6 ms·

If you'd like to eliminate gas formation caused by legumes, you need only change the water (preferably twice) during the cooking process. Undigestible sugars (

by maxk42 5y ago

If you'd like to eliminate gas formation caused by legumes, you need only change the water (preferably twice) during the cooking process. Undigestible sugars (AKA soluble fiber) are the primary culprit for this property of most legumes. Conveniently, they dissolve when heated in water. However, legumes begin very hard and it takes a lot of boiling to release all of those gas-forming sugars. If you have a legume that takes two hours to soften by boiling, try changing the water once after an hour, and again after they're fully boiled. (And rinse thoroughly.) Then you can use them in any dish and generally suffer little to no gas after consuming. Enjoy!

valarauko 5y ago
I assume you're referring to raffinose? In Indian cooking (which uses a lot of legumes) our solution is to soak them overnight and discard the water - cuts down the raffinose and overall cooking time. We also almost universally cook them in pressure cookers - even the toughest beans cook rapidly in a pressure cooker if soaked - maybe 15 minutes?
Zababa 5y ago
Also, don't eat legumes that have just been soaked or that are still cooking, you'll get a huge stomachache. I learned this the hard way while tasting kidney beans while they were cooking.
- foobiekr 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_bean#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_bean#Toxicity It can be worse than a stomach ache.
  - morsch 5y ago
    "As few as five raw beans or a single undercooked kidney bean can cause severe nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pains." That's nuts, though I don't understand why undercooked beans would be worse than raw beans, and not the other way round. Maybe the two claims are from different sources.
    - whatshisface 5y ago
      Your digestive system may not get at the raw bean as quickly or at all.
- molasses 5y ago
  Oh man I got poisoned by some bought canned kidney beans used in a salad, and it wasn't pretty.
  - lucioperca 5y ago
    They were probably spoiled. Canned beans are pressure cooked.
    - molasses 5y ago
      Yeah, I thought canned beans would be cooked and fine. But I guess one bad one can get through.
- notdang 5y ago
  that's why the pythagoreans where against beans.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  All legumes are toxic by default, and some are very toxic. Leguminosae is a big family and they are masters on alkaloid design. This is the main reason why we made our bread from cereals and not from legume flour. Cereals are more safe to manipulate because their defense is physical, not chemical.
readflaggedcomm 5y ago
Or simply add a strip of konbu. That works in an electric pressure-cooker, which makes beans even faster to prepare. It also works for cattle who are prone to bloat.
- eutectic 5y ago
  What's the mechanism? Sounds unlikely to do much.
  - tnorthcutt 5y ago
    Kombu is a sea vegetable which contains the enzyme alpha-galactosidase. This enzyme breaks down the oligosaccharides in beans. https://truefoodconcepts.com/cook-dried-beans/ https://truefoodconcepts.com/cook-dried-beans/ A quick google of "kombu beans gas" turns up plenty of results.
  - readflaggedcomm 5y ago
    There are two commonly-cited ideas: enzymes and anti-methanogenic compounds. I think it works too fast for enzymes to be the full story. From https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247820 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... >Some red seaweeds are anti-methanogenic, particularly the genus Asparagopsis, due to their capacity to synthesize and encapsulate halogenated CH4 analogues, such as bromoform and dibromochloromethane It cites studies that suggest the mechanism that's so effective in cattle, and presumably the same in humans, is that the seaweed contains a good combination of compounds which inhibit methane production in anaerobic bacteria in the gut.
upgrademyfood 5y ago
Unfortunately, oligosaccharides (including raffinose, stachyose, ciceritol, and verbascose commonly found in legumes and often result in flatulence in humans) are heat stable, no matter how long you cook them. 2 processes that help you breakdown these include germination and fermentation. Other herbs like hing, epazote etc only allieviate the symptoms a little.

by maxk42 5y ago

valarauko 5y ago

I assume you're referring to raffinose? In Indian cooking (which uses a lot of legumes) our solution is to soak them overnight and discard the water - cuts down the raffinose and overall cooking time. We also almost universally cook them in pressure cookers - even the toughest beans cook rapidly in a pressure cooker if soaked - maybe 15 minutes?

Zababa 5y ago

Also, don't eat legumes that have just been soaked or that are still cooking, you'll get a huge stomachache. I learned this the hard way while tasting kidney beans while they were cooking.

foobiekr 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_bean#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_bean#Toxicity It can be worse than a stomach ache.
- morsch 5y ago
  "As few as five raw beans or a single undercooked kidney bean can cause severe nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pains." That's nuts, though I don't understand why undercooked beans would be worse than raw beans, and not the other way round. Maybe the two claims are from different sources.
  - whatshisface 5y ago
    Your digestive system may not get at the raw bean as quickly or at all.
molasses 5y ago
Oh man I got poisoned by some bought canned kidney beans used in a salad, and it wasn't pretty.
- lucioperca 5y ago
  They were probably spoiled. Canned beans are pressure cooked.
  - molasses 5y ago
    Yeah, I thought canned beans would be cooked and fine. But I guess one bad one can get through.
notdang 5y ago
that's why the pythagoreans where against beans.
pvaldes 5y ago
All legumes are toxic by default, and some are very toxic. Leguminosae is a big family and they are masters on alkaloid design. This is the main reason why we made our bread from cereals and not from legume flour. Cereals are more safe to manipulate because their defense is physical, not chemical.

readflaggedcomm 5y ago

Or simply add a strip of konbu. That works in an electric pressure-cooker, which makes beans even faster to prepare. It also works for cattle who are prone to bloat.

eutectic 5y ago
What's the mechanism? Sounds unlikely to do much.
- tnorthcutt 5y ago
  Kombu is a sea vegetable which contains the enzyme alpha-galactosidase. This enzyme breaks down the oligosaccharides in beans. https://truefoodconcepts.com/cook-dried-beans/ https://truefoodconcepts.com/cook-dried-beans/ A quick google of "kombu beans gas" turns up plenty of results.
- readflaggedcomm 5y ago
  There are two commonly-cited ideas: enzymes and anti-methanogenic compounds. I think it works too fast for enzymes to be the full story. From https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0247820 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal... >Some red seaweeds are anti-methanogenic, particularly the genus Asparagopsis, due to their capacity to synthesize and encapsulate halogenated CH4 analogues, such as bromoform and dibromochloromethane It cites studies that suggest the mechanism that's so effective in cattle, and presumably the same in humans, is that the seaweed contains a good combination of compounds which inhibit methane production in anaerobic bacteria in the gut.

upgrademyfood 5y ago

Unfortunately, oligosaccharides (including raffinose, stachyose, ciceritol, and verbascose commonly found in legumes and often result in flatulence in humans) are heat stable, no matter how long you cook them. 2 processes that help you breakdown these include germination and fermentation. Other herbs like hing, epazote etc only allieviate the symptoms a little.