You may have heard of aquafaba. If you are vegan then you most probably will have. A few years ago it became the next big thing to sweep across the vegan nation. Those of you less familiar with legume brine, aquafaba is a posh name for ‘bean water’, and which has mostly always been regarded as a ‘waste product’.
Here is a simple and very easy recipe to try as an alternative to traditional mayonnaise, as introduced to us over the Christmas holidays by a visiting vegan friend!
Using liquid straight from the can is the easiest method, though slowly cooking dried beans in water for a few hours until the water turns to aquafaba will give you similar results. Even water from packaged tofu and peas is aquafaba!
Aquafaba mayonnaise
5-10 minutes
Makes about 3/4-1 Cup (180-250ml)
Ingredients:
½ tbsp. cider vinegar
½ tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp ground English mustard OR 1 tsp English mustard from a jar
¼ tsp salt(add more at the end if needed but taste first)
3 tbsp aquafaba – tinned bean water eg chickpeas, cannellini or butter beans
¾ -1 cup neutral tasting oil, eg plain vegetable oil (refined rapeseed)
A handheld blender is best for this, and some measuring spoons can be useful, but the most important part of this is the oil which increases the thickness of the mayonnaise.
Method:
1. Measure the aquafaba, cider vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and salt into the jug. Give a quick whizz with the handblender to mix everything up.
2. Switch on the hand blender in the jug on low and start drizzling the oil slowly – about ¼ cup or 4 tbsp at a time – into the other ingredients.
3. Keep the hand blender under the liquid to avoid spattering. Increase the speed on the blender.
4. Keep drizzling and blending until the mixture is thick and looks like mayo. It will be thicker in some parts than other so move the blender around to make sure it’s all the same consistency. If necessary, switch off the blender, scrape down the sides of the jug and stir everything about quickly then start blending again. NB – you can even make this in a glass jar if it is wide enough to take the hand blender. Just make sure there is a lid to put on the top.
5. Taste it and add more lemon juice/cider vinegar if you prefer a slightly sharper mayo. Similarly, add a bit more mustard and/or salt if preferred. You can even add some fresh crushed garlic to it.
6. Store it in the clean glass jar, screw on the lid and keep in the fridge. It should keep for at least a week if not several weeks – both cider vinegar and lemon juice are natural preservatives.