Facts and figures
What to know before you use aquafaba
You have the recipe weighed out and the aquafaba ready to open. Before you start, check whether you need a foam, how much of the pack you will use, and whether you are replacing an egg white, a whole egg or a yolk. For an egg white, use 30g of liquid aquafaba; with powder, make up 2g with 30 ml of water first. These checks prevent most of the adjustments from happening halfway through the batch. Updated: .
Will you finish an opened liquid pack in 3 to 4 days?
Once opened, liquid VERY AQUAFABA is kept at 2 to 6 °C and used within 3 to 4 days. A 1L Tetrapak represents 33 egg whites. Compare that quantity with the recipes you expect to make over the next few production days.
If you will not finish it, freeze the remaining liquid at -18 °C for up to 3 months in portions of 30 to 50g. Thaw it in the fridge, stir until even and never refreeze it. Powder lets you make up smaller quantities while the remaining pouch stays dry and closed until its best-before date. Check the storage method before opening more liquid than you expect to use.
Are you replacing a white, a whole egg or a yolk?
Use the rule that matches the recipe:
| What you replace | VERY AQUAFABA |
|---|---|
| One egg white | 30g |
| One whole egg | 45g |
| One egg yolk | 15g aquafaba + 10g oil |
If the recipe uses whipped whites for aeration, chill the aquafaba and whip it. For whole eggs used for binding and moisture, use the aquafaba unwhipped. The yolk rule adds oil because aquafaba does not bring the fat of an egg yolk; replacing egg yolk says where it applies.
Are you replacing whole eggs in a bake?
Aquafaba contains about 90 to 95 percent water, compared with about 75 percent for egg. When you replace whole eggs, reduce the other liquids by about 5 to 10 percent as a starting adjustment. Dense cakes, brownies and enriched doughs are the preparations where that extra water is most likely to show.
When you replace egg whites only, as in meringue or macarons, no additional liquid adjustment is normally needed. Follow the whole-egg method when you reformulate an existing bake.
Are you whipping it?
Chill aquafaba before whipping. Cold aquafaba whips faster and forms a more stable foam. For the meringue method, chill it to 4 °C, then whip in a clean, grease-free bowl. The meringue recipe reaches soft peaks in about 3 to 5 minutes on high speed; an optional stabiliser is 2g of cream of tartar or 1g of citric acid.
Mousse, macarons and pavlova have their own next steps, so follow the application once the foam reaches the required stage. Follow the whipping steps when you need soft or stiff peaks.
Are you using powder?
Make up the powder before using it in a recipe that calls for prepared aquafaba. For one egg-white equivalent, use 2g of powder with 30 ml of water. That gives 32g of prepared aquafaba. If the recipe needs a foam, chill the made-up aquafaba before whipping. Use the powder reconstitution table for larger quantities.
What should you expect from the flavour?
VERY AQUAFABA has a light roasted note in the pack. When shaken into a cocktail, that note disappears. For a dessert or a new production formula, taste the first finished batch before scaling it.
