Aquafaba, the waste water from cooking legumes such as chickpeas, may not sound that exciting. However, it can be utilized in innovative and sustainable ways by the food industry. It’s protein and fiber content allows it to function as an egg replacement!
The research into aquafaba has been going on for a few years, but it’s now reached a point that’s ready to move onto the commercialization stage. Here to tell us all about it is Luca Serventi, a lecturer at Lincoln University in New Zealand. Luca, whose focus is food innovation and development, has spent the last four years researching the applications and functionality of aquafaba. He is now focusing on getting it from the lab to the industry, looking into large scale production.
Aquafaba in baking
Dr. Lin and Mark Floerke chat with Luca to learn more about how aquafaba functions in baked goods, especially with the increasingly popular vegan and plant protein trend around the world.
A few questions covered are:
- What in aquafaba can replace the function of eggs in baked goods?
- Does the processing method impact functionality at all?
- Which legume sources work best?
- What products can it be used in?
- What sustainability possibilities does this create for the food industry?
There are lots of opportunities with aquafiber, for both legumes processors to make better use of a waste product, and for bakers to use innovative ingredients. If you’d like to learn more about aquafaba or would like to get involved with the commercialization process, get in touch with Luca!
