The Weird Reason You Should Be Adding Baking Soda to Your Beans (2024)

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The Weird Reason You Should Be Adding Baking Soda to Your Beans? ›

Baking soda can help significantly since it increases the pH of the water, disintegrating that pectin and allowing beans to soften quicker. Baking soda also removes minerals from hard water, which can prevent beans from hydrating as quickly.

If beans make you uncomfortably gassy, sprinkle a little baking soda into their soaking water. It will reduce the volume of gas produced by the legumes, plus, they will cook quicker. If you're even shorter on time, you may want to try some of our favorite recipes to make with a can of black beans.

To degas with baking soda, add a teaspoon of baking soda to 4 quarts of water. Stir in the dried beans and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the beans soak at least four hours (I usually do this the night before I want to use them; the longer soak won't hurt them). Drain, rinse and rinse again.

On the other side of the pH equation, the addition of an alkali such as baking soda will break down the cell structure of the beans. But use it sparingly—no more than1/8 teaspoon per pound of beans. Too much will destroy nutrients and result in mushy beans.

Beans cooked with a tiny amount of baking soda (about one teaspoon per cup of dry beans) added to the cooking water cook in about half the time as beans cooked without.

But if you don't have time for a traditional overnight soak, a quick soak is just as beneficial. Rinse the beans and then place them in a pot with three cups of water for each cup of dried beans. Bring to a boil and boil for two to three minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover and let stand for one hour.

The easiest beans to digest (therefore less likely to cause gas), according to Country Life Foods, are lentils, black eyed beans, adzuki beans and mung beans. (Click through to learn more about the amazing health benefits of mung beans.) The harder ones to digest are red kidney, soy, black and lima beans.

How does beano® work? beano^® contains an enzyme from a natural source that works with your body's digestion. It breaks down the complex carbohydrates found in gassy foods into simpler, easily digestible sugars before they reach the colon, preventing gas before it starts.

Do carrots remove gas from beans? ›

If you are in a hurry slice carrots and boil them with the beans. The instant pot also will cook beans in 45 min no gas. Remember when you cook beans do not add anything but water. Season the beans to taste once they are cooked to perfection.

Add ajwain or epazote – both of these spices will decrease gas production – I swear by the epazote! Just add about a tablespoon to a large pot of beans during the cooking process. You can also add ginger or cumin as these spices help with digestion.

My trick for removing gas from beans is none other than baking soda.

A little bit of baking soda goes a long way, but if you use too much, it can ruin the taste of your beans.

Baking soda can help significantly since it increases the pH of the water, disintegrating that pectin and allowing beans to soften quicker. Baking soda also removes minerals from hard water, which can prevent beans from hydrating as quickly.

Baking soda is very high in sodium, with 630 mg per 1/2 teaspoon (2.3 grams), which is important to be aware of if you have to limit your sodium intake. Continued use may lead to metabolic alkalosis — a condition in which your blood becomes overly alkaline — and heart problems.

Soaking overnight and then discarding the soaking water leaches out sugars in beans that are responsible for gas production. But if you don't have time for a traditional overnight soak, a quick soak is just as beneficial. Rinse the beans and then place them in a pot with three cups of water for each cup of dried beans.

Wait until the beans are tender but not quite done to add a splash of apple cider vinegar and a couple teaspoons of salt to the pot. The apple cider vinegar breaks down indigestible sugars to help digestion and also brightens the flavor of the beans without the need for excess salt.

Dissolve ½ teaspoon of baking soda in 8 ounces of water and drink it. This can help reduce acid and bubbles in the stomach. Be cautious about following this carefully, as consuming too much baking soda on a full stomach could lead to stomach rupture.

Soaking can cut down on the gas-inducing effect of beans, Yonan notes, but so can other methods. He prefers to cook unsoaked dried beans with a strip of kombu — Japanese dried seaweed, available at health food stores, supermarkets with a robust East Asian section, or online — which has the same effect on gas reduction.