Aquafaba is a relatively new ingredient, in a sense. Functionally, it is a vegan protein substitute that can be used to, among other things, replace eggs in dishes. I should note, when being used to replace eggs, they are mostly used to replace egg whites (albumen) in cooking. So, they can be used as binding agents, they can be used for meringues, etc.

Aquafaba is a viscous liquid that comes from the water that different legumes, most commonly chickpeas, have been cooked in. As noted earlier, its discovery as a cooking ingredient is relatively new. It’s use can be traced back to 2014 by the French musician Joël Roessel. The idea of using aquafaba remained confined to vegan blogs, being further refined by a Goose Wohlt of Indiana in 2015. By the midpoint of the year, aquafaba graced this article on Slate. The rest is history.

On a side note, while a variety of legumes can be used to make aquafaba, chickpeas are generally considered the best. At the very least, they are generally considered the most visually appealing when used. Additionally, you can generally use the liquid in canned chickpeas for aquafaba if you don’t want to go through the hassle of cooking them