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AQUAFABA-LOUS! NUTRITION NOTES What do you do with the liquid from a can of chickpeas or beans? Are you pouring it down the drain? Or are you adding a bit of sugar and cream of tartar and whipping it up into a beau ful meringue? Well, that's what U.S. so ware engineer Goose Wohlt did in 2015 and aquafaba was born! He also created the name "aquafaba" from the La n words "aqua" for water and "faba" for beans, which does sound a bit more exo c than "bean water"! The most commonly used liquid is from chickpeas due to their neutral flavour, odour and colour, but the liquid from white beans like cannellini or navy beans will work too. You can even use the liquid from black or kidney beans, but you get a brownish coloured end-product instead of the bright white one from chickpeas or white beans. Recipes that include chocolate would mask this darker coloured aquafaba and you s ll get the same fluffy result. Why aquafaba? It can replace egg whites in savoury and sweet applica ons for those who are allergic to eggs or are following a vegan diet. It can be used as a thickener, binder, and emulsifier and can be whipped into so or s ff peaks, depending on the recipe. Did you know you can't over whip it, unlike egg whites? It is a great egg subs tute in custards, mousse, meringues, and whipped cream or you can add it to your waffle and pancake ba er for a lighter and fluffier product. In sweet recipes, it's recommended that you use no salt added canned chickpeas or you can cook chickpeas from dry and save the cooking liquid. For savoury recipes, regular canned chickpeas are fine to use. A 19 oz (540 mL) can of chickpeas will typically yield 3/4 cup (175 mL) aquafaba (liquid). Nutri onally, aquafaba has about three to five calories per tablespoon and only trace amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals. Something else to keep in mind is that the cooking/canning liquid from beans contains the complex carbohydrates that can cause gas and intes nal distress in some people, so aquafaba could be a problem for some individuals. However, if only a small amount of aquafaba is in a recipe, the amount that would be present in an individual serving may be small enough to not cause any distress. Who knew "bean water" could be so much fun to work with? Try the Aquafaba Chocolate Mousse recipe at your next family gathering and watch everyone's reac on; no one will know you used something that used to get poured down the drain! Have you got a ques on about pulse nutri on? I would love to hear from you! You can contact me at dmclennan@albertapulse. com or (780) 986-9398 ext. 109. AQUAFABA CHOCOLATE MOUSSE INGREDIENTS Yield: 4 por ons Prep me: 5 minutes Total me: 15 minutes + chill me Ingredients: 1 cup (250 mL) chopped dark chocolate 3/4 cup (175 mL) chickpea liquid 1 Tbsp (15 mL) sugar 1/4 tsp (1 mL) cream of tartar DIRECTIONS • Melt the chocolate un l smooth in a large bowl over a double boiler, mixing o en. • Pour the chickpea water, sugar, and cream of tartar into a large cylindrical container. • Using a hand immersion blender with a whisk a achment (or stand mixer with whisk a achment), whip the chickpea water un l s ff peaks form. • Remove the bowl with chocolate from the double boiler. Take 1/3 of the foam and s r into the chocolate un l fully combined. Take another 1/3 of the chickpea mixture and fold in gently. Fold in the remaining 1/3 of the chickpea mixture very gently to ensure volume. • Por on the mousse into 4 cups and chill for at least 4 hours or freeze for a frozen mousse op on. • Garnish with fresh raspberries or alterna ve garnishes and enjoy! S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 | 3 7 P U L S E C R O P N E W S

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