Any reason to discard bean water besides for bloating?

[Doug_]

I've read that phytates may reduce the risk of some cancers.

Aside from discarding the cooked bean water in order to reduce gas and bloating, are there any other good reasons to do so? Would you see any issue for someone who wanted to use it for soups etc? And how much of the phytates or other beneficial things are really being lost by discarding the water? It seems that much of it would remain in the beans regardless.

[colonyofcells]

I throw away the water used for soaking overnight. I do drink the soup used for boiling the beans.

[dteresa]

I throw away the soaking water but never thought of throwing away the cooking water. People make bean soups so saving the cooking water is the same thing I guess.

didi

[dynodan62]

What about canned beans? Is that the water used for cooking them, or maybe added for other reasons? I had been saving/adding it to rice recipies when using organic beans in BPA-free cans, but having second thoughts now due to longstanding chronic hyper flatus condition.

[petero]

What about canned beans?

That water is gooey because it contains soluble fiber from the beans. I eat it for that reason unless it's from a salad or something. It probably also contains the BPA from the can liner, but so do the beans I would think.

[Doug_]

I throw away the soaking water but never thought of throwing away the cooking water. People make bean soups so saving the cooking water is the same thing I guess.

didi

Thank you. The question isn't really what you all like to do, but whether it's actually unhealthy to keep the soaking water. Is it in fact unhealthy in an additional sense, or are we all just avoiding gas? The reason I ask is because I pressure-cook my beans, no pre-soaking.

[colonyofcells]

Traditional soaking of beans has some health benefits. I sometimes also eat sprouted beans.

[healthyvegan]

Rinse, Rinse, Rinse & Rinse some more your beans! Especially canned beans! Get rid of that water unless you have the stomach of steel. I had some beans that my SIL rinsed the other day... big mistake. I only eat beans my wife or myself rinse.

Go to the 11th slide in this recipe of mine & watch me rinse away bean foam! https://steller.co/stories/457392744663352880 At first I'm getting all the beans that are stuck to the bottom of the can, but notice the foam! You don't want to eat that because it does the same thing in your gut! (I'm sure there are people on here that can drink cans of it w/no problem, so only applies to people like me!)

[Doug_]

So far the consensus is "Just discard the water. Because. Because you'll have more gas if you don't. Also, because."

Any other reasons at all that we actually know about?

[AlwaysAgnes]

So far the consensus is "Just discard the water. Because. Because you'll have more gas if you don't. Also, because."

Any other reasons at all that we actually know about?

I think it's personal preferences and habits as much as anything. I've saved bean liquid from home-cooked beans a time or two--stuck it in a jar in the fridge, thinking to use it later. Then I let it rot in there for a couple weeks before throwing it out. I really gotta work on my follow through.

http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/bean_stock
https://captious.wordpress.com/2006/05/ ... ean-myths/
http://www.rootsimple.com/2010/11/retur ... azy-water/

[000]

There's an entire Facebook page devoted to making vegan meringues from, among other things, bean water.

[veggiesusie]

I clean and rinse the beans, then cook them in a pressure cooker. I do not discard any cooking water, i often Drink some of the water and i have never had any problems.
I have done it both ways. i used to change the cooking water. I never notice any difference, It saves clean drinking water and cooks much faster not having to change the water.

[AnnaSpanna]

There's an entire Facebook page devoted to making vegan meringues from, among other things, bean water.

Funny you should say that as I just last night saw a recipe based on chickpea water. I guess it makes sense in that the fluid is just a binder to hold the sugar together in the way that egg white does.
I'm thinking of trying it some time, as a treat only, not an every day food. Far too much sugar.

Truth be told, I'm bone idle and it'll likely never happen.