Aquafaba: Alternative to egg whites

THERE’S A HIGH probability that you’ve been throwing something useful and valuable right down the plughole in the kitchen. We’re talking about aquafaba, which is the viscous liquid that you usually drain out of tinned legumes such as chickpeas before you use them.

During the cooking process, proteins, carbohydrates and other water-soluble nutrients leach from the chickpeas into the water. The result is a thick and slightly gloopy liquid that, perhaps surprisingly, has led to a vegan-cooking revolution.

Aquafaba is quite a special find as it mimics many of the functional properties of egg whites. It has similar gelatinisation, foaming, binding, and thickening properties, and is nearly flavourless when baked. Though the liquid from legumes such as lentils, white beans, kidney beans and black beans has similar properties, chickpea aquafaba is