what is aquafaba? explain
Answers
It's is the liquid leftover from cooked chickpeas. You can obtain it two ways: 1) Drain a can of chickpeas and reserve the liquid. Or, 2) Cook your own chickpeas and reserve the leftover cooking liquid.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba is the viscous water in which legume seeds such as chickpeas have been cooked.
Due to its ability to mimic functional properties of egg whites in cooking, aquafaba can be used as a direct replacement for them in some cases, including meringues and marshmallows. It is especially suitable for use by people who avoid eggs, such as vegans
Origins
In December 2014, vegan musician Joël Roessel found that water from canned beans can form foams much like protein isolates and flax mucilage do. Roessel shared his experiments on a blog and published recipes for floating island of Chaville, chocolate mousse, and meringue made 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.
Uses
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 of emulsifying, foaming, binding, gelatinizing and thickening
Sweet applications include meringues, macarons, nougat, icing, ice cream, fudge, and marshmallows.
Savory applications include baked goods, dairy substitutes, mayonnaise, cheese substitutes, batters, cocktails, and meat substitutes.Aquafaba contains about one tenth of the protein of egg whites by weight.
The lower protein content makes it unsuitable for applications which rely on egg protein for structure, such as angel food cake.
Composition
Legume seeds, or pulses, are primarily composed of carbohydrates (starch, sugars, and fiber), proteins (albumins and globulins), and water.[22] The carbohydrates are found in greater quantities than the proteins, while the starches consist mostly of amylose and amylopectin. A typical nutritional composition of chickpeas, is listed as 19% protein, 61% carbohydrate, 6% lipids, and 14% water.[23] However, these amounts are approximate and can vary by variety.[22] During the process of cooking legume seeds, the starches in the seed are gelatinized, allowing the soluble parts of the seed to leach out into the cooking water. More material can be extracted from the seeds, if both the cooking temperature and pressure are increased, as well as extending the cooking period.