Aquafaba mayonnaise/ Eggless mayonnaise

Have you heard of Aquafaba? I am sure you have some idea about this egg substitute that awed the vegan community. A couple of months ago, I read about this in a post by Poppy of http://bunnykitchen.com and I was fascinated by it. I recently, had a sudden urge to try it.

Aquafaba is the briny liquid found in a can of beans. It is the viscous liquid surrounding the beans and the thing you discard before using beans. We ignorantly poured that precious liquid down the drain not realizing its extensive use. Now, there is good news for that slimy water. It works as a binder, leavening agent and emulsifier, exactly like egg whites. It can be whipped up into a fluff to make all kinds of amazing things, from meringues, marshmallows to cakes. Oh my, who would have thought! I would call it an incredible discovery!

The idea that the juice of legumes in a can has all the protein and performance of an egg is tantalizing and hard to believe. It started working and emerged as a meringue craze. Thanks to French chef Joël Roessel who experimented with it.  Goose Wohlt, an engineer and food lover coined the word aquafaba, a Latin term for bean liquid. There is an entire Facebook group, “Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses!” dedicated to experiments with aquafaba.

Naturally, I was intrigued by the use of this vegetarian egg replacer and tried making mayonnaise with it. I don’t like the real mayonnaise from a jar as I assume, the taste of egg yolks and oil is not my thing. There is a jar in my refrigerator that has oil separating from the mix as it was taken on a trip and got shaken. It is left untouched for a long time as it looks unappetizing. I have to throw it away.

So, I wanted to try this to check its taste and find out if it will occupy a place in my diet. I followed a recipe from  peanutbutterandvegan.com but made some small changes like adding a bit of coconut oil thinking it would help solidify it faster. I learned a few things from my experiment that I will share with you.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ground yellow mustard
• a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup liquid from a can of chickpeas
• 1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil like corn or canola
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

1. Take a glass jar and add vinegar, ground mustard and salt mix well.
2. Pour chickpea liquid and blend well using an immersion blender.
3. With the hand-held blender running, pour oil in a thin stream to emulsify.
4. Finally, add melted coconut oil if you like the taste or use the same vegetable oil in a stream until the mixture is thick.
5. Use it lavishly on toast or make a sandwich.

Quick tips:

* If you use any neutral oil, it tastes like regular mayonnaise. So use a light tasting, less colored oil. (My coconut oil imparted a strong flavor not familiar with mayo but making it very special.)

* Work with ingredients at room temperature to make the process quicker.

* Pour the oil slowly to make a thick mayo. I used a cup with a spout to pour the oil onto the stem of the blender.

* Low-sodium beans juice is better if salt is not required in the recipe. I used a salty liquid and had to reduce salt in my mayo.

I used a glass jar to make it and store it. Use any narrow long container as there will be a lot of  splashing as it blends. Transfer the mayo to a jar and store in the refrigerator. It will thicken up after a while.

The juice in which you boil beans can also be used in whipping up the miracle egg mix instead of taking it from a can. The idea that the juice of legumes in a can has all the protein and performance of an egg is tantalizing and hard to believe.

Generally, it is the water from white beans and chickpeas that yield the best result because they have a light color and flavor. Other legumes can also be used in some preparations where the color is not a priority.

You can use this mayonnaise, the creamy, versatile condiment on fresh bread or to assemble a burger. Use this instead of mayonnaise in any recipe. This whipped up canned beans liquid can be made into all kinds of amazing dressings and sauces like Ranch dressing, Tartar sauce and Caesar dressing. Adding herbs and spices improve its taste. Use these dressings on salads and pasta dishes.

I tried my vegan mayonnaise on toasted brown bread with fresh tomato slices and cucumber. It was stunning!

Hope you are all geared up to try this! It is really fabulous that the liquid in a bean can has opened up a whole new world of food possibilities for vegans. I wanted to try it in other recipes too, especially in a cake where a lot of eggs are used. Expect that recipe soon!