Legumes, particularly the thin skin that covers them,contain carbohydrates classified as oligosaccharides,whose molecule is composed of a few units of simple sugars such as galactose.
Humans do not possess enzymes capable of decomposing these oligosaccharides in the intestine. Nevertheless, the bacteria in the colon are indeed capable of decomposing them, converting them into carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane.
There are various ways to avoid the formation of these gases and the flatulence that often results after eating Legumes:
1. Soaking: After 12 hours of Soaking, the most gas producing oligosaccharides are removed from the Legumes. It is best to change the water once or twice during the process. Soaking is more effective if boiling water is poured over the Legumes.
2.Changing water: Before starting to cook, it is necessary to discard the water in which the legumes have been soaking and replace it with fresh. The discarded water should be replaced with only enough to cover the legumes.
3. Alkalizing the water. water to be used for cooking is hard, in othe other words, if it has the great deal of dissolved mineral salts, the legumes will become tough. This is because the calcium and magnesium in the water combine with pectin in the legumes, giving them a tough consistency. The addition of one gram of sodium bicarbonate per serving to the cooking water precipitates the salts and prevents them from hardening pectin.
Acidic substances such as vinegar or tomato sauce, must not be added to the cooking water. Acids facilitate the combining of the salts and pectin, thus producing toughness.
4. Cooking: The best results are obtained using a pressure cooker (10-20 minutes are sufficient). However, one must be careful since the saponin in the legumes creates dense foam that can obstruct the escape valve of the pressure cooker.
The formation of this foam can be avoided by adding a tablespoon of oil to the cooking water before sealing the pressure cooker.
Content created and supplied by: ckbikeripk (via Opera
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