First All-Vegan Aquafaba Meringue Store Launches

Plant-based New York chef Diane Forley recently launched an online meringue shop that features all-vegan meringues made with aquafaba (the brine from a can of chickpeas). “After months of trial and error, we arrived at the sweet spot,” Forley says, “making a perfectly balanced vegan meringue, not too sweet, light as air, and full of character.” Forley—who also owns plant-based wholesale bakery Flourish Baking Company in Scarsdale, NY—now sells her creations in a variety of flavors including maple, brown sugar, blueberry lavender, raspberry rose, and “drip drops”, or meringues drizzled with high quality chocolate. The egg white-mimicking qualities of chickpea brine were first discovered in 2015 by French tenor singer Joël Roessel and later turned into baked vegan meringues by American software engineer Goose Wohlt, who coined the term “aquafaba.” The ingredient is also suitable for savory applications and condiment brand Sir Kensington launched the first aquafaba-based commercial product—vegan mayonnaise “Fabanaise”—last year.