New Mum’s Food Adventures

• Cannellini bean water from one can
• 1/4 teaspoon of tartar powder or lemon juice
• Teaspoon of vanilla
• Same amount of sugar as bean water plus extra if needed
• Tablespoon of egg replacer for strength and crunch

One can of cannellini beans aka white beans, some vanilla, tartar powder and equal amount of sugar to bean water plus extra with a tablespoon of egg replacer and I had stable crunchy meringue cookies. I did not whip until I had very stiff peaks. It took an incredibly long time to achieve the necessary stiff peaks to start cooking.

I added the water and vanilla and whipped until foamy before adding tartar and egg replaced. Then when more foamy and turning white I added sugar about a tablespoon at a time and slowly. It takes a really long time to whip. I had stiff peaks but not as stiff as I would have liked. They didn’t hold shape and flatten into buttons. I think if I were to do this again I would add an extra half amount of sugar to get a stiffer meringue. The hardest part is judging what’s the right amount of sugar. The egg replacer made a huge difference in the outcome. They are wonderfully light and crunchy with no air pockets at all. It has a fairly uniform crunch all the way through.

Unlike chickpea, it has no weird or beany taste. It’s very neutral and tastes like regular meringue but if cooked longer it tastes like frosted cornflakes. It’s very nice. I found my chickpea experiments had an awful after taste or beany taste. None of my chickpea meringues worked but if I were to do it again I would weigh the chickpea water in grams and do a ratio of 1:2 chickpea to sugar and probably yield better results. So another time another experiment. The outside is highly sensitive to humidity so I had some trouble drying mine out. I would love to try this in a food dehydrator honestly.

I would like to try adding corn starch or potato starch next time for extra crunch and stability the next time I try this.