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I've cooked beans almost every day for years and my experiences are not at all in line with what the amateur in this article thinks he has discovered.
by code_duck 12y ago
I've cooked beans almost every day for years and my experiences are not at all in line with what the amateur in this article thinks he has discovered.
- zachberger 12y agoCan you elaborate? How do you cook your beans?
- code_duck 12y agoSorry I didn't include more details. I change the water often, and sometimes use the boil and soak method. Sometimes I change the water after they've started to cook, especially if there is a lot of foam. All of my experiences indicate this decreases flatulence. It is true that long soaking periods can decrease flavor and produce a non-optimal texture. I find that canned beans and beans from certain restaurants do produce more gas for me. The article does go on to say that the boil and soak method effectively reduces gas producing sugars. It would be nice if this was highlighted more in the exposition and main claims of the article. Rather, it makes it sound like all soaking is unnecessary. As far as baking soda, my friend in Australia was having a very difficult time getting beans to soften due to the properties of the local water and was very pleased at the results when I suggested using baking soda. I don't do this myself, as it is said to decrease certain nutrients.
- zachberger 12y agoThanks! I will definitely try your ideas. I have to agree that changing the water decreases flatulence... I love the beans hate the flatulence
- caio1982 12y agoI also read "amateur" all over the article. In Brazil people have been cooking beans for centuries and honestly I cannot even understand his doubts or questions. In the past we used to soak beans overnight just because otherwise they would take ages to cook in regular pots (and some people still do that when they only have regular pots to cook with). But that was it, just to speed things up. No (real) difference in flavor, digestion etc. Nearly every house in Brazil has a pressure cooker. Even in favelas everybody has one. I would say 90% of them were bought just to cook beans every other day. The basic brazilian way is to simply cook the beans in the pressure cooker with nothing else but water. Then we it reaches the biting point you want (between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the beans) you take a big spoon of that, smash it in another pan with garlic and some chopped onions and oil and then put it back into the cooker, plus salt to taste. And that is it. Nothing more. If the whole soaking or cooking debate was real, specially considering the gas issue he mentions, I think Brazil would be the biggest polluter of methane in the world by the way. EDIT: grammar
- caio1982 12y agoSeems that indeed we are the biggest polluter of methane in the world, unless I am getting this wrong: http://www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/index/bean-consumption-per-capita http://www.helgilibrary.com/indicators/index/bean-consumptio...
- bronson 12y agoFrom your snide wording and claimed expertise, I take it you're a professional bean cooker? Was your post just a teaser?
- code_duck 12y agoWell, I'm often skeptical of articles that claim "everything you know about x subject is wrong". As I said, I've cooked beans just about every day for years. Yes, I could easily be a professional bean cooker. The journalist stated that he has very little experience actually doing this himself and based his conclusions on a few ad hoc tests. The journalist is neither experienced nor an expert.
- munificent 12y agoWhy do you describe the author as an amateur? He's been writing about cooking for 30 years and has several published cookbooks. What does qualifications would he need to be a "professional" bean cooker?
- code_duck 12y agoGood question. I thought I saw the author say he was new to cooking beans. I don't see that in there now, and in my defense... I have a 102 degree fever today.