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The Accidental ScI: Science of CookingCandyBread EggsPickles MeatSeasoning Exploratorium.eduMonthly Feature:Get a bang out of beans. intestinal gas.
It was a dinner long remembered for a special casserole, one made of seven
different types of dried beans. It was a delicious amalgam of flavors, for
those beans had been basking in the oven for hours.
The following evening when the host was asked about his day, he shyly
confessed, "I was scared to leave my office." Apparently it had been a hugely "windy day" ...with intestinal gas and consequences. He even swore
that each bean was on a different frequency! , his experience did confirm the reputation of dried beans as a "musical fruit."
What we now call "flatulence" has been of social concern since Victorian times. Then, it was delicately known as"windinesse." Generations later, intestinal gas still manifests itself when certain foods, such as baked beans, are consumed.Swallowing air as you eat and eating too fast, lead
to the accumulation of gas in the upper digestive tract. The other major
contributor is the bacterial fermentation of undigested food that takes place in the lower intestine.
It's quite normal to generate intestinal gas, on average one to
three pints a day. Most intestinal gases are composed of carbon-dioxide,
hydrogen, nitrogen, and sometimes methane, and these have no odor. It's the
smelly sulfur-containing compounds that cause the fuss.
com-break: each month we feture a new article on kitchen-science by
anne Gardiner and Sue Wilson, with tips, facts, ideas. return: Foods that
cause gas for one person may not affect another. There are some commonly
recognized offenders, however, such as lactose (milk sugar), the soluble
fibers in fruits, some sugarless gum, and carbonated beverages. But the most
infamous sources of gas in food are likely the oligosaccharides. are short
molecular chains of sugars that have been stored large amounts in the outer
coatings of legumes, nuts and seeds, and in much smaller amounts in other
vegetables and grains. Of the dried legumes, navy beans and lima beans
reportedly cause more gas than other varieties. Baked beans may even carry a
double whammy when they're made with beer. Dark ales, especially, are also
offenders. When starches, fibers, and sugars pass the stomach taste. and
small intestine without being broken down or absorbed by digestive enzymes,
they reach the lower intestine intact. There, they're vigorously attacked by
colonies of harmless bacteria, producing offending gases as waste products.

bothered by flatulence?, here are 4 ideas that might help control emissions. 1. A most sensible tactic involves a lengthy soaking. For each pound of dried beans, use ten or more cups of boiling water. Boil for two to
three minutes, cover. and set the beans aside overnight. This first boiling
breaks down the cell membranes of the beans, releasing the oligosaccharides
so they can dissolve into the soaking water. Just make sure you discard the
soaking water! 2. Cook beans well before adding any acidic ingredients like
tomatoes or molasses, as acids prevent legumesfrom softening. When beans are
softer, they're also more digestible.
3. Try an over-the-counter digestive aid, such as Beano, which contains the
sugar-digesting enzyme that the body lacks. Use Beano just before eating so
it can break down the gas-producing oligosaccharides. It has no effect,
however, on gas caused by lactose or fiber.
4. Try adding epazote (1 tbspoon to a large pot of chili, beans, or soup).
Epazote is the leaf of a wild herb, prized for its gas-reducing abilities.
If you know of other suggestions that are successful in reducing intestinal
gas, please add them to the Forum. Anne Gardiner & Sue Wilson

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