Facts and figures
How do you whip aquafaba? Stiff peaks step by step
The trays are lined, the sugar is weighed and the mixer is ready. Now chill the aquafaba before it goes into the bowl. Cold aquafaba whips faster and holds more air: in the meringue method, 150g chilled to 4 °C reaches soft peaks in about 3 to 5 minutes on high speed. From there, the recipe determines what you add and when. Updated: .
1. Chill the aquafaba
For the meringue method, chill the aquafaba to 4 °C. Cold aquafaba whips faster and forms a more stable foam. If you are using powder, make it up first: 2g of powder with 30 ml of water for each egg-white equivalent, then chill it.
2. Use a clean, grease-free bowl and whisk
Grease interferes with foam formation. Check that the bowl and whisk are clean and grease-free before you start.
3. Whip to soft peaks
For 150g of chilled aquafaba, the meringue method gives about 3 to 5 minutes on high speed. At soft peaks, the foam forms a peak that bends over when you lift the whisk. If the recipe uses a stabiliser, add it at the stage given in that method; the meringue recipe uses either 2g of cream of tartar or 1g of citric acid.
4. Add the sugar according to the recipe
For meringue, reduce the mixer to medium speed and add 150g of caster sugar one tablespoon at a time. Continue according to the recipe until the foam is glossy and reaches stiff peaks. Mousse, macarons and pavlova use different quantities, so do not carry the meringue sugar dose into another application.
5. Continue to stiff peaks
At stiff peaks, the peak stands when you lift the whisk and the foam is glossy and dense. Move directly into the next recipe step. For meringue, pipe the foam. For chocolate mousse, have the chocolate cooled before you start folding. For macarons, prepare the dry mix and trays before whipping so you can move straight into macaronage.
Which recipe are you making next?
For meringue, pipe and dry at 90 °C, fan off, for 1.5 to 2 hours. For chocolate mousse, fold in the couverture once it has cooled to 35 °C. For macarons, fold the almond flour and icing sugar into the foam until the batter runs in thick, slow ribbons.
Mayonnaise is not whipped. It uses aquafaba to build an emulsion with oil.
What should you check when the foam goes wrong?
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Foam never reaches full volume | Grease on the bowl or whisk | Use clean, grease-free equipment |
| Foam builds slowly and stays weak | Aquafaba is too warm | Chill it before whipping |
| Syrup beads on meringues | Sugar went in faster than it could dissolve | Add it gradually at medium speed |
| Volume drops before piping or folding | The finished foam was left standing | Prepare the next step before you whip |
| Powder does not foam | It was used dry | Make it up with water before whipping |
