Aquafaba and pH: The Effect on Meringues
Experiment showing aquafaba mixed with cream of tartar, plain, and mixed with baking soda in vials
In order to test the relative strengths and weaknesses of meringues made with aquafaba and the addition of acidic and basic ingredients, I used a single meringue recipe but altered the aquafaba used in the recipe in two of three batches, lowering or raising the pH in the aquafaba by adding cream of tartar and baking soda. For the third batch, I used plain aquafaba.
The foams prepared from each experiment were left to sit in order to gauge how long they could last without falling apart. Another set of foams were baked to see how they performed when heated and to gauge how well they could hold their structure in meringue cookies.
In every experiment, I used the liquid from salt-free canned chickpeas, which would not only ensure that the aquafaba was of consistent quality, but would also mean that my results would be easily reproducible for people at home (provided, of course, they also used canned chickpea aquafaba). However, I ran the experiments several times, and I used different brands of chickpeas, which led me to a surprising finding about chickpeas that have been cooked with kombu (more on that below).
