The Fabulous Water of Bean Cans

By Ari LeVaux, Flash In the Pan Columnist

Aquafaba Mayo

This recipe is more forgiving than for making traditional mayo at home. It’s closer in consistency to factory produced supermarket mayo, and the flavor is spot on. Thick, creamy, tangy, tight and firm, it’s totally perfect. You’ll need a narrow jar or cup, and some kind of mixer, ideally an immersion blender.

3 tablespoons garbanzo bean aquafaba

1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar

½ teaspoon mustard

½ teaspoon salt

One cup oil, such as olive oil, grapeseed or sunflower oil

Optional: for aioli, minced garlic

In the immersion receptacle or blender, combine all of the ingredients except the oil. Blend for 20 seconds to mix. Slowly, add the oil, a teaspoon at a time, until it starts to noticeably thicken. Pour in the rest of the oil, and garlic if using. Blend until it’s as thick as mayo.

Aquafaba Meringue Cookies

These cookies are sweet and tart, and melt in your mouth like baked cotton candy. Makes 10 cookies

1 refrigerated can of garbanzo beans, shaken vigorously for 30 seconds, and then opened

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar and other white beans, like Great Northern or White Navy, are used the most, thanks to their mild flavors and because they whip particularly well. Its fabulous properties are due to the fact that legumes contain albumins and globulin proteins that are also found in eggs. These give the aquafaba a kind of strength that allows it to trap and hold air when beaten, as well as imparting it with other egg-like qualities.

Because it’s so useful as an egg substitute in many vegan recipes, most of the discoveries around aquafaba have come from that community. When using aquafaba to replace whole eggs, measure out 3 tablespoons per egg, or 2 tablespoons to replace each egg white. Lightly whisk to aerate, just as you would beat eggs. I’m not a baker, but I have had spectacular results from adding garbanzo aquafaba to Krusteaz pancake mix. The pancakes were fluffy and firm.

Most impressively, and most importantly, you can use aquafaba as an emulsifier in a delicious egg-free mayonnaise that is as solid as a mayonnaise could be. And it’s easier to make than typical homemade mayo. It might be the best mayo I’ve had, and I don’t say that lightly.

My research on aquafaba resulted in many cans worth of garbanzo bean byproduct. Before the discovery of aquafaba it was usually the other way around, with the beans themselves being the main event and the liquid being forgotten, and discarded. But now I found myself hoarding the liquid from the bean cans, while I figured out what to do with the beans themselves. I ended up making a lot of hummus. The only problem, it turns out, is I needed aquafaba for the hummus too. Hummus, like many things in life, is better with aquafaba.

Here are some fabulous recipes for aquafaba, including for mayonnaise and for baked aquafaba meringue. I’ve also included my hummus recipe since you will need to do something with all of those leftover garbanzo beans.

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Empty the liquid into a wide bowl and set aside the beans for later use. Add the cream of tartar, sugar and lemon. With a handheld egg beater or electric beater or mixer – something more than a whisk — beat the aquafaba until you have stiff peaks. While the oven preheats, dollop the foam onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake at 250º for 45 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans

¼ cup tahini

½ teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic

The aquafaba from that can of beans, or as much as you can get

6 tablespoons olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend, adding more oil and aquafaba until perfectly irresistibly smooth and runny. Use water if the aquafaba runs out.

Tea Time With UWIS Celebrates International Women’s Day

By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor

Picking up again for the sixth year, after taking two years off through the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit organization Union Women in Solidarity or UWIS presents Tea Time on March 8.

Founder Valerie Zaks said “with the pandemic hitting I was at a crossroads on whether or not to continue [the event]. But with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union still not having a contract, we felt it vital to continue our quest.”

Tea Time will be presented by Zaks along with vice president Micki Kirkland and historian Deborah Green. Tickets to the event are available for sale and proceeds will go to women’s shelters across the na- tion and various activities regarding union women. The event will happen at Chado Tea House in Old Town Torrance. Luisa Gratz from Local 26 will be speaking along with another surprise speaker.

Tea Time will include gift baskets, a raffle and tea service. Many ILWU and tradeswomen will be in attendance.

UWIS is looking forward to another year of sisterhood in this area.

Time: 2:30 to 4 p.m., March 8

Cost: $55.

Details: www.unionwomeninsolidarity.org

Venue: Chado Tea House, 1303 El Prado Ave., Torrance