Beans beans: they are good for your heart

Beans have become pretty standard fare. They are a low fat, no cholesterol, and low calorie source of high quality protein. In the nineteenth century, before the mass production of meat and poultry, beans were a primary source of protein for many Americans. The widespread availability of many types of animal protein has changed all that, but the slow moving steer from overindulgence in meat has begun to move the pendulum in the other direction. Although you cannot attain all of your daily nutritional nourishment from legumes alone, they come pretty close. If you add vegetables, grains, and, for most people, some dairy and/or meat, the picture is complete.

Beans boast three important qualities. First, they are cheap. Some heirloom varieties that have been grown in small quantities may be a bit pricey but, for the most part, beans are 60 to 85 cents a pound. Second, beans are easily stored, almost never going bad. Because they are dried, their shelf life is unlimited (Still it is sensible to find fresh dried beans since they contain more nutrients and they certainly cook more quickly). Finally, they are very versatile. As a simple side dish with lemon, garlic, olive oil and a variety of dried herbs, they make a winter dinner table very satisfying. In a soup or stew, with or without meat, they make a hearty and lovely meal.

Buy organic beans, from natural foods stores or from stores that have a high turnover of them, like a Latin market. Store beans in covered containers in a dry place. Try not to store them for longer than a year. Since most beans are harvested late in summer, the new crop is available in stores in the fall; and since newer beans taste better, cook faster and retain more nutrients, it’s worth updating. It’s rare though, to see beans actually go bad.

Beans are cleaned by machines, which do a good job. Still, spend a minute or two sorting through them for small rocks and twigs, just before soaking or cooking. There are a few myths about cooking beans; you must soak them before cooking, you must not add salt during cooking and you must not add acid during cooking. These are all untrue. That you must soak beans before cooking them has given millions of people the impression that you have to make beans well in advance. Although soaking speeds up the cooking time, it does not do so significantly. If you soak most beans overnight, it will shave off fifteen to thirty minutes of cooking time. If that is important to you, by all means, soak. If you have a pressure cooker, you can make them in around a half an hour. It has also been said that salting beans prevents them from getting soft. The only difference I note in cooking two pots of beans, side by side, one with salt and one without, is that one is salty and the other is not. Similarly, acid is said to slow cooking time for beans (and, conversely, alkaline, like baking soda, is said to speed it up). In fact, baking soda helps to break down the skin of beans, and acid helps skins to remain intact. If you are looking to make a mushy bean dish, you might, indeed add a teaspoon or two of baking soda to the pot. If however, you like well-defined individual beans, include a little vinegar or lemon to the water. I think it gives the beans a better flavor.

Beans give many people gas, right? Well, so does broccoli, meat and fruit. Compounds that are not completely broken down in the stomach cause most digestive gas. These compounds pass on to the large intestine, more or less intact. Thus, they are never completely digested. Beans contain these kinds of compounds, a group of carbohydrates called oligosaccharides. There are several ways to approach this problem. First, you can ignore it, or laugh it off. Second, eat beans more often and you will develop a tolerance. Third, cook beans with beano, a commercially available product that contains an enzyme that breaks up the oligosaccharides. And fourth, soak, but soak the right way. It is true that I don’t think soaking is really worth it in the savings of time, but there is a series of soaking techniques that decrease the amount of oligosaccharides in the beans. Here are the steps to follow:

Rinse the beans.
Place them in a pot and cover with water (about 12 cups per pound of beans).
Bring to a boil, cook for 2 minutes, and turn off heat.
Soak from one to twenty-four hours, refrigerate for longer periods.
Rinse the beans and then cook in fresh water.
This process does the trick for most people.
Here are some beans you might like to try:

Adzuki
Very small oval shaped maroon colored bean. An Asian bean, slightly sweet flavor, sometimes made into flour or desserts. Delicious in miso soups. Cooks in 45 minutes.

Black Beans (Turtle beans)
Medium sized, deep black with a white interior and line. Multipurpose, most flavorful and versatile. Cooks in 1-2 hours.

Black-Eyed Pea (Cow Pea)
Ivory in color with a black spot, small and kidney shaped. Used in Southern dishes, good with pork and dark green leafy vegetables. Cooks in 45 minutes.

Cannellini
Looks like a white kidney bean. Cooks in 1 hour.

Chickpea (Garbanzo)
Deep beige, round with lumps and lines. Great as hummus, with pasta, salads, tomatoes. Cooks in 2 hours.

Great Northern
Large, oval and white. One of the most common white beans. Cooks in an hour.

Kidney
Reddish brown in color, kidney shaped. Great in chili, beans and rice, refried beans, pureed. Cooks in a little over an hour.

Lentil
There are three major kinds: common green (or brown), red, which are smaller and bright orange, cook quickly and tend to fall apart; and French (not always from France), or Le puy, a tiny dark green French variety, which takes the longest to cook and has the best flavor. Lentils are delicious in salads, soups, Indian dals. Cooks in 20-40 minutes.

Lima (Butter)
Large, kidney shaped, pale green. Usually eaten fresh but can come dried. Usually cooked in dishes that call for a white bean. Cooks in 1 hour.

Mung
Tiny, green and round. Used to make bean thread noodles and great for sprouting. Sometimes used in dals. Cooks in 1 hour.

Navy (Pea Bean)
Small white, round bean. The most basic of white beans. Mild flavored. Great for purees and baked beans. Cooks in 45 minutes.

Pea (Split Pea)
Whole green or more commonly split, in which they can be green or yellow; there is little difference between the two. Great in soups, in place of lentils and in dals. Cooks in about 30 minutes.

Pinto
From beige to rust colored, usually mottled. Good in chili, as refried beans, purees and in soups.

Soybeans
Yellowish and round but may be other colors. Used to make tofu. Good in cold grain salads. Does not get very soft. Cooks in 1 hour.