Aquafaba, A recent plant-based additive: Development of techno-functionality, powderization and recent advances in production, utilization and functionality

Abstract

Plant-based foods are increasingly in demand around the world due to their positive effects on human health and contributions to environmental sustainability. Aquafaba is a plant-based recycled food additive that has become very popular in recent years. It is obtained from the liquid left over from cooking legumes, and has the functions of foaming, gelling and emulsification. Current use areas of aquafaba have expanded considerably in many types of bakery, dairy and other food products. Recently, studies have focused on solving some problems related to aquafaba, especially low and unstable functional solids content and low yield due to the high amount of water found in the natural aquafaba form. These problems have been addressed in two ways: enhancing the functions of existing functional components by various treatments or relatively increasing the amount of functional components by reducing the water content by various techniques. Ultrasound, high pressure and fermentation processes are popular methods that show promising results in terms of improvement of functional properties compared to other methods. In terms of powderization of aquafaba, spray drying studies have received passing grades in terms of product quality with a relatively sufficient amount of experiments. In this review, techniques used to improve the techno-functional properties of aquafaba, and production of aquafaba powder are reviewed. In addition, aquafaba production method, compositional and functional properties, and food usage areas are reviewed in an up-to-date manner.