It's a well-known fact that beans cause flatulence. But did you know that you can reduce this effect by soaking beans? Find out why and how to properly soak your beans below.

Beans should be soaked overnight before cooking

Why should you water the beans

Dried beans are very hard and take a long time to soften. This is also one of the reasons why beans should be soaked: the cooking time is cut by at least half. But there are other reasons for soaking too: beans contain substances that we cannot digest, such as the carbohydrate galactose. Since these substances are incompatible with us, they cause flatulence. When soaking, these substances are dissolved and go into the water. The beans become easier for us to digest and do not put us in embarrassing situations.

How to properly soak your beans

In order for watering to unfold all its positive effects, you should proceed as follows:

  • Wash your beans thoroughly
  • Place the beans in a large enough pot (at least four times the area the beans will occupy) and fill the pot with twice as much water
  • Let the beans soak overnight
  • The next morning, drain the water and rinse the beans under the tap to remove any residue
  • Now you can cook and prepare your beans as you wish

A delicious recipe for a vegetarian bean stew

You need:

  • 200g dried white beans
  • 400g cooked, peeled tomatoes
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 100g leek
  • 200g carrots
  • 5 sticks of celery
  • 1.2l vegetable broth
  • 200ml red wine
  • olive oil
  • garlic
  • salt
  • pepper
  • rosemary
  • thyme
  • chili pepper

Then proceed as follows:

  • Soak the beans overnight as above and rinse well
  • Sauté one to three cloves of garlic (depending on your taste) with enough olive oil and the chili pepper
  • Add the tomato paste, red wine and the vegetable stock and beans and let it cook for an hour and a half
  • Then add the chopped vegetables and spices and let the stew cook for another half hour.
  • Ten minutes before the end of the cooking time, you can optionally add 100g of pasta or you can serve the stew with bread.

tips

Even if you don't want to eat the beans but want to sow them, it is advisable to soak them before sowing. This increases germination.

Category:

Vegetable garden