# Eliminating Gas from Beans



## ErgoErgun

What methods do you use to eliminate gas from Beans BESIDES Beano?  

Right now I'm washing in hot water, then soaking for 12 hours, then cooking on medium heat for 8 hours.  Is that enough?  Are there other methods? Should they be washed more?  Thank you.


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## JDP

There was a recent thread about this. It seems like there is no cure outside of eating them often and just getting used to their music. Beano seems to be the only answer. This is something they should look at on Mythbusters.

JDP


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## StirBlue

It is really not the technique of cooking that gives beans and corn the gas.  The source of gas comes from how much air is consumed while chewing.  Some people also complain about similar effects when they eat green peas... 

A nice bean soup with tomatoes, meat, etc. causes less discomfort.


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## Andy M.

StirBlue said:
			
		

> It is really not the technique of cooking that gives beans and corn the gas. The source of gas comes from how much air is consumed while chewing. Some people also complain about similar effects when they eat green peas...
> 
> A nice bean soup with tomatoes, meat, etc. causes less discomfort.


 
Not true.

There is fiber in the beans that cannot be broken down by the enzymes in your intestines.  This results in incomplete digestion that generates that foul smelling gas.  Beano adds the necessary enzymes needed to completely digest the beans and therefore prevent your system's generating the gas.


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## Snoop Puss

Have a look at this thread for info:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/iso-black-bean-help-28427.html?highlight=beans


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## StirBlue

Andy M. said:
			
		

> Not true.
> 
> There is fiber in the beans that cannot be broken down by the enzymes in your intestines. This results in incomplete digestion that generates that foul smelling gas. Beano adds the necessary enzymes needed to completely digest the beans and therefore prevent your system's generating the gas.


 
It is quite curious that people do not complain about these side effects after consuming a burrito or any other refried bean dish.


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## Katie H

ErgoErgun said:
			
		

> What methods do you use to eliminate gas from Beans BESIDES Beano?



Just eatin' more beaners!


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## Candocook

It is quite curious that people do not complain about these side effects after consuming a burrito or any other refried bean dish.__________________
Question of amount? Maybe they *do* "complain" and just don't say it here.
I will say I have never heard anyone complain of gas from peas because they chewed and swallowed air!  ;o)

Beans just cause gas. Not a matter of cooking method, etc. as Andy has already said. You can build up a tolerance to it--I suspect many vegans and vegetarians do not have the problem my DH and I have.
But beans and bean recipes is jes' plain ole good and I have to have them from time to time. 
Getting ready to do some black beans with a recently liberated ham bone.  And maybe my minestrone with tomatoes, beef, and beans--yum yum. It's turning cold down south again.
Speaking of ham hocks, are folks aware that Honey Baked Ham sells their ham hocks for not much and apparently they have a mountain of meat left on them--probably enough for a casserole, plus the bone for soup.


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## lulu

I will not repeat the couragous experiment I undertook just recently on this subject.  If this is a cunning ploy to get me to do so you are in for disappointment, rofl.


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## In the Kitchen

*Thanks*

Candocook, thank you for informing us of the ham hocks.  Seems the stores don't want to encourage the consumers to experiment with preparations at home like making soup or beans.  

Yesterday made some lentil soup and had to look high and very low for the ham bone.  Finally found at a small store that must have had them sitting for fairly long time.  They were starting to smell.  Used them as soon as I could.  Had to buy 'extra' meat for the soup although I think the lentils alone should have been enough.  This is one soup they can't get enough of.


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## Tony_NC

*A pinch of Baking Soda*

Add a pinch, more or less depending on how many you are cooking, of baking soda (sodium bicorbonate). Reduce your salt as baking soda contains lots of sodium.
 
Tony


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## Barb L.

After reading this post, just wanted to mention- lol, refried beans do bother me !  There I've said it !


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## Caine

Beano, and there'll BE NO gas.


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## jpmcgrew

Throw out the the soak water after soaking, rinse beans well and cook with fresh water this will reduce a good amount of the enzyme that cause gas as alot of it will come out in the soak water.


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## Green Lady

jpmcgrew said:
			
		

> Throw out the the soak water after soaking, rinse beans well and cook with fresh water this will reduce a good amount of the enzyme that cause gas as alot of it will come out in the soak water.



I agree. I think this is the way to go.


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## Barbara L

My mom combined what a couple of you said and it seemed to work (not completely, but some).  She brought the beans to a boil with baking soda in the water.  Then she drained and rinsed them and let them soak.  I haven't tried it because I forget when the time comes.  Nothing works perfectly.  As someone else said, eating them more regularly helps lessen the gas.  I can't remember the show I was watching, but the show's hostess said to eat them 3 or 4 times a week.  

As for burritos not causing problems, my husband's and my unintentional "gas wars"  some nights are proof that refried beans are just as guilty! 

 Barbara


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## VeraBlue

StirBlue said:
			
		

> It is quite curious that people do not complain about these side effects after consuming a burrito or any other refried bean dish.




hahahahaa, ever ride in a car with someone who's eaten that??  It's the passengers that are complaining!


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## GB

StirBlue said:
			
		

> The source of gas comes from how much air is consumed while chewing.


If this were true then you would be tooting just much from eating just about anything that requires chewing. You don't chew beans any differently than you do a sandwich or pizza or an apple etc.


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## licia

I do as said before - toss the soaking water and use fresh water to cook the beans.  Someone told me a long time ago to eat carrot sticks when having beans and that seems to work for us. I don't know what the magic is. Perhaps something is carrots help to break down the enzymes?(just a thought).


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## Constance

My grandma always put a little baking soda in the beans. She said it "took the snappers out". I've heard that adding an aspirin will do the same thing. 
The Mexican herb epazote is supposed to do the job, also.


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## Mylegsbig

Are you in some closed up office environment where people are constantly exposed to, and bombarded by the foul stench you produce?

I'd suggest eating beans when you know you won't be in such a precarious situation.


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## expatgirl

gosh, we eat so many beans around here, I forgot how you can be a persona non grata if you only eat them occasionally which confirms the  theory that if you eat them on a regular basis your system adjusts.Okay, from my experience, the people who have posted that you throw the bath  water out without the beans are right.  Do throw out the soak water and add fresh water before cooking and yes, my m-i-l swears by the small addition of baking soda. I've never done it but we eat lots of beans (mainly pinto, ranch style, and black beans) so it's never been a problem around here.  I've also read that it's the sugars in the beans that also are the offending agent and throwing out the soak water eliminates a lot of that.  I dont' know-I've never cooked my beans in the overnight soak  water.  I always throw it out and start with fresh water.


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## Mylegsbig

Why all these exorbitant lengths to prevent people from farting?  Am i missing something?  Everyone farts.

What is the problem exactly?

Is it that as you become older your farts tend do deteriorate into atomic blasts?


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## expatgirl

YOu are so funny!


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## Mylegsbig

lol, trying to throw in some humor, but this thread is bizarre.  as a young man ive never heard of any of these issues.

The only think i can think of is as you get older you can really clear out a room.


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## GB

I must be ancient then MLB. Just ask my wife


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## Harborwitch

Epazote does seem to work.  I use it whenever I cook beans - also never cook the beans in the soaking water.  Sometimes I even par cook and toss that water - especially if I want to really be safe.


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## oldcampcook

I save the meat and bones from the Christmas and Thanksgiving hams to use in my beans.  I recently found the recipe for "Congressional Beans", as in the Congressional dining room.  They were awesome - now is my ONLY bean recipe!
I used to cook my meat (ham hock; hog jowl; back or neck bones or whatever was available) with a whole onion.  Now I cook the meat and onions in a frying pan and add them to the beans just before eating them.  Try it, you will like it!


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## chefchewy

I agree with the throw the water out after soaking but I also go one step further and cook the beans bringing just to a boil where you can see foam on top of the beans then dump the water and rinse the beans and wash out the pot then put back on the stove to cook and flavor. Seems like a lot of work just for a pot of beans but as of yet I have not had any complaints about mine.


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## turtledove

chefchewy said:
			
		

> I agree with the throw the water out after soaking but I also go one step further and cook the beans bringing just to a boil where you can see foam on top of the beans then dump the water and rinse the beans and wash out the pot then put back on the stove to cook and flavor. Seems like a lot of work just for a pot of beans but as of yet I have not had any complaints about mine.


 I tend to change the soaking water every 2-3 hours (if soaking 12-24 hours before cooking). Like chefchewy, I will bring to just to a boil and then do the same as they do. It does really cut down on the gas if not almost all doing it this way. Believe me (a lifelong pinto bean-eater), it does help, lol.


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## Caine

oldcampcook said:
			
		

> I recently found the recipe for "Congressional Beans", as in the Congressional dining room.


 
I don't know about you, but I would expect "Congressional Beans" to produce more gas than any other recipe!


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## Rom

I once cooked an indian dish that my bf showed me and i forgot the ginger (the minced stuff from the jar). ....apparently ginger does something for the gas


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## justplainbill

Harborwitch said:
			
		

> Epazote does seem to work. I use it whenever I cook beans - also never cook the beans in the soaking water. Sometimes I even par cook and toss that water - especially if I want to really be safe.


 
Epazote works somewhat but it seems to have gotten a lot more expensive lately. I wonder what loss of nutritional value is caused by tossing soaking and cooking water? Anyone tried the Mills Brother's Alamo solution- washing the beans with Duz or Lux??


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## Green Lady

Caine said:
			
		

> I don't know about you, but I would expect "Congressional Beans" to produce more gas than any other recipe!



That's a good one, Caine, and all too true!


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## Yakuta

In a lot of Indian households beans are cooked every single day.  You can throw away water, change it multiple times and go through great lengths but bottom line as some others stated it's all about getting used to beans.  

If you eat beans regularly the gas complaints diminish and are not even a big issue anymore.  

An extremely popular dish in India and Pakistan called Haleem uses whole soaked wheat grains along with atleast 1/2 a dozen beans and lamb meat and even that does not bother the locals (wheat grains are so tough even after being soaked and cooked down for hours) because they are used to it. 

Indians use a product called Hing (asafoedita) to reduce gas in beans but I don't think it works and it smells awful.


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## skilletlicker

justplainbill said:
			
		

> Epazote works somewhat but it seems to have gotten a lot more expensive lately. I wonder what loss of nutritional value is caused by tossing soaking and cooking water? Anyone tried the Mills Brother's Alamo solution- washing the beans with Duz or Lux??


 Once in a while they have fresh espazote at one of the nearby markets.  I'm not a fan.  I too have wondered about pouring nutrition down the drain.  I don't use the quick soak method anymore for that reason.  I don't think the overnight soak leeches out much of anything and if I don't have time for that I'll just cook without soaking.  I don't think I've heard anyone recommend tossing the cooking water though.  I wouldn't want to and it certainly seems wasteful.

Bill I nominate you to try the Alamo Alley solution for the rest of us and report back on how it works out.


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## expatgirl

Rom said:
			
		

> I once cooked an indian dish that my bf showed me and i forgot the ginger (the minced stuff from the jar). ....apparently ginger does something for the gas



Ginger is great for any tummy upset---just chop it up and add it to some boiling water for around 5 minutes  (add a little sugar if you like) and drink.  Can really alleviate the dodgiest of stomachs---so I can see why you might find it in some Indian dishes.  The Indian restaurant where we frequent departs you with a handful of sugar crystals, cardamom, fennel, anise seed, etc., and that's to help with the digestion.  The essential oils in them break up the gastric bubbles of impending disaster.  Have you ever added an oily pot to soapy water and seen the bubbles disappear?  Same principle.  Ok, I'm a bit off topic---sorry!  But I agree with the postings that say the more you eat on a regular basis the less you have gastric rumblings and topsy-turvies.  Good luck!


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## The Little Penguin

Yakuta said:
			
		

> If you eat beans regularly the gas complaints diminish and are not even a big issue anymore.


 
I've found that to be the case for me, certainly.

Chick peas, kidney beans, lentils, red beans, and black beans are all pretty common in my diet, and have been for years. They cause me absolutly no trouble!


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## shantihhh

When you eat more legumes your body becomes use to them.  I use *asafetida*  (Indian resin related to fennel) in legumes and it does help.  You can buy this in a small container in powder form at all Indian makets.  It stinks but the odor goes away when cooked-you use a tiny bit.  It then takes on a sort of garlicky taste, but milder.


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## Cajun Cook

Here in Louisiana we don't try to eliminate the gas from beans.  We consider it part of the fun. LOL (Sorry, couldn't resist)


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## Mylegsbig

i let rip a rowdy bean blast and then put the covers over my wife's head.  keeps her on her toes.


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## Cajun Cook

Over here we call that puttin her in the "Dutch Oven".



Mylegsbig said:


> i let rip a rowdy bean blast and then put the covers over my wife's head. keeps her on her toes.


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## Katie H

Okay, you guys..................to the time out chair or  I'll  have to  send you  to  Marge's  woodshed.


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## jpmcgrew

Yes soak them throw out soak water rinse them then cook.Its true the more fiber you eat the less gas.
Beans,beans the magical fruit the more you eat the more you toot,the more you toot the more you eat and if you put pineapple in them you get Hawaiien(sp?) music


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## Cajun Cook

I had a feeling I wuz gonna get fussed. OK, I admit it...I am 43 going on 10. 




Katie E said:


> Okay, you guys..................to the time out chair or I'll have to send you to Marge's woodshed.


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## qmax

Cajun Cook said:


> Here in Louisiana we don't try to eliminate the gas from beans.  We consider it part of the fun. LOL (Sorry, couldn't resist)



I was gonna say....


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## redkitty

What the heck happened to this thread!!!?!!!!  LOL!!!!!!!!

Excellent giggle before I head off to work!  Thanks all!


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## starson

*Beans are excellent for overall health*

Beans are excellent for overall health and the gas is actually a result of good bacterial growth in our intestines, in which the gas is temporary.
On beans & gas, here's a great column about exactly that: Beans and Gas: Clearing the air | NutritionFacts.org  (NutritionFacts.org is an excellent resource. Non-commercial, and provides sources for all research cited.)


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## mykstor

*Change hot pre-soak water frequently*



ErgoErgun said:


> What methods do you use to eliminate gas from Beans BESIDES Beano?
> 
> Right now I'm washing in hot water, then soaking for 12 hours, then cooking on medium heat for 8 hours.  Is that enough?  Are there other methods? Should they be washed more?  Thank you.





ErgoErgun said:


> What methods do you use to eliminate gas from Beans BESIDES Beano?
> 
> Right now I'm washing in hot water, then soaking for 12 hours, then  cooking on medium heat for 8 hours.  Is that enough?  Are there other  methods? Should they be washed more?  Thank you.



*This thread deteriorates as it continues without offering much  help, so I'll post my own research on lowering the price of gas here:*

Beans cause gas because of a particular indigestible sugar called _raffinose. _Humans lack the enzyme to break down this sugar._ Raffinose_ is also responsible for the reputation of cruciferous veggies such as cabbage, brussels sprouts and broccoli.
The result is parallel to _lactose_ _intolerance. _To one degree or another, adults produce less or no _lactase_, an enzyme infant mammals need to break down the sugar _lactose_ in milk. 

*Use hot water and change it as frequently as practical during the soak period, a minimum of four hours for most varieties. *
The most effective current remedy, besides the commercial product _Beano_, appears to be to reduce the amount of _raffinose_  in beans before cooking them. Most beans should be pre-soaked before  cooking anyway, so it's the perfect opportunity to leach out as much _raffinose_ as you can.

Think  of the process as similar to brewing tea. The longer you let tea leaves  infuse, the stronger the liquid becomes. In our case, the hot soak  water becomes increasingly infused with extracted _raffinose._
It's  a chemical principle in liquids that molecules migrate away from any  area of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. The rate  of this _diffusion_ slows to a standstill as equilibrium is approached. A corollary is that molecules move more quickly in higher temperatures.
*Frequent changing of hot pre-soak water, and taking more time with this, will flush away the maximum amount of the culprit from your beans as possible.* 
Obviously, you'll do a more thorough job of this than canners do, so prepare your own beans from dried stock. 
*Don't undercook them. Longer, slower cooking breaks down more of the remaining culprit.*
Cooked beans freeze beautifully in baggies. I like to portion them out in standard can sizes recipes call for.

*Diabetic? Here's an additional benefit:* 
Read the ingredients on a can of kidney beans. See that sugar??
All brands I've inspected add it to this type of bean.
I have to watch out for added sugar and HFCS like a hawk.
Preparing your own is so simple if you do a large batch and freeze.


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## kadesma

All I can offer is what my dad did for us and that was to add baking soda to the beans he made us. he added several Tab. of the baking soda to his beans before serving. Watch the pot so they don't spill over  
kades


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## Zagut

Now why would anyone want to eliminate the gas?
Nothing is better then a Haydn Trumpet Concerto.
Around here if someone eats beans then everyone else does to defend themselves.
mykstor , I don't see it as a deterioration of the thread. I see it as people having a bit of fun at something every living thing does. 
Farts are a universal humor. We're taught to frown at a natural function. I'll bet you that if a spaceship landed and the beings who were encountered heard you "Pass gas" then they would laugh. Or if you heard them "poot" you'd giggle a little yourself. I know I would.
Sorry folks but I'm just a little kid at heart.


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## CraigC

I eliminate all gas from foods, beans, cabbage, brussels, broccoli etc., after I eat them. Had a sheltie once that got into the brewers yeast suppliment. That poor dog! He was off-gasing for 3 days, he couldn't sit down cause it hurt and he would spin around in circles trying to sniff where the smell was eminating from.


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## Harry Cobean

CraigC said:


> I eliminate all gas from foods, beans, cabbage, brussels, broccoli etc., after I eat them. Had a sheltie once that got into the brewers yeast suppliment. That poor dog! He was off-gasing for 3 days, he couldn't sit down cause it hurt and he would spin around in circles trying to sniff where the smell was eminating from.


thank you so much craig.took a last look at dc before setting off to visit bolas & madge.it's an hour's drive & i think i'll still be laughing when i get there!!!!.
hold that picture!
ps i don't suffer from gas.....i enjoy it!


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## CraigC

Harry Cobean said:


> thank you so much craig.took a last look at dc before setting off to visit bolas & madge.it's an hour's drive & i think i'll still be laughing when i get there!!!!.
> hold that picture!
> ps i don't suffer from gas.....i enjoy it!


 
I heard there was a British fellow who makes a living from off gasing on stage. Think he calls himself Mr. Meethane?


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## Bolas De Fraile

*Harry calling from north wales*



CraigC said:


> I heard there was a British fellow who makes a living from off gasing on stage. Think he calls himself Mr. Meethane?


good morning craig,over in north wales with bolas & madge & using bro's laptop.
correct! paul oldfield is mr methane.he was born in macclesfield cheshire,dresses as a marvel comics character on stage & f*rts for a living.....crack on !
wonder if he is related to mike oldfield....who needs tubular bells?
there was also a lady on the london music hall circuit back in victorian times.she was eventually exposed as a fraud when they found she had whistles & flutes concealed in her voluminous victorian knickers.there is no account of what she blew them with.......!
the british? eccentric? never!


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## Gravy Queen

I'm sorry, I appear to have stumbled on the naughty little school boy thread. 

Wanders off haughtily sniffing a lightly fragranced hankie.


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## Zagut

G.Q. Us naughty little school boys never grow up. 

And to me that's a good thing. 

I'm old enough as it is and anything I can do to hold on to youth is welcome in my life. 

And around here you'll need a highly fragranced hanky.


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## Harry Cobean

*Queens jubilee fanfare*



Gravy Queen said:


> I'm sorry, I appear to have stumbled on the naughty little school boy thread.
> 
> Wanders off haughtily sniffing a lightly fragranced hankie.


oh,get off your high horse queenie,even your namesake launches an air biscuit now & again....and it's evidently a myth that they smell like roses.the real reason she keeps  corgi's is so she can blame the dog.................!


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## zfranca

ErgoErgun said:


> What methods do you use to eliminate gas from Beans BESIDES Beano?
> 
> Right now I'm washing in hot water, then soaking for 12 hours, then cooking on medium heat for 8 hours.  Is that enough?  Are there other methods? Should they be washed more?  Thank you.


Is there anything left after 8 hours of cooking?
This is what I do to avoid the gas problem: Boil the beans gently for 10 minutes in 5 to 10 times their weight in water (no presoaking required). Allow them to cool and soak for 24 hours at room temperatured in the same water. Discard the soaking water, rinse the beans, and cook. This method does not affect proteing content significantly, but there is considerable loss of minerals and vitamins.
Also please consider that some beans are less gas-producing and some more. This varies from person to person, but in general. adzuki beans are considered the most digestible.


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## MrsLMB

I remember my sister - as a child - asking my aunt what those little white dots were on the beans she was soaking.  My aunt very seriously told her that those were the 'farters'.  Apparently nobody told her that was only a joke as she called my aunt a few years later when she was making her first pot of beans and asked how to get the 'farters' cut out  LOL

Someone told me to use baking soda in the soak .. seems to work !


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## chubbs

I been eating a bean soup for 3-4 days now.Day 1 I had VERY bad gas lol.Yesterday & today I barely have any.I think after eating beans regularly the gas isn't that bad.


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## Andy M.

mykstor said:


> *This thread deteriorates as it continues without offering much  help, so I'll post my own research on lowering the price of gas here:*...




Sadly, you never read the early part of the thread wherin in helpful members provided many of the same answers your research revealed before relaxing a bit and having fun.


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## zfranca

chubbs said:


> I been eating a bean soup for 3-4 days now.Day 1 I had VERY bad gas lol.Yesterday & today I barely have any.I think after eating beans regularly the gas isn't that bad.


What a coincidence. I was thinking the same. It must be true.


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## zfranca

Talking about beans. What do you do with the bean water? I use some for stock for soups and some for making bread.


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