It has been a few weeks since my last post (check my last post for the winner of Vegan Under Pressure (Amazon)) and I’m excited to share what I’ve been working feverishly on.
Yes, it’s a new cookbook. But, it is more than just a cookbook. It is a cookbook about Aquafaba! While many people have already heard about it, still many more haven’t. If you know what Aquafaba is, skip the next paragraph, but if you are new to the Aquafaba world, the next paragraph is a bit of a recap.
Aquafaba is bean water. It is literally the bean water that chickpeas and other legumes are cooked in. A French opera singer, Joël Roessel, and an American software engineer, Goose Wohlt, each (independently) discovered the unique property of bean cooking water, and it is amazing! The water that the beans cook in have the unique property to be able to be whipped into foam that resembles in texture (and some other properties) of whipped egg whites. In other words, they discovered that Aquafaba, bean water, can act as a meringue! That’s what started something that is sure to become the phenomena of the century.
As soon as Aquafaba was discovered, a Facebook group was organized and now is the hub of all kinds of discoveries into all manners of different applications of Aquafaba. I encourage you to check out the group Vegan Meringue: Hits and Misses (but the group is way more than just meringue these days!)
Last March, when the news hit the webosphere, I had a first row seat and watched in wonder as meringue, fluff, cookies, and my contributions, Seitan Schnitzel and Chile Relleno, were shared for all to enjoy. Aquafaba has become a community effort and I am hoping my book will be a contribution to the wonder that is becoming a global phenomenon.
Late last year (after my book, Vegan Bowls, was published) I knew I had to think about what to work on next. I was continually amazed at the wonders that the members of Vegan Meringue Hits and Misses kept posting. I saw the hits and the misses and sometimes frustrations of members who just wanted tried and true recipes for Aquafaba… and that’s when a light bulb went off. I knew I had my next project.
When I set my mind to a project, I dig deep and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with Aquafaba over the past half year. I swim in Aquafaba these days – actually, that’s not true – it’s chickpeas I’m swimming in; the Aquafaba gets used up as fast as I can make it in experiment after experiment.
I am very excited to be part of the Aquafaba movement and am completely honored that Goose Wohlt has agreed to write the foreword to my book!
I know that my cookbook will be just the tip of the iceberg that Aquafaba is, so my hope is that this book will be a wonderful beacon that will bring many more creative individuals to this ever evolving arena.