{"id":1671,"date":"2020-12-21T03:09:46","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T02:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/178.62.38.176\/?p=1671"},"modified":"2021-01-24T01:45:56","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T00:45:56","slug":"what-is-aquafaba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hazlovegan.com\/en\/what-is-aquafaba\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Aquafaba? 1 definitive way to do it at home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today I’m going to tell you about my method to make this magical liquid, the very famous and feared Aquafaba, in a homemade and infallible way, which in recent years has transformed vegan pastry, taking it to highly professional levels comparable to its non-vegan counterpart, for its ability to be whipped to make meringue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But what is this popular Aquafaba all about? How is it possible? What does? I will try to answer most of the doubts that this mysterious word may generate for you, very mentioned on YouTube and in vegan recipes.<\/p>\n

\"Chickpeas
Chickpeas for Aquafaba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is Aquafaba and what does it mean?<\/h2>\n

Aquafaba<\/a>, or chickpea juice, is no other than the cooking water of these legumes.<\/strong> Hence the origin of its name: Aqua<\/strong> (water) Faba<\/strong> (beans) referring to the wide range of legumes and beans.<\/p>\n

Chickpea Aquafaba is usually the most common variant, although it’s possible to use other legumes and its effectiveness is just as proven, for a matter of color and clarity I prefer the traditional one made with chickpeas. If it’s a question of using the canned beans liquid, I’ve also used with a very high success rate, the white beans called “cannellini” in Italy or burro in Chile.<\/p>\n

Due to a very common confusion, I want to clarify that it isn’t the soaking water of the grains, but the water obtained after cooking, with the soaking water you can always water the plants if you have an obsession with not wasting water like us.<\/p>\n

This viscous liquid can be used as it comes, or reduced by boiling it over medium heat to make it a little thicker and then chilling it in the refrigerator for a few hours. Cold works much better for me than at room temperature, but everyone will draw their own conclusions about it.<\/p>\n

I understand that the impatience to see if it works is a lot, but for an optimal result from start to finish, all the steps must be followed very carefully and thoroughly.<\/p>\n

Finally, what is Aquafaba? and what does it do? It is a slightly thick and yellowish liquid, with a texture similar to egg white that has a certain amount of proteins released by cooking and soaking chickpeas, these proteins are enough to trap air when whipped vigorously and create the stable foam we call meringue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Amazing, right? It’s probably the same foam that turns white during cooking, floating on the surface that we must remove or the pot overflows and the kitchen becomes a disaster (do not worry that removing that, you aren’t taking away the effectiveness of the Aquafaba).<\/p>\n

Can Aquafaba replace eggs?<\/h2>\n

The answer is yes and… no. An egg is made up of white and yolk. The white is this clear viscous liquid with a good protein content and almost no fat content that to some extent compares to Aquafaba.<\/p>\n

The yolks, on the other hand, contains some proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and lecithins, which aren’t present in our miracle juice, but which are equally replaceable with other plant-based ingredients.<\/p>\n

In short, Aquafaba can replace egg whites, where it’s used for its power to be whipped and as a moisturizing agent with a small protein intake that provides a small elasticity.
\nSome recipes where you can use Aquafaba:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Cookies, soletas, suspiros and vegan biscuits<\/li>\n
  • Vegan meringues<\/li>\n
  • Vegan macarons (Yes, what you just read)<\/li>\n
  • Vegan pavlova<\/li>\n
  • Enriched vegan bread (Brioche bread, crumb bread, sweet bread, mexican Conchas, cinnamon rolls)<\/li>\n
  • Vegan mayonnaise<\/li>\n
  • Egg-free dressings<\/li>\n
  • Marshmallows without egg or gelatin<\/li>\n
  • Vegan nougat<\/li>\n
  • Vegan royal icing<\/li>\n
  • Vegan meringue buttercream or cake frosting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Recipes where the Aquafaba doesn’t replace by itself the egg whites, because it lacks thickening and coagulant properties to maintain the structure of an extra light sponge cake and nutritionally lacks sufficient protein content to be used as a nutritional ingredient:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Sponge cake (vegan genoise)<\/li>\n
    • Protein biscuits with a high egg white content<\/li>\n
    • Protein shakes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Watch this little video of how to make meringue with Aquafaba in just 5 minutes:<\/p>\n