Aquafaba facts for kids

Aquafaba from a can of white beans

Aquafaba is the thick, watery liquid left over after beans like chickpeas have been cooked.

It's special because it can act like egg whites in cooking. This means it can be used instead of eggs in many recipes. For example, you can use it to make meringues or marshmallows. Aquafaba is very helpful for people who don't eat eggs, such as vegans.

What's in a Name?

The word aquafaba comes from two Latin words. Aqua means "water," and faba means "bean." So, it literally means "bean water."

How Aquafaba Was Discovered

In December 2014, a musician named Joël Roessel noticed something cool. He found that the water from canned beans could make foams. This was similar to how some plant proteins or flaxseed goo behave. Roessel shared his discoveries online. He even posted recipes for desserts like floating island and chocolate mousse using chickpea liquid.

Around the same time, a vegan food lover named Goose Wohlt made a similar discovery. He found that this bean cooking liquid could replace egg whites. Even better, it didn't need extra ingredients to make it stable. In March 2015, he shared a recipe for egg-free meringue. It only used chickpea liquid and sugar.

Just a few days later, a Facebook group was started. Its goal was to help people learn about and use this new egg substitute.

Cooking with Aquafaba

Aquafaba is used as a substitute for eggs and egg whites. It contains carbohydrates, proteins, and other plant bits. These bits move from the beans into the water during cooking. This mix gives aquafaba many useful abilities. It can make things foamy, help them stick together, or make them thicker.

To replace one medium egg white, you can use about 30 milliliters (2 tablespoons) of aquafaba. For a whole medium egg, use about 45 milliliters (3 tablespoons).

The easiest way to get aquafaba is to pour out the liquid from canned beans. White beans or chickpeas work best. You can also make it yourself by boiling or steaming beans in water.

Meringue kisses made from aquafaba

Aquafaba is great for sweet treats. You can make meringues, macarons, nougat, icing, and marshmallows. It's also used in savory dishes. These include baked goods, dairy substitutes, mayonnaise, and meat substitutes. Aquafaba is also popular in cocktails. It can create a foamy top, especially for drinks like the whiskey sour.

Aquafaba has less protein than egg whites. This can be helpful for people who need to limit protein in their diet. However, because it has less protein, it's not good for recipes that need a lot of egg protein for structure. An example is angel food cake.

Chickpeas and white beans like the Navy bean usually make the best aquafaba. Other beans like peas, lentils, or black beans can work. But you might need to adjust how concentrated the liquid is for them to work well.

What Aquafaba Is Made Of

Beans are mostly made of carbohydrates (like starch and sugars) and proteins. They also contain water. When beans are cooked, the starches in them soften. This allows parts of the bean to dissolve into the cooking water. Cooking for longer or at higher temperatures can release more material into the water.

Whipped aquafaba

After the beans are cooked and removed, the watery part left is aquafaba. About 5% of the bean's dry weight moves into the water during cooking. This dry material is mainly carbohydrates and protein. You won't find much fat or starch in the aquafaba itself.

A typical aquafaba solution has about 5% dry material. But you can make it more concentrated by cooking it down. This can be useful if you need it to be thicker or better at mixing oils and water. The right concentration can also help make a more stable foam.

The exact makeup of aquafaba can change. It depends on how the beans were processed. Things like soaking, cooking time, temperature, and even the type of bean can affect it.

Gallery

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  Aquafaba macarons

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  Aquafaba lemon meringue pie

See also

In Spanish: Aquafaba para niños