Aquafaba

Aquafaba(/ˌɑːkwəˈfɑːbə/) is the viscous water in whichlegume seedssuch aschickpeashave been cooked. Its use in cuisine was the discovery of theFrenchmusician Joël Roessel.
Due to its ability to mimic functional properties ofegg whitesin cooking, aquafaba can be used as adirect replacement for themin some cases, includingmeringuesandmarshmallows. It is especially suitable for use by people who avoid eggs, such asvegansand people with egg allergies.
In December 2014, the French musician Joël Roessel found that water from canned beans can form foams much like protein isolates and flaxmucilagedo.Roessel shared his experiments on a blog and published recipes forfloating island of Chaville,chocolate mousse, andmeringuemade from chickpea liquid to demonstrate its foaming capabilities.
Around the same time, vegan food enthusiast Goose Wohlt discovered that the cooking liquid can replace egg white without the need for stabilizers. In March 2015 he published a recipe for egg-free meringue using only chickpea liquid and sugar.
A few days later, aFacebookgroup was created to encourage development and popularize the egg substitute.
Aquafaba is used as a replacement for eggs and egg white. Its composition of carbohydrates, proteins, and other soluble plant solids which have migrated from the seeds to the water during cooking gives it a wide spectrum ofemulsifying,foaming,binding,gelatinizingandthickeningproperties.
In general one medium egg white can be replaced with 30 millilitres (2 tablespoons) of aquafaba, or one medium whole egg with 45 ml (3 tbsp).
The simplest way to obtain aquafaba is to decant the liquid from canned or boxed legumes such as white beans or chickpeas. It also can be made by boiling, steaming,pressure cooking, or microwavingpulsesin water.
Sweet applications for aquafaba includemeringues,macarons,nougat,icing,ice cream,fudge, andmarshmallows.Savory applications includebaked goods,dairy substitutes,mayonnaise,cheese substitutes,batters, andmeat substitutes.Aquafaba is also recommended as a vegan substitute for egg whitein preparingcocktailswith a foamy "head", particularlysour cocktailslike thewhiskey sour.
Aquafaba contains about ten per cent of the protein of egg whites by weight.The difference in protein content may enable those who cannot properly metabolize proteins (such asphenylketonurics) to consume foods which are normally egg-based. The lower protein content makes it unsuitable for applications which rely ondenaturedegg protein for structure, such asangel food cakes.
The aquafaba most similar to egg white in its culinary characteristics appears to be from chickpeas and white beans such as theNavy bean. Other legumes, such as peas, lentils, soy, kidney, and black beans can be used, but their slightly different compositions may require more adjustment of water content to work well.
Legume seeds, orpulses, are primarily composed ofcarbohydrates(starch,sugars, andfiber),proteins(albuminsandglobulins), and water.The carbohydrates occur in higher concentrations than the proteins; the carbohydrates in legumes consist mostly of thepolysaccharidesamyloseandamylopectin. A typical nutritional composition of dried chickpeas atroom temperature, by weight, is listed as 19% protein, 61% carbohydrate, 6% lipids, and 14% water.These amounts are approximate, and can vary byvariety.During the process of cooking legume seeds, soluble carbohydrates and proteins in the seed dissolve, allowing them to enter the cooking water. More soluble material will be extracted from the beans when both the cooking temperature and thepressureare increased, as well as by extending the cooking time.
Once the legumes are cooked and filtered from the liquid, the filtered cooking liquid is referred to as "aquafaba". Comparing the final composition of cooked beans with raw ones shows that, under 'normal" cooking conditions, approximately 5% of the initial composition of the bean has been dissolved into the cooking water.In 2018 the dry residue of aquafaba was found to consist mainly of carbohydrates (sugars,soluble  fibre) and proteins. The ratio of carbohydrate to protein in aquafaba is  approximately the same ratio as is found in the uncooked dry beans. Fat andstarch, both present in the uncooked dry beans, were not detected.A concentration of 5%dry weightto water is typical for aquafaba, although the concentration can also be increased by heating the solution to allow evaporation of the water,  increasing the solids concentration to 10% or more, depending on recipe requirements. This can be especially useful for applications in whichemulsificationandviscosityare more important characteristics thanfoamability. The concentration of soluble solids can also be tailored to produce a more stable foam, using less aquafaba, by scrupulously filtering non-soluble material from the solution and also by adjusting the concentration to the application at hand.
All else being equal, the concentration of aquafaba will vary according to: