Beans, beans are good for the heart...

[withm]

I learned this method from Dr. Mirkin
http://www.drmirkin.com/

put 1 pound of dried beans in a big pot, bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Add 2-3 heaping tablespoons baking soda. Make sure you do this OFF HEAT - it will fizz and bubble, so do it slowly and carefully, 1 T at time if you don't want to make a mess.

Cover the pot, and let the beans soak 6-8 hours or overnight.

DRAIN and rinse the beans (and wash the pot). DO NOT save the soaking water - it will give you serious gas! Return the beans to the newly washed pot, add water to cover by ~ 1" and cook the beans as usual.

Note, they they don't take nearly so long to cook now, so check them after 15-20 minutes - depending on what kind of beans you are cooking, they are done in 20-30 minutes. Drain and proceed with your recipe.

Dr. Mirkin is a noted physician, and real-down-to-earth cyling MD and his wife is a nutritionist/registered dietitian. They espouse a diet based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains, and perhaps a small amount of fish, and have a lot of recipes on their website.

[Tuckervill]

Could you just cook the beans longer if you didn't want to let them soak 6-8/overnight? Or does it take that long for the baking soda to do its magic?

I usually bring my beans to a boil, then turn them off for an hour...then drain, rinse and cook until done. Usually much less time than 6-8 hours.

Thanks,
Karen

[withm]

Could you just cook the beans longer if you didn't want to let them soak 6-8/overnight? Or does it take that long for the baking soda to do its magic?

I usually bring my beans to a boil, then turn them off for an hour...then drain, rinse and cook until done. Usually much less time than 6-8 hours.

Thanks,
Karen

It's the soaking interval with baking soda that neutralizes the gas in the beans, which was the original problem.

According to the Dr. Mirkin website, bringing the beans to a boil breaks the capsules surrounding the beans and allows stachyose, verbascose and raffinose, the gas-causing sugars, to escape into the water. Adding the baking soda then makes it more alkaline. Soak overnight, then be sure to drain and rinse the beans several times before cooking them.

Result = no gas. Works for me.

Anyway, doing the initial boil and soak takes 5 minutes. The soaking is passive. Then the rinsing and final cooking is maybe 20-30 min. To me this is still better than cooking them for an hour.

[OakLeaf]

Boiling and then turning off the heat is considered "speed-soaking" which just allows water to penetrate the inside of the bean quicker.

There's no good substitute for time, allowing fluid exchange across the bean skins.

Besides not being much help for gassiness, in my experience speed-soaking contributes to uneven cooking. (They'll still be cooked more evenly than with no soaking, but the initial boiling will partially cook them.)

Really, try the pressure cooker, and just remember to set some beans out to soak the night before, or in the morning before work. Soak them in at least 4-5 times as much water as beans. Then cook them (with a little oil to prevent foaming) for 4-15 minutes under high pressure, depending on the type of bean and how long they've been stored. Lorna Sass has a chart in all of her cookbooks. Total cooking time (for plain beans only) including bringing to high pressure and natural pressure release is usually around 20-30 minutes. It's SO simple.