Lima Beans

[Blackwater]

I've always loved Lima beans. Problem is, I like them best with lots of onion, garlic, and peppers or whatever I can find that might be good in them. Bell pepper can be good also. The real problem comes AFTER you eat these, in the form of noxious and VERY generous amounts of gasses that emanate from our other end.

Well, a neighbor who used to own and run a very popular seafood restaurant down near our best and most prime salt water fishing area in Ga., taught me a number of things about cooking. He cooked for some Japanese businessmen who came here on an international swap of businessmen, to learn of each other's business cultures and proceedures. He really wowed the whole crew of them with an old styled Southern fish fry, and the biggest hit of the evening was fried squash - the sliced kind, battered up and fried golden brown. Those men tucked one corner of their big cloth napkins in their collars, and he came around with a huge bowl of those fried squash, and each one heaped as many as they could into that napkin, holding the far end up to keep the contents in it, and sat eating them like potato chips. They ate so many and for so long that the college that sponsored their event paid him a bonus for staying so long and doing such great cooking.

This good man told me that the "secret" to cooking Limas or whatever else tends to produce gas, is to simmer them a LONG time, as in several hours. I tried it and .... it WORKED! So any time I want a good mess of Limas, now, I make sure I've got several hours to simmer them. Sure does keep me smiling all night long!

What special ways do you all have of cooking Limas or other beans/peas, that make them "special" on your tables? Cooking is one of those things that varies quite a bit from region to region and person to person, and I just know some of you have "secrets" that you might be cajoled to reveal here. We all promise not to tell your secrets, OK?

[SciFiJim]

Another trick to eliminate some of the gas, it to soak the dried beans overnight and then discard the water the beans have soaked in and cook them in fresh water.

[Bzcraig]

Lima and butter beans ummmm!

[trails4u]

always one of my favorites....and we still call them camel beans to this day. apparently as a kid, I couldn't remember lima, so was thinking llama, and couldn't remember that either, so I called them camel beans.

[JBinMN]

Lima and butter beans ummmm!

I like them both! & succotash too.

[Bulldogger]

Another trick to eliminate some of the gas, it to soak the dried beans overnight and then discard the water the beans have soaked in and cook them in fresh water.

I use this trick WITH a half or quarter of an onion, but not chopped up. (Half or quarter depending on how much beans are in the soaking pot. Just eyeball it.) The onion seems to help tame gas too. Throw out the water and the onion after soaking several hours, then cook up the beans as normal.
BDGR

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use a pressure cooker for beans also.
what I've read for an equivalent to pre-soak is a method I use, but I know others have criticized this, as you possibly lose some flavor. But, for me, I believe it does remove the tendency of excessive flatulence.

I have a modern stainless pressure cooker (Fagor) with the quick pressure release.

Actually I have some cooking right now, Noir Cowpeas, a heirloom bean that I swapped for, right here in our forum...they grow well in MN and are fairly prolific and hearty...I have always gotten two pickings, and last year a third picking, due to the long season of 2016.

Anyway, I take 1 cup dry beans and 4 cups of tap water, bring to the begining of a boil, put lid on pressure cooker, when it's up to pressure, time one or two minutes (depending on Bean type), then cut heat, then use quick release of pressure. then Drain the beans in colander and discard the soak water. I believe in the cooking world, this is known as Quick Soak. then I run cool water over beans just long enough to cool them a bit (10 seconds is enough). Then I put them in a mini food chopper, to break the skins...as I don't prefer whole beans in my cooked bean entrees.

Now back into the pressure cooker, adding 4 cups of new liquid. chicken brooth or thined tomato juice or whatever. now is also the time I'll add other ingredients as well: meat/bell peppers/mushrooms...whatever. Then I put it on heat, replace lid, bring up to pressure, time is about 16 minutes...it'll vary with bean type...after time out, I let the pressure cooker come down slowly. remove lid and it may or may not be ready. I will add more liquid if it's too dry, or if it's too wet, I simmer with lid off to cook off some of the liquid.

[shaner]

I've tried adding a tablespoon of baking soda to your beans .it does cut out alot of the gas

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[376Steyr]

Lima beans are best eaten when served with ham, in an OD Green can, opened with a P38 hung from your dogtags. Having them above room temperature is optional.

[gwpercle]

I think my most favorite beans are Camellia Brand Large Lima's......cooked down with smoked ham hocks and served over rice with hot cornbread ! Fixed a big pot about two weeks ago.

Camels , Llamas..... large , 4 legs and furry , in a kids mind that's close enough !
Gary

[308Jeff]

One of the few foods I truly despise. Then again, I have eaten any (or rather forced to eat them) in about 40 years though. Maybe my tastes have changed since then

[Blackwater]

Trails4u, it doesn't matter what you call them. Doesn't change the flavor in the least.

I've been wanting to make a batch for a while now, but my wife doesn't like them, so .... the wait to pull the trigger. Thanks for all the anti-gas recommendations. I can use them all.

Beans have a delicate flavor, so it's extra important, it seems to keep the "little things" we do to them very consistent, in order to get the full benefit of their delicate flavors. A little enhancement is good, but it's easy to "over flavor" them. I'm still a mid-level cook, or aspiring to be, and my experimental bent CAN get me in trouble occasionally. But most of the stuff I cook is pretty darn good. Even my wife likes it, and she's a tough one to get a complement from! You guys here sure help a lot! And when on a restricted diet, all ideas are not only considered, but sought out and VERY appreciated. Was expecting to go help a friend, but he called and cancelled, so .... I think I'm gonna' make up a pot for tonight. I've waited long enough!

[NSB]

You could try switching to a stick deoderant instead of a roll on. A stick deoderant says on the directions " Twist off top and push up bottom". It's a bit difficult to walk, and you can't sit down, but when you pass gas the room smells wonderful.

[William Yanda]

Lima beans are best eaten when served with ham, in an OD Green can, opened with a P38 hung from your dogtags. Having them above room temperature is optional.

Are those labeled not for use before flight?

[Blanket]

Lima beans are best eaten when served with ham, in an OD Green can, opened with a P38 hung from your dogtags. Having them above room temperature is optional.

The term for that is not polite with ladies present, to dry to heat good with C4 but saved on the Kleenex sized TP

[MaryB]

That type of bean has a mealy texture I hate, flavor is okay but the texture totally turns me off. Mom used to get mixed veg in a can with them and heat it for supper... to this day I cannot go near them.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

My experiences with Lima beans are somewhat limited, but memorable. When I was a kid my dad bought a cattle ranch in the Sierra Nevada foothills. A distant relative, sort of an aunt and her husband helped us move. After the first load was unloaded my dad and the "uncle" headed out to get another. Then it snowed about 3 ft. deep and for all intents and purposes we were snowed in. The aunt found several jars of dried Lima beans in the cellar and, having brought along a huge ham, made ham and Lima beans. She cooked them all day, morning to evening, and they were delicious. I can't recall an adverse reaction, and we continued to eat them for the following three days.

My next encounter with them was in the army in the early '60s. Whenever we went on maneuvers we subsisted primarily on C-Rations that were canned in 1943. Ham and Lima beans was one of the choices you might get, and initially I like them and even used to swap the highly prized beefsteak and potatoes meal for them. But then I got a bad can and suffered severe acid reflux for about a month and would never touch them again.

Then, in the '80s, my wife tried a recipe called, "Beef and Beans". It used Lima beans for the bean part of the recipe, and was hands down one of the most tasty, delicious things I have eaten. But than night, after dinner, I was awakened from a sound sleep by this horrible odor. It adversely effected both of us, and it went on and on. I really can't describe how awful it was, but a gas mask would have been a blessing. We just couldn't believe it, so a few days later ate the left overs and relived the same experience. It was ghastly. Then, I guess the Devil was standing behind me whispering in my ear, because I got the idea that we should make a big pot of "Beef and Beans" and take it to the church potluck. We talked about it and laughed and laughed, but in the end decided that it really wouldn't be the Christian thing to do.

So, that about sums up my experience with Lima beans. But I do fix pinto beans fairly often and note on the label that there are two types of soak, overnight and quick. Usually when I get the desire for them overnight has passed and I've only got a few hours before dinner, so I use the quick soak method. That involves covering the desired quantity of beans with tap water and bringing them to a high boil for about 2 1/2 minutes. Then I pour the contents of the pot into a colander and rinse them with cold water, then return to the pot and cover again with fresh water. At this particular time in this particular place I use bottled water for the second go around because we can taste chlorine in the tap water. Of course almost any pinto bean recipe uses onion, but I don't know if that further cuts down on the gas or not. However, the results are almost gasless. My mother did use baking soda in her beans, and I have had good reports of a product called "Beano" but have never tried it.

I would like to try the Lima beans again, but now have a Lima Phobia based on life experiences.

Puts me in mind of the time my wife accidentally substituted cayenne pepper for cinnamon in her cinnamon rolls. Another story for another time.

[Blackwater]

NSB and DerG, you guys have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard! And BTW, I've tried the Beano, but can never seem to take it far enough ahead of time. I'll either simmer them for 3-4 hours or more, or use the baking powder. Wife didn't want them last night, so ..... I'll wait a bit longer. Sure do have a taste for a bunch, though!

[DCP]

Lima beans and Liver the 2 worst food created by our LORD

[Blackwater]

More for those of us who love them! Seriously, this is why we are so blessed to have such a variety of foods to eat. Through much of mankind's history, there really wan't nearly the kind of choice we have today. Today, we have foods from just about every country in the world, and thanks to technology, it can all be fresh when we get them. About the only things I don't really like are avacados. Can't think of anything else at the moment. Mostly, I always just wanted to be sure there'd be plenty of whatever was on the table. Now, I eat less than half what I used to, and still can't lose weight! And eating less, it seems to really help if what I eat tastes really good. Spices are a key, but an ability to appreciate a broad range of foods helps too. As long as I feel I've eaten well when I push away from the table, it's a lot easier to avoid the things I can't eat now. Not easy .... but easiER.