Beans, beans are good for the heart...

[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.