Aquafaba.
Sounds like a word a magician would use. What is it? It's the leftover cooking liquid from beans or legumes, most often chickpeas. It's becoming increasingly popular as an egg white substitute.
Why do you need to know this? Well, you don't, really. Unless you're avoiding eggs--Hellooooooo, Vegans! (And people, like me, who are allergic to eggs or who are egg intolerant).
Aquafaba has only recently (since 2014) become known as an egg white substitute. It's often used to make meringue and mayo.
Why do you need to know this? Well, you don't, really. Unless you're avoiding eggs--Hellooooooo, Vegans! (And people, like me, who are allergic to eggs or who are egg intolerant).
Aquafaba has only recently (since 2014) become known as an egg white substitute. It's often used to make meringue and mayo.
Pic from the Minimalist Baker, https://minimalistbaker.com/about/
OK, so then, I thought, this has got to be too good to be true. What the heck is in Aquafaba? I mean, in every other recipe, it tells us to drain off that goopy bean liquid, right? So I started searching and came across this article about "6 Reasons to Avoid Aquafaba and Other Bean Liquids"
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/aquafaba-bean-water/
I read it and found parts of the article to be a little alarmist, but I'm not going to lie, other parts made me nervous. Mostly I don't like the claims that Aquafaba probably has BPA in it (bad for the Endocrine System) and that it also contains the anti-nutrient Saponin (bad for pregnant women and can cause leaky gut). I mean, who wants to mess with the endocrine system or cause their gut to leak???
So then I did a little more research, and like anything, there are two sides to every story.
I came across a site completely dedicated to Aquafaba.(http://aquafaba.com/index.html)
(Seriously. You can find anything on the internet.)
So, according to this site, "3/4 cup of Aquafaba contains less than three hundreds of a percent of saponins". That kind of took away my worry about the saponins.
BPA though...still a worry. But this goes with anything that comes in a can--beans, tuna, salmon, pumpkin puree, soup, etc. I don't use a lot of canned stuff (I've weaned myself off over the years), so that is not too high of a risk for me, personally. If you use canned everything...you may want to re-think that and start cooking some of your canned stuff from scratch or finding glass jar alternatives.
So, according to this site, "3/4 cup of Aquafaba contains less than three hundreds of a percent of saponins". That kind of took away my worry about the saponins.
BPA though...still a worry. But this goes with anything that comes in a can--beans, tuna, salmon, pumpkin puree, soup, etc. I don't use a lot of canned stuff (I've weaned myself off over the years), so that is not too high of a risk for me, personally. If you use canned everything...you may want to re-think that and start cooking some of your canned stuff from scratch or finding glass jar alternatives.
So now what? I REALLY liked that mayo recipe! Should I still make it?
Aquafaba is definitely not something nutritious, but it also doesn't seem toxic. For me, I'm throwing it in the "neutral" category for now and I'll keep my eyes open for more research. I think more info is needed before I can totally get behind it as something I use FREQUENTLY as an egg substitute.
Right now, mayo is a rarity for me, so I think using Aquafaba once in a blue moon to make Vegan Mayo is okay for me, personally.
How about you? Is Aquafaba something you use or avoid and WHY?
We're all different--one person's food is another person's poison and only you can decide what works for you! No judgements!
As always, feel free to leave constructive comments below! I'd love to know your thoughts!
--Dorothy
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