HOW TO: AQUAFABA
If you are new to the plant-based community, you might have heard of aquafaba and not known what it was. Maybe even afraid of how much such a strange-sounding commodity will cost. Aquafaba sounds more extravagant than it is. Well, I am here to remove the veil and even give you a few tips on how to make it, use it, and store it.
To put it simply, Aquafaba is bean water. The thick liquid leftover from draining chickpeas (garbanzo beans). How’s that for extravagant? Now, you might be asking – “Mama Paige, why the heck would I want to know about thick bean water?”Because it has so many uses! Once you start working with it, you will be asking yourself, “where has then been all my life?”
HOW TO MAKE IT
There are two ways to make aquafaba:
Let’s start with the first and easiest way – from the can. Purchase a can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). You can find canned chickpeas in most grocery stores or on Amazon. Drain the liquid from the can in a container. Done! Talk about an easy recipe.
The second way is healthier but a little more labor intensive - cook the beans yourself. Sort through dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) before cooking. Make sure there are no small rocks, or twigs, or anything that is not a bean. Add a cup of dried beans to a bowl of water. The water should be several inches above the beans. The beans will take on the water and triple in size, so make sure you have a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a tight-fitting lid and let it sit overnight for about 8 to 10 hours.
The next day, drain the beans and them a good rinse before cooking. Place rinsed beans in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cover. Simmer for about two hours, but check to tenderness at 90 minutes. As the beans simmer, make sure that the water does not evaporate fully. When the beans have fully cooked, drain the liquid and store it in an airtight container. Now, you have homemade aquafaba.
HOW TO USE IT
What can you do with Aquafaba? Replace eggs. Aquafaba is known for its ability to replace eggs in baking. Three liquid tablespoons equal an egg. See a few of our recipes where used aquafaba:
In these recipes, we whipped the aquafaba to make similar to egg whites then used them in the recipes. You will notice aquafaba smells like bean water because it is! But, it’s nothing a little vanilla can’t fix.
Don’t throw away your beans! You can freeze the cook beans for later use, make hummus, add them to a pot of fresh vegetable broth with a couple of veggies to make a soup, or make a sandwich.
HOW TO STORE IT
Now, this is where it can get a little tricky. Aquafaba is best used right out of the can. You can store it for a couple of days in the fridge, but after I find that it starts to lose its magic. If you have quite a bit of Aquafaba and will not be able to use it within two days, I recommend the following storage options:
Freeze It: Aquafaba freezes well. Pour liquid into an ice tray. Place into the freezer. Once the liquid is completely frozen, add cubes to a freezer-safe container. Store cubes in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Turn Into Powder: Pour liquid onto a silicone baking sheet. Put the oven on dehydrate or the lowest possible setting. Bake liquid until it is completely dried out. Carefully remove the silicone sheet from the oven. Use a spatula to scrape the dried liquid away from the sheet pan carefully to create a powder. Store powder in an airtight container.