What the heck is Aquafaba? Well, it’s nature’s weird, little culinary gift, if you ask me.

Simply and crudely put, aquafaba is “bean juice.” More accurately, it’s the liquid leftover from chickpeas stored in water; and was named from the Latin words for both “water”and “bean”. I put chickpeas in salads all of the time, so I wish I had known that there was some other utility for the contents left inside of the can. What’s so amazing about this this slightly bizarre bean-derived liquid is that it functions as a great vegan substitute for eggs. Its properties closely mimic that of albumen, so it works well as a binder, thickener and emulsifier. It’s versatile, because it can be used successfully and undetectably in a variety of dishes and cocktails (whether you’re vegan or not), and works particularly well within recipes that require fluffy meringues. To calculate how much aquafaba you’ll need for your recipe: 3 tablespoons are the equivalent of one egg; 2 tablespoons are the equivalent of one egg white. Also, a standard 15.5 oz can of store bought chickpeas holds about 12 tablespoons of aquafaba.

I found a lovely macaron recipe posted by Jasmine Lukuku from Black Food Bloggers Club (adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s book: Baking Chez Moi: Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere). They are not only delicious, but absolutely beautiful. I love hosting English tea parties for my friends, so I might have to put these bad boys into circulation on my tea tray. Whatever the case, expand your culinary horizons and try using aquafaba in a few sweet and savory dishes. It’s a great option for people “who can’t take a yolk.” Da-dum-tum!