Revalorization of the Cooking Water (Aquafaba) from Soybean Varieties Generated as a By-Product of Food Manufacturing in Korea

TLDR

Sustainability concerns have spurred interest in extracting value from food manufacturing by‑products, such as the cooking water of chickpeas, which can serve as a vegan egg‑white substitute. This study aimed to characterize and compare the cooking water from black soybeans, yellow soybeans, small black beans, and chickpeas in terms of polyphenol, carbohydrate, protein content, foaming, and emulsifying properties. The authors performed compositional analyses of total polyphenol, carbohydrate, and protein, and evaluated foaming and emulsifying capacities and stabilities of the cooking waters. All tested legumes exhibited higher polyphenol, carbohydrate, and protein levels than chickpeas, and their cooking waters showed superior foaming capacity and stability, indicating their potential as plant‑based functional ingredients for vegan products.

Abstract

Concerns regarding sustainability have prompted the search of value in the by-products of food manufacturing. Such is the case of the cooking water (CW) of chickpeas, which has shown its potential as a vegan egg white replacement. This study aimed to characterize and compare the CW from three novel legumes (black soybeans, BSB; yellow soybeans, YSB; and small black beans, SBB) obtained from the processing of Korean soybean foods, and the widely used CW from chickpeas (CH), with regard to total polyphenol, total carbohydrate, and protein contents, and further compare their foaming and emulsifying abilities and stabilities. Compositional analysis revealed that all the studied legumes possessed higher values than CH for all parameters. Furthermore, the CW from these legumes exhibited enhanced functional properties, particularly foaming capacity and stability. Taken together, our results suggest that the CW from BSB, YSB, and SBB, sourced from the manufacturing of legume food products, has the potential of being revalorized as a plant-based functional ingredient for vegan product development.