Various Types of Foaming Agents
The most common way to get a nice, rich, creamy foam on cocktails is to add an egg white to the mixture. What if you’re vegan, allergic to eggs, or just don’t have eggs in the house. There are a few other options for creating an amazingly creamy cocktail without the use of eggs. Here I tested three different types of foamers so you don’t have to. I tried to be as scientific as possible here, but bear in mind it has been awhile since I have been in a science class. All the cocktails were made using the same cocktail recipe and were shaken for the same amount of time with the same number of ice cubes. They were then blind tasted by a willing participant and myself to discuss texture, flavour, visual appeal, and of course the overall quality of foam.
The three emulsifiers tested are egg white, aquafaba, and Ms. Betters Bitter’s Miraculous Foamer.
Egg White
As previously stated, egg white is the default for creating foam in cocktails, most cocktails call for one egg white or 1oz, that is what was used for this test.
Visual
Funnily enough out of the three cocktails this one was the least appealing, I found the egg white distorted the colour of the cocktail and made it seem muted. As far as the foam looked it was nice and white, seemed to be both dense and creamy. I found this foam looked like the foam you would find on top of a freshly poured beer.
Flavour
For this section I am not taking about the flavour of the cocktail so much as I am talking about how each emulsifier affects the flavour of the cocktail. With the egg whites I found nearing the bottom of the cocktail there was a slightly metallic taste like the taste of meringues.
Texture
The texture of the foam was very light and airy which was interesting because it looked denser than it ended up being. However, even though the foam was light and airy the egg whites gave the cocktail a very lovely, creamy mouthfeel.
Overall Thoughts
You can see why this is the standard emulsifier for foamy cocktails, egg whites are cheap and easy to access the results a very good and consistent. The only downside is egg whites are not as shelf-stable as other alternatives and they are not suitable for those who do not eat animal by-products.
Aquafaba
Aquafaba was not something I had heard of before doing some research on foaming agents, it sounds fancy, but it is actually just the liquid you get out of tins of cooked chickpeas. You can make your own by cooking chickpeas and collecting the resulting liquid, but I found it easier just to drain a tin of chickpeas. I used 1oz of the liquid per cocktail and that gave very good results and can be used as a direct replacement for egg whites because it is the same volume of liquid.
Visual
The aquafaba altered the colour of the cocktail a little bit, but not nearly as drastically as the egg whites. The colour of the cocktail ended up being slightly more muted but still a lovely pink colour. The foam here was, in my opinion, the nicest looking foam. It was a very bright white, and looked very dense with very few large bubbles. It had a very consistent look across the whole top of the cocktail.
Flavour
When using the aquafaba there was a slight earthy smell to the cocktail, but it was not at all unpleasant, I actually found I liked the smell and it added another dimension to the cocktail. The earthy smell did not affect the flavour of the cocktail at all which I was worried about, I thought using aquafaba would make my cocktails taste like bean juice, but it didn’t at all.
Texture
The texture of the cocktail was very velvety and luxurious, the foam was quite dense but did not have the thick meringue texture you get from egg whites. I found the aquafaba foam lasted the longest, it did not dissipate over time, and large bubbles did not form as much as they did with the other foaming agents.
Overall Thoughts
I went into the aquafaba test a little hesitant because I was worried it would taste like beans and not have the same foaming affect as egg whites, however, I was very wrong. Using aquafaba produced fantastic results and performed the same, if not better, than egg whites. I would highly recommend using aquafaba whether or not you are looking for a vegan substitute.
Ms. Betters Bitter’s Miraculous Foamer
Visual
Ms. Betters Bitter’s foamer had the least effect on the colour of the cocktail and resulted in a very vivid colour. However, I found that this cocktail had the least amount of foam and the foam was quite sparse and had large bubbles.
Flavour
This foamer leads the cocktail to have an almost sour herbal smell that I could taste throughout the cocktail. However, my tasting associate did not have the same complaints and found that there was no real flavour imparted on the cocktail from the foamer. I suppose it depends how sensitive you are to the botanical mixture used to create this foamer.
Texture
The texture of this cocktail was not hugely impacted by the foamer due to the small amount used, the recommended amount per cocktail is 1/3 of a dropper, therefore there is not a lot of texture difference in the cocktail. The foam of the cocktail was very velvety and airy, however, I found it was quite sparse and not very thick.
Overall Thoughts
I personally did not find this foamer as effective as the egg whites or aquafaba and is not one that I would personally use. Especially in a cocktail with a light flavour profile where the sour herbal flavour may be more noticeable.
However, I have found the best use for this foamer is to use it in conjunction with egg whites or aquafaba. When used together the results are a very dense, creamy, velvety foam that does not dissipate over time. I almost always use Ms. Betters Bitter’s foamer to get a better foam on my cocktails, I use the normal 1oz of either aquafaba or egg whites per cocktail and then add in 1/3 of a dropper of Ms. Betters Bitter’s foamer as well for the best results. Using this method is when I get the most positive feedback on my cocktail foam.
