Odds are, you’ve been taking one of the most important ingredients in the vegan larder and tossing it in the garbage can. It’s called aquafaba, and it’s (basically) free! When we refer to aquafaba (as we often do in our cookbook on vegan cooking, Vegan for Everybody), we’re talking about the liquid in a can of chickpeas. (We’re not talking about the liquid in a can of any other beans. Stick to the liquid from canned chickpeas—it works best.)

The starchy liquid is a great binder directly from the can, but what really makes it magical is that it whips and creates a foam. Aquafaba is therefore able to trap air, giving items structure at the same time it delivers a fluffy crumb and lift.

We turned to aquafaba again and again while developing recipes for Vegan for Everybody, and so we learned an awful lot about the stuff and how to work with it. Here are some helpful tips for how to incorporate aquafaba into your cooking and baking.