The last time you cracked a tin of chickpeas, you poured the silken surrounding liquid away like the rest of us.

Known in the vegan world as aquafaba, the ingredient — essentially the thick liquid that you discard when you buy a can of chickpeas or other beans — is becoming known for its ability to approximate the effects of egg whites.

It’s a hot new ingredient for chefs looking to experiment with vegan and egg-free desserts.

A photo posted by Italivi Reboreda (@ita_livi_) on Feb 13, 2016 at 2:38pm PST

The mixture of proteins and starches causes it to form a stable foam when whipped, which can be flavoured into an airy cream-like sauce, baked at a low temperature to set like meringue or turned into an emulsion akin to mayonnaise. What we previously saw as little more than bog water might just become the next big thing.

The Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture attempted to dissect why the formula was so versatile – it can foam, emulsify, gel and basically mimic eggs – and found it came down to the starches that leaked from legumes during the cooking process, but there’s still some experimenting to go.

To use it, strain out any particles and then whip for up to 10 minutes, until the water turns glossy and white, then set in the fridge. It’s basically tasteless, but you can flavour it with a little lemon zest, or herbs and salt for a savoury sauce. Or gently fold with chocolate for a traditional mousse.

A video posted by Jenny. (@veganpastryschool) on Apr 20, 2016 at 10:43am PDT

The Vegan Society uses aquafaba in everything from lemon meringue pie and baked Alaska to nougat, macarons and mayonnaise. We love these lemon meringue nests with whipped coconut cream and lemon curd.

Top chefs are onto it, as well. Dan Barber, the sustainability activist and owner-chef of Blue Hill Farm, uses it to dress his famous dumpster dive salad. Bartenders are subbing it in for egg whites in cocktails such as Pisco sours.

Grub St is even reporting the first commercial use of the water, with condiment company Sir Kensington teaming up with Ithaca Hummus to use up the hummus factory’s waste product for vegan mayonnaise products. Win-win.