters or a single one if you have a whisk attachment with your stick blender – or a cake mixer on a stand. Ironically, vegan baking traditionally didn’t need electric beating but more gentle hand beating. This is because vegan cakes are egg-free and too vigorous beating makes the cakes too tough! But it may be that aquafaba is going to change the game. Mayo can be made with a stick/hand blender however.
Chickpeas are the usual bean of choice, but other white beans work just as well. We’ve even seen black bean and kidney bean juice being used in chocolate brownies and such!
You can find a wide range of recipes that use aquafaba in the recipe section of our webpage.
Recipes to use up those left-over beans
Some clever foodie person is researching how to make dried aquafaba powder for sale but in the meantime we’re all going to have a fridge full of beans! Freeze them or cook them into a nice stew, curry or dip. Or blend them into soup. You know how to do it – and if you don’t, just do a search for ‘chickpeas’ or whatever on the Vegan Recipe Club!
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This post was written by VRC Team
Vegan Recipe Club is part of the UK’s leading vegan charity, Viva!. We have hundreds of delicious vegan recipes; from easy weeknight dinners to showstopper desserts, and everything in-between! Keep your eyes peeled for new recipes each month developed by our expert team of foodies and from guest chefs too.
