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Don't soak your dried beans

latimes.com

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Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#31

Post by pbhjpbhj »

dj-wonk wrote: post #25
maxk42 wrote: post #17

Please do not spread this incorrect information! The reason you soak beans is not to improve the flavor. It is to dissolve the flavorless and indigestible sugars that give you massive bean-gas when you eat them. If you soak beans well before cooking -- then change the water and cook them -- then change the water again and rinse them well before finishing the cooking process -- you will have a tasty, nutritious treat…

From "Effects of Various Soybean Products on Flatulence in the Adult Man." at http://ebm.sagepub.com/content/121/4/1235.short "Conclusions: In 4 human male subjects, kept on a carefully controlled diet to which various fractions of soybean meal were added, the flatus-producing factor in soybeans was concentrated primarily in the low molecular-weight constituents. These experiments also showed that the soybean hulls,…

Could you precis that for the lazy casual reader?

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#32

Post by [deleted] »

maxk42 wrote: post #17

Please do not spread this incorrect information! The reason you soak beans is not to improve the flavor. It is to dissolve the flavorless and indigestible sugars that give you massive bean-gas when you eat them. If you soak beans well before cooking -- then change the water and cook them -- then change the water again and rinse them well before finishing the cooking process -- you will have a tasty, nutritious treat…

[deleted]

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#33

Post by mrfusion »

califield wrote: post #11

I make really delicious slow cooker black beans every Sunday, following this recipe I found online: http://cafejohnsonia.com/2013/02/how-to-slow-cooker-black-be... She recommends skipping the soak and I haven't noticed any problems yet!

It says they only last a week in the freezer?? I'd think they'd last at least a month or two, no?

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#34

Post by spodek »

Want to drop your bean preparation time down to about two minutes?

Cook them in a rice cooker. Just put them in with about 3:1 water to bean, press the button, and it turns itself off when they're done. Cooking time is still about an hour, but preparation time is a couple minutes.

I add olive oil, salt, and herbs (meat eaters can add bacon, ham, or whatever), which may add another minute to preparation time. You can make several meals worth of beans with a few minutes' effort and a dollar or two of ingredients.

I recommend the Hitachi Chime-o-matic if they still make them.

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#35

Post by caio1982 »

o_nate wrote: post #19

I do agree that unsoaked beans are more flavorful, but I disagree with the assertion that "soaking does absolutely nothing to reduce the gas-producing properties of beans". I've eaten them both ways for years, and in my experience, unsoaked beans definitely produce more flatulence. The exception to that is pressure-cooking. Pressure-cooked unsoaked beans do not seem to produce any more flatulence than soaked. I'm not…

I know this is anecdotal but yeah, I have been eating pressure-cooked beans for 30 years now and I don't even recall the last time I had gases because of beans. I don't even get why people have problems with beans in the first place. I assume it is only because pressure cookers are not common in some countries.

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#36

Post by ZoF »

mrfusion wrote: post #33
califield wrote: post #11

I make really delicious slow cooker black beans every Sunday, following this recipe I found online: http://cafejohnsonia.com/2013/02/how-to-slow-cooker-black-be... She recommends skipping the soak and I haven't noticed any problems yet!

It says they only last a week in the freezer?? I'd think they'd last at least a month or two, no?

I think it was just poorly worded and the one week timing would be if you stored them in the fridge.

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#37

Post by [deleted] »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #31
dj-wonk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From "Effects of Various Soybean Products on Flatulence in the Adult Man." at http://ebm.sagepub.com/content/121/4/1235.short "Conclusions: In 4 human male subjects, kept on a carefully controlled diet to which various fractions of soybean meal were added, the flatus-producing factor in soybeans was concentrated primarily in the low molecular-weight constituents. These experiments also showed that the soybean hulls,…

Could you precis that for the lazy casual reader?

[deleted]

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#38

Post by yellowapple »

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #15
tdicola wrote: post #8

I am genuinely curious, why is this post on Hackernews' front page? Yes I know this type of comment is typically frowned upon (and will happily accept the downvotes), but seriously--a story about cooking beans with some vague science and anecdotes?

Maybe people are thinking about lunch.

I'll be honest: I'm always thinking about lunch.

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#39

Post by namecast »

Everyone here is mentioning the "bean flatulence" effect that soaking apparently prevents. Adding my two cents: if you take the article's advice specifically for red kidney beans, you'll have bigger problems than gas.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artredkidneybeanpoisoning....

Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Ugh.

Re: Don't soak your dried beans

#40

Post by tobylane »

>Don't soak your dried beans! Now even the cool kids agree

Apparently socks and sandals are in fashion this year. Is this a phase the cool kids are going through or is it science?

Including heinz five bean, I think I've had 8-10 different beans in the last year. Which bean is this article so scientifically talking about.

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