When the food shortage started some things were hard to find locally and when they became available they were considerably higher in price. I have made Boston Baked Beans twice. Beans are filling and also a good substitute for meat.
Mine is my grandmother's recipe passed down. I changed it to quick soaking the beans. I boil two cups of beans (can be doubled) for five minutes with two teaspoons of baking soda. I let them soak for two hours. I rinse and drain them.
The rest is standard for baked beans. I cook for at least one hour on top of the stove with enough water. Then drain them and cook with the sauce (ketchup, mustard, molasses, brown sugar, and one small diced onion sautéed with your favorite meat- usually bacon or ham. I add salt and pepper to taste. I bake them slowly for two hours on 325 degrees F. They are always a hit and you will notice how much less gas you will get. My friends have commented on this issue, also.
Which beans do you think are less gassy or do not give that tight bloated feeling? Black beans or navy beans?
By Onesummer
Here is a list that rates dif kinds of beans from high to low although I suspect it varies from person to person:
www.freedomyou.com/
This page says pinto, adzuki, black-eyed peas, black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas are pretty easy to digest and that navy beans were one of the harder ones to digest.
docs.google.com/
If you following the soaking method if you cook your own beans or rinse canned beans if you are using those that will help. Also beans are full of fiber and high fiber foods can cause gas. So start out small and work your way up to larger portions and also the more you eat them the more your body adjusts and won't be so gassy.
You can also try taking Beano if you need to.
I recently learned a new way to cook beans on
America's Test Kitchen show. They stay whole, cook very nicely, and do seem to produce less stomach turmoil.
Cover beans in salted water [probably 2-3 tablespoons to 2 quarts water, and stir before adding dry beans]. Soak at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
Pour into colander and rinse very well. Put in new water, and cook as usual. The skin is less likely to split using this method, and it seems to take less time.
I have cooked beans for 50 years, and am very pleased with this new method.
Add ginger to your cooking water (1 tbsp) you don't taste it and it is a natural stomach herb.
What I do with pinto beans I put when it starts cooking I wash and scrub a potato and put it in. Now there is a warning do not eat that potato, none of it.
To remove the gas from any and all beans, soak them until they swell up. I have soaked them overnight as well. Throw the water (not the beans), add fresh water to the pot with the beans and cook them. The beans will cook faster and with no gas.
Black beans are the best. If you soak your beans, any beans, overnight or several hours, the drain and add fresh water to cook them, they won't be gassy.
I start soaking my beans in a large bowl about a day before cooking. I rinse them at least 3-4 times really good until you can't see cloudy water each time.
What kind of potato? Does the kind of potato matter?
I remember years ago my mother cooking dry beans and when they stared to boil she would add baking soda. They would foam up and she would turn the heat off and.. (don't remember). Then I remember her draining and rinsing them. I think she told me it was so the beans weren't so gassy. Anybody remember how much baking soda and/or what it was for? Thanks.
By SUE from Whitinsville, MA
I think this is true, however, remember you are also adding a lot of sodium when you do this. Soaking beans and then changing the water also improves the gas problems.
I have a foolproof trick I learned from a Hispanic girlfriend, but you probably won't believe it!
Take an entire head of garlic, the whole thing, don't break it up into garlic cloves, and boil it with your beans. I use two heads just to be on the safe side, but my friend uses only one. She said this is the traditional Mexican way to cook beans to guarantee no gas and it works like a charm.
I pick over the beans and add around 3" of cold water on top and add the garlic. Don't soak the beans first, just use dried beans. Bring to a boil and simmer. The beans also cook faster this way for some reason, so you have to watch them. While they're still a little undone, add your vegetables. While cooking the beans, make sure you add boiling water or boiling stock if you need to add more liquid. Don't add room temperature water or stock. Cook the vegetables along with the garlic heads. When beans and vegetables are cooked, remove the heads of garlic and serve your beans. The papery stuff on the outside of the garlic heads will not come off while cooking so don't worry.
I hope you will try this and enjoy beans without the usual side effects! It sounds weird, I know, I didn't believe it till I tried it.
I'm going to try the garlic trick, but I use to use the baking soda thing for 3# of beans. As they came to a boil, I'd add about 2 of these cooking spoonfuls of the soda. This spoon is large, holds about 1/4-1/2 cup, I think. I have one of these spoons for over 30 years & often use it for cooking & measuring.
All I do is add a teaspoon of sugar. You don't have to drain it off or anything. You just put the sugar in the water, turn on the heat and let them cook. It's super easy and it works!
I love all the suggestions. I put beans in a pot with water, simmer for about 10 min. Drain, add fresh water and a pinch of soda, add any other ingredients and continue cooking. Quick and easy.
Pat
If you are gassy after eating beans, it might be helpful to try using Beano or a Beano substitute before eating beans. This is a page about Beano substitute.
Beans are an inexpensive, healthy food. To eliminate most of the gas-causing enzymes, hot soak the beans before you cook them.
