How can you cook beans – and jerusalem artichokes, for that matter – to make them less, er, gaseous?
Stuart, Fukuoka, Japan
First things first, there’s a reason that rhymes are written about beans (“Beans, beans are good for your heart, the more you eat the more you fart”) and that jerusalem artichokes are known as “fartichokes” (they contain something called inulin, an unusual type of carbohydrate that is pretty much indigestible). One obvious recommendation is just not to eat too many of either of them in one sitting.
Let’s start with the artichokes. The best thing to do to avoid gassy repercussions is to add some acidic liquid while they’re cooking, because that helps convert what is indigestible into digestible sugars. The process is called acid hydrolysis, which sounds a lot more confusing than simply calling for the addition of lemon juice or vinegar and/or a few slices of lemon. Cooking them twice also helps – for example, parboil and then roast them – which, again, breaks down the inulin that causes indigestion.
As for beans, the best approach is to soak them overnight and, crucially, cook them in fresh water, not their soaking water. Like those artichokes, beans also contain chemicals that our digestive system can’t break down very easily, which is why our gut bacteria have to go to work, which is what produces all that gas. Soaking helps to leach these out, so the gut has less work to do.
Beyond that, some people recommend adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the soaking water; a few slices of fresh ginger or a little summer savory is also thought to aid digestion. Either way, however, don’t let the fear of gassy incidents prevent you from cooking beans. After all, remember the end of that rhyme: “The more you fart, the better you feel, so let’s eat beans for every meal!”
