So, vegan aquafaba butter – the original!
I’m writing this blog post in English, so I can share it with first and foremost, my experimenting fellow aquafabians over at the facebookgroup Vegan Meringue – Hits and misses. This is where we share our aquafaba (bean juice) related experiences and I highly recommend this community to anyone who’s curious about the wonders of aquafaba – the biggest miracle of vegan cooking ever (?).
What is aquafaba?
Aquafaba is the name given to bean juice in general. And by bean juice I mean the thick water you normally pour down the drain when emptying a can of beans. It turns out this bean juice has amazing properties in the kitchen mainly as an egg replacer. I mainly use homemade aquafaba from when we cook chickpeas, but other beans will work as well. I haven’t tried other beans myself though, so for now I’ll just recommend chickpea water. If you haven’t been there yet, go to the Facebook group that I linked to above and you’ll discover a brand new world of vegan cooking. It is beautiful – I promise.
How to make aquafaba butter
My latest aquafaba hit is butter. I havent seen anyone else making it, but it’s actually very easy. And that’s not the only reason it’s a game changer, it’s also vegan, it’s quick, it’s no-special-ingredients aquafaba butter.
Here’s a quick run through of the process:
It’s partially inspired by peanutbutter and vegans aquafaba Mayo recipe where she emulsifies the aquafaba with oils. But instead of (liquid) oils I primarily use saturated fat from coconut, aka coconut oil, in order for it to solidify when chilled. I do add some unsaturated oil as well for a softer consistency, and some golden color. It works like a charm and I’ve been dying to share the recipe (which has been quit the struggle, since our computer broke down so I had to do all editing on a 5 year old micro computer which is slower than a herd of turtles and I’m sure I’ve grown at least a handfull of gray hairs from things like waiting 20 seconds for a reaction everytime I close a window. And can you imagine editing photos with technology just short of smoke signals? I don’t recommend it)
Well now you have it! It only takes about a minute to whip together this lovely vegan butter and then some time in the fridge to solidify. Be sure to drizzle in the oil REALLY slowly and blend it in as soon as it hits the aquafaba. So: No visible oil in the aquafaba at any time, aight? This makes for the best consistancy of the butter (=less flaky). You want it to be like blobby mayonaise when all oil has ben added.
I’m not a big fan of oil myself, but I like to offer my daughter a buttery spread on her ‘rugbrødsmadder’ (the most danish of foods, which is best described as ‘an open sandwich on dark sour dough rye bread’). She tested a version I made with olive- and coconut oil and she loved it!
How do I get my aquafaba butter yellow?
The easiest way is to use a yellowish, almost orange oil for the liquid oil. I use cold pressed organic rapeseed and it has a lovely deep yellow color that will make you aquafaba butter look very buttery to the color. If your oil is not yellow enough, try to add just a pich of turmeric powder to the aquafaba and that should do the trick.
What oils should I use?
For the firm oil, you can choose between two: Either any brand of virgin coconut oil, which will leave some coconut flavour in your final butter or an odourless coconut oil which gives you the super buttery taste. I absolutely recommend you go for a higher quality oil or you might end up with something tasting more similair to margarine.
For the liquid oil I recommed you find a cold pressed rapeseed oil, which will give you a good flavor and a perfect colour. But canola, sunflower and others will work as well. Just note that whatever taste they have will be detectable in the final butter.
EDIT: My peeps over at the aquafaba Facebook group started calling it Nina’s butter, which I was very flattered by, and then I sort of slided my own name into the name of the recipe. So you wanna make my day? Well go ahead and just refer to this as Nina’s vegan butter – my proud heart skips a beat every time someone does that 😉
On top of that: Washington Post, recently published my butter recipe! I’m so proud, check it out here.
Excuse the Danish words popping up here and there, I’m not all equipped for posting English recipes, yet but this one couldn’t wait 😉
Nina's Vegan Aquafaba Butter
INGREDIENSER
- 3 tbsp aquafaba (45 ml and yes, it's chickpea water)
- 7 tbsp coconut oil (1 dl - I prefer virgin coconut oil but you will taste the coconut. Odourless coconut oil will make it VERY buttery))
- 4 tsp cold pressed rapeseed oil, canola or olive oil (20 ml - or a similar oil that you like the taste of. Or try a blend!)
- 2/3 tsp apple cider vinegar (or freshly squeezed lemon juice or if you have, 1/8 tsp of lactic acid)
- 1/3 tsp salt
SÅDAN GØR DU
- Let the coconut oil melt gently until it's almost all liquid. Remove the pan from the heat and let the rest melt. Add your rapeseed or other preferred oil. Let the oil mixture cool to room temperature.
- Pour the (just under room temperature cold) aquafaba in a narrow container with the salt and vinegar. Start blending it with an immersion blender/stick blender.
- With the blender running, slowly pour the oils in, all while making sure all oil thoroughly incorporated before you add more. It should take a couple of minutes to add all the oil and achieve a thick mayo like consistancy. (If you live in a hot area I suggest you place the container on a bag of frozen peas when pouring in the oil, to help the process along)
- IF you taste test it, know that it will taste pretty salty and tangy. This will be numbed a bit when it has chilled and remember, that you normally eat butter WITH something and not on it's own (right?) so it will be easier to make final judgements when spreading it on toast ... mmm ...
- Pour it in a suitable container - DO NOT COVER IT - and put it in the fridge (or maybe a short while in freezer if you're in a hurry). It will take some hours for the butter to solidify, I recommend leaving it one night in the fridge.
Store it in the fridge, especially if you live in a hot area. Depending on what blend of oils you used (unrefined coconut is softer then the refined one) you should be able to spread it directly from the fridge. Leave it on the counter for 15 minutes to make it even softer.
TIPS & NOTER
Note that when you spread it it will look a little flaky (in the truest sense if the word). Don't worry it will still feel velvety soft while melting on you tounge! And if you wipe it once or twice with your knife while buttering, it will loose the flaky look.
- I prefer to use cold pressed rapeseed oil, since it adds a buttery taste to the butter. But just be aware, that the oils will add flavor to the final butter.
- When taken from the fridge and warming up a bit, the butter might shed some drops of aquafaba. No biggie, It's just, I don't want you to feel awkward - mine does it to. Ignore them or gently remove them with papertowel.
- Using other than an immersion blender - please read FAQ below.
Now have fun with it! LIke this butter platter I made for a potluck: I used < href=”http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BV47YU8/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B00BV47YU8&linkCode=as2&tag=plantep-21″ target=”_blank”>these moulds for the parsley butter, and these for the neutral, heart shaped butter (I normally use them for making pretty banana ice cream popsicles). The rest are variuos moulds I’ve picked up at flea markets 🙂
Clockwise from the top: Parsley butter (mix in chopped parsley), chocolate butter (leave out the acid, add cocoa powder and sweetener or simply melted chocolate), heart shaped ‘just butter’ decorated with edible wild pansy, dill/garlic butter (add minced garlic and dip in dried dill when solid – VERY popular), lavender butter (make an aquafaba-infusion with fresh lavender flowers for taste and some blueberries for color). If the butter wont solidify in the moulds in the fridge, put it in the freezer until it just hardens (20-40 minutes.)
AQUAFABA BUTTER FAQ – to answer question regarding the tutorial video
What does it taste like?
- This butter mimics the taste of European/Scandinavian style cultured butter so it has a salty tangy taste and a beautiful velvety mouth feel and melts on your tongue. This is achieved by using an odorless (refined) coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and preferably a cold pressed rapeseed oil, (not canola) or coldpressed flax oil as the vegetable oil. Other ingredients will yield a slightly different but still satisfactory result so use what you can get. Go to the comments section to read the reviews off this butter to get an idea of what other people say it tastes like. Some vegans will say this is better than Earth balance and VERY buttery and I’ve even had a person ask me how to make it taste less butter because they missed the taste ofmargarine. True story. I’ve had omnivores taste it and some will say it tastes like butter and other liked it but still said a didn’t taste exactly like butter. So it depends on who you are. It definitely does not taste like margarine if you use a certain quality of oils. I personally prefer this butter over any available kind of vegan butter on the market in Denmark. If you find the taste of vinegar to overpowering, even after the butter has rested uncovered over night then add a little less next time.
Can aquafaba butter be used for baking?
- While I myself have very limited experience with this I have had reports of Aquafaba butter being used in vegan croissants, piecrusts, pizza crust, biscuits, banana bread, buttercream, Italian meringue buttercream and some even say they use it for everything when they bake. I recommend going to the official aquafaba facebook group for inspiration.
How long does it last in the fridge?
- It will last anywhere between 5 to 10 days maybe even longer. Once it has solidified you can cover it to prolong shelf life.
Can you freeze it?
- I’ve had butter sitting in my freezer for almost a year and it was still spreadable and the taste was only slightly affected. Properly covered the taste won’t be affected within the first few months.
Can I use anything other than immersion/stick blender?
- This is what my readers have reported: Vitamix some people report having thrown all ingredients into the Vitamix and running it on medium speed (not high!) until emulsified. Electric beaters/hand mixer: this works for some (Exibit A). Use a narrow jar/bowl and make sure the oil is incorporated as soon as it hits the beaters. Foodprocessor: use a small one and simply drizzle in the oil slowly through the lid. Thermomix: use step 3 and if possible chill the bowl ahead.
What kind of jar should I use when blending?
- Use a narrow jar to make sure the immersion blender can mix all the ingredients effectively. Plastic or metal works best for transfering the cold from the ice bath.
- Nope. You have to drizzle it in very slowly for the emulsion to take place properly. If you’re drizzling too much at a time there is a very big risk it will separate and you won’t get the mayo-like consistency.
- Nope rapeseed oil – horrible name I know.
Rapeseed oil? Surely you mean canola oil?
- Well yes and no. You can use canola oil, which technically is made from the exact same thing (rapeseed flowers) but I’m referring to organic coldpressed rapeseed oil which has a nice nutty flavor and orange color that will make your butter yellow. If you can’t get your hands on that use whatever flavored or neutral tasting vegetable oil you like. Canola is used by a lot of people for this butter.
Does it have to be aquafaba from chickpeas?
- No, you cant use just about any other kind of legume-aquafaba. Go to aquafaba.com for more info.
Does it have to be canned aquafaba?
- No. You cant easily cook your own beans until tender and use the cooking water (aka aquafaba). You may need to reduce it to get thicker/more potent aquafaba like the one you get from a can.
How do I store my aquafaba butter?
- Keep it in the fridge
How long will it keep at room temperature?
- That depends on how well the emulsion went. Normally it will keep well for hours, maybe days. If you didn’t manage to chill it during the process, it will be more prone to separating at room temperature.
Do I have to use an ice bath?
- Som people have succes with getting the butter thick (mayo-like consistency) without the ice bath. But it’s a fool proof method of getting the butter thick every time. Butter chilled in ice bath during mixing will have a better, less flakey consistency. If it works for you without the ice bath, keep doing what you do.
What’s an ice bath?
- A bowl of ice cubes with some water to help transfer the cold to the jar. You can use frozen peas, corn or the like in lieu of ice cubes.
How the f**k do I hold the jar still in the ice bath while pouring in the oils!?
- If you don’t have a third arm, you can add 1 spoon full of oil at a time and blend in between additions. Adding a little less water to the ice bath can also keep the jar from moving too much around.
What if I’m not able to produce a thin drizzle of the oils?
- Then use the fool proof method of adding a teaspoon of oil at a time instead. This is an excellent way of keeping you from adding too much oil at a time.
Do you think I could replace the vinegar with lemon juice/lactic acid?
- It will still work, but the butter will taste a little less buttery. You can also use lactic acid, but reduce the amount to adjust for the more acidic tasting lactic acid.
- Nowhere do I claim that my aquafaba butter is a health food 🙂 I don’t recommend you substituting your morning ginger shot or banana kale blueberry and chia seed smoothie with aquafaba butter. But if you’re already consuming some kind of vegan butter In think making your own butter with just a few simple ingredients that you yourself can choose the quality of – is a pretty darn good idea 🙂
Enjoy and thanks for stopping by 🙂
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This recipe was so incredible! Good job on such an amazing creation
Saved as a favorite, I love your blog!
You’re so cool! I don’t think I have read a recipe like that – with some originality.
Thanks
Lactic acid is normally used as a preservative. If this product is kept in the refrigerator, used quickly, is the lactic acid necessary for any xhe.ical action, other than as preservative? TIA
Yes you absolutely need it for the taste of butter 🤗
Best regards
Nina
🙂
I enjoyed that a lot!
This is an really cool idea! Thanks for making this!
I wrote you an email about collaboration. We are doing spices for plant food.
You can see them at https://truegreens.dk/krydderier
Regards Søren, Truegreens
Tak Søren 🙏🏼 Jeg har endelig fået svaret på jeres mail-henvendelser 😊
Bh Nina
Thank you Nina, your recipe is so interesting. I will be refined coconut oil, but I was eondering what if I bought this one with a buttery flavor? Maybe it is better not? What do you think? Nutiva – Organic Refined Coconut Oil Buttery Flavor – 14 oz.
Uh that sounds like a fun thing to play around with! I’d definitely omit most of the acid and salt from the recipe. Please let me know if you try it. I don’t he access to exotic ingredients like that here in Denmark 😅
Best regards
Nina
Thanks for the creative recipe. I’ve been reading different opinions on whether coconut oil is healthy and therefore whether vegan butter is healthier than dairy butter. What is your estimate on the calories per serving?
I don’t think it comes down to calories when comparing which is healthier 🤗 they are both close to 100% fat.
What can be discussed is the properties of animal fat versus vegetable fat. But also deodorized coconut oil (which will give you the best result) versus the cold pressed Virgin oil. I’ll leave that up to reach of you too decide for your self 😋
Best regards
Nina
Best regards
Hi there Nina! I am also called Nina, so the fact that this is called ‘Nina’s vegan butter’ makes me happy 🙂 I just made it for the first time, using a whisk instead of a blender, and it worked perfectly.
Taste-wise, it still has a kind of margerine-y taste which I think may be coming from the rapeseed oil. Have you ever tried this using olive oil instead? x
Yes actually the first batch I did when I got the idea was made with olive oil since that was what I had on hand. It will not be as buttery as with cold pressed rapeseed. But find a nice trading olive oil 🤗
All the best
Nina
Greetings, Nina!
Thank you so much for this creative and wonderful exploration into vegan butter! I too like to experiment and I’m always on the hunt for interesting ways to make things taste fantastic without dairy. One thing I was wondering about with this recipe is some way of “culturing“ the mixture? I understand that you were adding a cultured flavor with the vinegar, however the vegan butters that I have most enjoyed in the United States, are the Miyoko‘s brand. Her secret is that she cultures the mixture in some fashion. Just wondering if you have attempted this and have any ideas about how to go about it?
Thanks so much!
I’m afraid I haven’t experiment With that. But I ett tidigt i had the time! 😜
Best regards and thanks for stopping by!
Nina
Hey Nina! Love your recipe and after reading the reviews I’m very eager to try it plus I appreciate your replies on all comments. The thing is, I live in India and currently the country is on a national lockdown because of covid19. I don’t have many ingredients so need your advice. Can I use fresh lemon juice if stores here don’t have vinegar? Or any other alternative? Plus it’s impossible to find any cold pressed oil and rapessee oil here so can I use plain cooking oil? I think I use sunflower oil for cooking but is it necessary to use a cold pressed oil? I luckily had chickpeas so I made aquafaba at home. And has anyone ever reported to you that they’ve used this butter successfully in baking cakes? Oh and if I wish to make an unsalted butter for a baking recipe, is it as simple as not putting in any salt while making this butter or is salt necessary? Too many questions I know but please..lol!
Thanks!
– Rohit
Yes you can easily leave out the same 👍🏽
The reason I use cold pressed is for the buttery taste. You can get the same consistency with replacing the rapeseed with your regular liquid cooling oil.
Yes I know that people have used this in cakes. But it probably depends on each recipe, being method etc.
You can use fresh lemon juice, the acidic taste won’t be quite as Buttery though 🤗
Hope this helps! Sorry for the great delay!😳
Best regards
Nina🤗
Hi Nina!
Thank you soooo much for the recipe I really want to make it. But there’s one problem, I’m vegan for environmental purposes so I don’t want to use coconut oil. Are there other oils, that can work?
You cold go for cocoa fat 🤗 but the consistency will change as well as the taste.
Best regards
Nina
hi! i made this butter and it seems nice and fluffy as i mixed it, but after time in the fridge, it seemed to harden just like coconut oil. where did i go wrong???
Take it out to let it soften a little beforehand 🤗
Best regards
Nina
This is fabulous. I used 2 tablespoons of liquid Aquafaba and I ice cube equivalent (i freeze Aquafaba in an ice cube tray, each cube is one tablespoon. This kept it cold enough to make the butter perfectly! Very easy, thank you. The only issue I have is with the colour – I used extra virgin rape seed oil, but the colour ended up white. I eventually added some turmeric, so it is now just off white (the first time I added too much and it was a weird shade of yellow!). I love this recipe. Thank you so much.
Your most welcome!
Nina🤗
Hello, and thank You so much for this recipe !!!
What I would like to know is , if I can use this butter for anything , that requires a butter in it?
For example I whant to make a soupe ,and the recipe has a vegan butter .
Thank You
You can’t use it for ANYthing. But a lot of things work fine 🙂 It would add all the flavors and creaminess to your soup so my guess is this would work fine 🙂
Best
Nina
Holy moly this is delicious. I used avocado oil, a 1/2 tsp of sugar, and a shake of tumeric. I couldn’t stop licking the spoon!! As a non-vegan it’s not often that I *love* vegan foods, but this one is a winner. Will be making this for years to come.
Yay! Succes – thanks <3
All the best
Nina
Hello Nina!
I’m super excited to try this recipe (also love your writing style hehe)!
Just one question – can I replace the rapeseed oil with any other oil or will it significantly alter the result? I’m thinking hemp seed oil..I realize the colour may not be so yellow unless I add turmeric , but that doesn’t bother me 🙂
I’m more interested in whether the consistency might change.
Thank you!
Hi there 🤗 consistency should be fine but taste may vary 😋
All the best
Nina
Oh my just made this for my non vegan family amd they loved it so much. I did add 2 chunks of garlic though. Amazing recipe, left it in my parents fridge, they pretty much forced me to, and now about to make some more for myself!
Yay! Succes 😀 I’m glad my butter brought joy to you and your fam <3
Thanks for the feedback :-*
Nina
Looking at the ingrediance, I just want to check how much coconut oil to use. What does 1/3 c stand for? I ‘m English, so the abbreviations are a bit different here!
C is a cup (a US cup is 240 ml). I edited it to say ‘cup’ in the recipe to clear things up 🙂 Which measurement would you use in this case?
Best regards Nina
Thank you, been looking for a recipe for ages! Do you know if it works well to make garlic butter?
Yes I made one with finely chopped parsley and minced garlic that I stirred in right before refrigeration 🙂
I added 1/2 t Liquid Lecithin to make it a little more solid. at room temp and very firm from the refrigerator. I will never buy processed vegan butter again.
Good to know – thanks 🙂 And to anyone following, I’m pretty sure ‘t’ means a teaspoon.
All the best
Nina
First, I want to tell you how wonderful it is to see a blog where the poster actually REPLIES to all the comments! I tend to read comments before trying a recipe, and it always bothers me when valid questions are asked, and never answered. Thank-you for your attentiveness to your blog!
I have been wanting to try this recipe for quite a while, as I have been making aquafaba mayo for ages (I know it by heart, and can make it in 5 minutes, lol). Recently moved, and still can’t find the Refined coconut oil (can’t stand the flavor of coconut in a buttery spread). Now that I am making my chickpeas from dried, I still haven’t gotten the aquafaba consistent in thickness. I also seem to have a lot of “bits” that stay behind, lol.
If I have a batch of aquafaba that I just cook down to thicken, is it possible to make it TOO thick for this recipe?
Look forward to trying my hand at this SOON!
Hi Andrea 🙂
Rather than boiling it down to obtain the rigtht consistency, are you letting the aquafaba cool down overnoght WITH the beans after they have been boiled? Thias always does the trick for me and I hardly ever have to reduce it 🙂
No I don’t think that you can make it too thick, in fact I imagine it will only improve the final consistency of the butter: Good luck in finding refined coconut oil. Have you tried online?
All the best
Nina
Oh My! Truly delicious!
Got the refined coconut oil the other day, and made my first batch last night. Not sure why I was so nervous to make it, as I am somewhat of an “amateur expert” at AF mayo, lol. This was just as easy, just the added step of melting the coconut oil. I don’t have ice cubes to create the ice-bath, so I tried a cold pack, but it didn’t wrap the container I use for the mixing all that well. It did come out very flakey, so next time I will try something else. I did find it a bit strong on the vinegar when I first tried it, last night, only a few hours after making (no patience, lol), but less so this morning, and it seems to lessen after sitting at room temp for a while. I could try a little less next time. I had a difficult time with the 1/3 tsp measurement, as I’ve never seen a 1/3 spoon, just 1/2 and 1/4.
HEAVENLY! I’m glad I made a double batch, so I had enough to share with housemates.
THANKS!
Hi Andrea, I’m glad you finally made it! 😀
Yes I know the 1/3 thing is rarely seen in the meassuring spoons. It’s simply somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 – but tastebuds vary, so I think people just adjust to their own liking anyways.
You’re welcome <3
Nina
You can buy ouderless virgin coconut oil from Amazon the make is Biona. No coconut flavour at all.
I’m very confused as you suggest to get cold pressed rapeseed oil but not canola but rapeseed and canola are the same thing?
Hi Chi, yes I know this is confusing. Canola is made from a modified type of rapeseed and it is very hard to find a ‘cold pressed canola’since it is almost never made cold pressed. So I choose to recommend the cold pressed rapeseed instead, although I know it may be difficult too to find in some areas. I do NOT recommend simply rapeseed oil since this will have no taste at all and if preferring that you may as well go for the more available canola. IF you can find something called cold pressed canola this should work and taste the same as cold pressed rapeseed, but I can’t guarantee it since I’ve never tasted it :)I hope this didn’t leave you even more confused 😀
Nin
This is really delicious! Mine came out a bit salty, so next time I will decrease the salt since the aquafaba already has plenty of salt in it. Otherwise the taste is divine and the texture luscious. Mine set to the texture of my favorite canola oil butter — not rock hard like butter, not soupy either. I halved the recipe and it’s just the right amount for me to experiment with. Many thanks for this easy and very tasty recipe.
Yay for butter succes! I’m glad you like it – thanks for the feedback, always appreciated 🙂
all the best
Nina
Hi Nina! Just one question; what is the purpore of the aquafaba in this recipe and what would happen if I were to not use it?
Thanks!
The aquafaba creates the emulsion and the consistency 🙂
I’ve just made this for the first time, and I have ended up with, um, butter? It wasn’t thickening much so I stuck it in the fridge for a bit. Took it out and whipped it again. Was about to put it back in the fridge and decided to add a pinch of turmeric. Whipped again and it curdled I think. Put it in a muslin cloth and wrung out about 1/4 cup of liquid. I now have a lump of ‘butter’. Just had some on toast and it tasted great! 🙂 I think I probably over-processed it, but it’s been a happy accident!
I’ve posted this on the Aquafaba hits & misses page with a photo 🙂
Uh very interesting – yes this would be similar to how butter is churned. I saw your comment in the aquafaba group. I’ll have this in mind if (when) my butter fails me sometime in the future – thanks for sharing 🙂
All the best
Nina
I made this today and it is amazing. At first it failed and didn’t turn into a mayo consistency. I left it in the fridge to cool a little then whipped it up again and hey presto! Perfect and very tasty. The butter I used to make contained nutritional yeast so I was thinking of adding some to this recipe for my B12 intake. You think it would work without altering the tasted too much?
Hi Suzy 🙂 I’m glad you enjoy it! I’d probably use a little less salt (and maybe even less ACV since nutritional yeast is pretty salty/tangy. That should work fine 🙂
All the best
Nina
Thank you so much for this great recipe! I just tried it (using sunflower oil) & it tasted delicious right away. Looking forward to trying it on toast tomorrow for breakfast.
Thanks for sharing!
Yum! You’re welcome 🙂
Nina
This is the first I’ve ever heard of Aquafaba but I’m very excited about the cooking possibilities. ☺
Just to clarify, is it the water from the can of beans or that sludge like stuff at the bottom of the can?
Yes – that’s it 😉 Enjoy the aquafaba ride!
Thank you for putting the mls!
Where it says 1tbs and 1tsp (20ml) – that is only one tablespoon in Australia!
You saved us a lot of confusion, thank you! 🙂
Great recipe, thanks!