Now we're cooking with gas--I mean beans. And hopefully less gas.

[clevermanka]

I know a couple people on my f-list are looking into ways to eat cheaper and more healthily. shrijani, just stop reading now. Due to seven years as a vegetarian and over a decade on a student-cheap budget, I learned to cook beans, and I cook them well. It's not a difficult skill. Beans are fun, simple, cheap, and (unless you're genetically predisposed to hate them) tasty. Here's some good info I found about cooking beans and incorporating them into your diet with minimal distress.

Tips for preventing gas from Colorado State University's Cooperative Extension
Soak dried beans overnight or at least for five hours. (This isn't necessary for dried peas and lentils.) Discard the water, add fresh water, cook for half hour and discard the water. Rinse beans thoroughly until water runs clear. Cover with fresh water and cook until tender. This method will help prevent "gas," which is caused by complex carbohydrates (raffinose sugars) that are not broken down in digestion. When they ferment in the large intestine, they produce carbon dioxide, hydrogen and a little hydrogen sulfide, that can cause gas.

If you want to include more beans in your diet, and increase your "comfort zone" with them, start slowly by eating beans only a couple of times a week at first. This helps your body adjust to digesting them. Drink lots of fluids to help the digestive system handle the increased dietary fiber. Gradually increase the amount of beans you eat, so your digestive system can adjust.

Soak and cook beans thoroughly to eliminate the raffinose sugars that make beans hard to digest. Soak and rinse beans several times to remove gas-producing sugars, USDA researchers advise. Always change the water before cooking. Adding garlic and ginger, dried or fresh, to a cooking pot of beans can reduce the beans' gas-producing properties, according to research in India.

Other helpful hints for cooking beans are to add one tablespoon of oil to beans to keep the foam down while cooking. If your recipe calls for tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar or other acidic foods, add these items after beans are tender. The presence of acid keeps beans from softening. Contrary to advice you may have heard, do not use baking soda when cooking beans. It robs them of their nutritional value.

Supermarket anti-gas products, such as Beano and BeSure, can help.

I'm making up a pot of Sweet and Spicy Black-eyed Peas tomorrow.

Sweet and Spicy Black-eyed Peas
2 c. dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
6 c. water
1 can diced tomatoes
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. cayenne pepper or chipotle chili powder (or a bit of each)
1/4 c. molasses
Salt to taste

Cook the beans and drain off cooking liquid. Saute the onion until it just begins to caramelize. Add garlic, celery, thyme, cayenne and/or chili powder. Add can of tomatoes and liquid. Pour in molasses. Add beans. Stir. Add more water if you want this soupier. Serve with rice or cornbread. Like most of my recipies, this is easily modified for your own tastes. Non-vegetarian types can include ham shanks during the cooking process and shred meat into the mixture at the end.

Comments

[camella.livejournal.com]

i just buy canned black beans and kidney beans a lot. is that bad?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Not bad! Just more expensive. I try to purchase things as minimally packaged as possible. It's a personal preference.

[ladyniniane.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've discovered (the hard way) that canned beans usually have not gone through enough of the soak process to eliminate the carbs that cause the gas. The worst offenders seem to be the red beans (the ones commonly found in prepared chili bean mixtures); I think they just pour them into the pressure cookers with the sauces and cook until they are soft, which doesn't take care of the problem at all, unfortunately.

The secret is to pour out the soak water and cook in fresh water, something that doesn't happen with canned beans, for the most part.

And I think I may need to try the recipe - it sounds great!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

canned beans usually have not gone through enough of the soak process to eliminate the carbs that cause the gas

Interesting. I had no idea! Very good to know. Myself, I generally don't care for the texture of canned beans, either.

The molasses does wonders for the beans, let me tell you!

[rowangolightly.livejournal.com]

That is really good advise, thanks muchly! My body reacts badly to beans improperly prepared; you've given me the desire to try it again....very cool!

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

I wish they'd do that with the chickpeas from which hummus is made.
It's about the only sort of legume I even enjoy. Well, that and red beans w/ rice.
Phooey on all that rinsing and boiling and rinsing and... okay, I shut up now.

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I add half-a-cup of vodka or rum to the overnight soak.
It seems to cut down on the gas for me.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Wow! I've never heard that before. So there really is a use for cheap vodka!

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

well that... and playing along with the people at infusions or grandeur!

http://www.infusionsofgrandeur.net/2006/12/attempt-at-coffee-infused-vodka.html

[pointoforigin.livejournal.com]

Oo, thanks for the yummy looking black-eyed peas recipe. I'll have to try that as soon as we finish up the delicious baked black beans with onions and bacon that the Sparrowhawk cooked up on Sunday. I gave him a dispensation to put the bacon in. I'm just an approximate vegetarian, not a draconian one. Sometimes I put a slosh of Jack Daniels in the beans. I don't know if it cuts down on gas or not, but it tastes good.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Whiskey in red beans sounds like a fantastic addition. I'll be trying that next time! I assume you mean in the cooking water, not the soak water...right?