Soaking and rinsing helps break down the type of sugar the beans contain which the body cannot...the sugar molecules end up being broken down in your intestinal tract by bacteria, resulting in gas.

So, if you want to avoid...er...intestinal disturbances, when eating beans, changing the water a couple of times during the soaking process and rinsing the soaked beans before cooking is the way to go. If you are cooking beans without seasoning in the water, changing the cooking water mid process is an extra defense.

you'll get as many answers as you have questions...
Here's my take...
Bean soaking water contains some of the elements that make beans "gassy" so they say...so some say to toss it...I usually do.
some say soak over night...that's one way.
Some say cover with boiling water...let sit 30 minutes drain and repeat.
Some say don't bother soaking at all just rinse and cover with liquid and cook.
It all works...you will cook longer if you don't soak.
I don't think using the soaking water affects the taste one whit...and certainly doesn't make the soup thicker...
So...do whatever is convenient at the moment.
Linda C

Mary:
I have all kinds of beans in my cupboard, Cannoli, Cece,
Red kidney, Great Northern , Etc.
I wind up grabbing a can of beans for a fast meal and add
other ingredients in 15 minutes.

Beano is supposed to work, to remove gas. I'll have to get some.

Some say to add a little vinegar when the beans are almost done cooking.

Or, keep eating them, your body adjusts to it ( less gas )

I don't have a dog anymore to blame it on, so I may try Beano.

Has anyone in the NY or NJ area seen the comedy show,
Andre and Cirrell.
They are crazy, deals with flatulence,in ALL walks of life.

LOU

PS:
I drain the water and add new, with some Chicken Soup Base.

I use the quick soak method; i.e., boil for one minute and then let soak for an hour covered, and then discard the soaking water. I don't do this with lentils, however, as they cook very quickly and don't require soaking. I do rinse them off, however. When cooking garbanzos, I do the boil and soak twice, since they take longer to soak. I never soak beans overnight.

Lars

If you are using part chicken broth then however you do it is a matter of preference. When I cook beans such as pintos, not in a soup or stew, but to eat as a side, I do not soak and discard the water. All I do is rinse the beans to remove the soil, then cook in fresh water. The juices from the cooked beans have much more taste this way than when you discard the cooking or soaking water.

The reason for soaking is twofold. One is to soften and rehydrate the beans so they take less time to cook. The other reason is to remove these oligosaccharides which are the sugars in beans that can cause intestinal gas. They are soluable in water. So thats why some folks get obsessive about water changing, the more times you change the water the more likely you are to discard these oligosaccharides. But I dont get obsessive about it. Soaking also leaches other water soluable nutrients out of the beans. The heat first and then soak just adds heat to make the whole thing go faster. Sorry if this is a little hard to understand but there is a certain letter that is broken on my comuter so there are certain words I cant tye. Maybe you can guess the letter from that last sentence! I just soak for a long time because that saves energy in cooking, the beans cook faster so I use even less money to fix this low cost food. Beans take marvelously to any kind of seasonings you add with them to cook.

LOL! Lpink!! I notice you didn't say beans were a cheap food either!

We eat a pound or two of pintos every week. I rinse them till the water is clean, boil them for a minute, let them soak an hour or two, then pressure cook them for seven minutes in the soaking water and let the pressure release on its own. We season them in many ways after they are cooked.

At least with pintos, cooking them in the soaking water results in a nice, thick deep brown saucy liquid that we use when we season the beans..or make soup...or mash, or whatever we do with them. For soup, I add chicken broth and other vegetables.

I wouldn't dream of throwing out the soaking liquid...and we do not have a gas problem here. We've been cooking them this way for about three years now. I understand many people have problems with the gas, and I'm very glad we don't. We have always eaten a variety of beans ~ in chili, salads, soups, etc. ~ admittedly, we've gotten kind of hung up on pintos and black beans in the last couple years, but boy, they're good! And versatile.

I think the old song about musical fruit has it all wrong! The more you eat, the LESS you toot!

Pinky:
I figured it out . You need a " P " !!! on your comuter.
- - - - - - -

That's a 10 dollar word in the middle of the Paragraph.
Wish I knew how to pronounce it.
Does it have something to do with your Sacroiliac.

Think I'll just keep the Bean water to make tea and throw the beans out.
Lou

I've eaten and prepared all kinds of beans all my life. Never had a problem until a couple of years ago. Now, I have to take Beano and the regular dosage is not enough. So I'm one of the obsessives regarding the soaking and the discarding of the soaking water. I've found it easiest to soak the beans overnight. Then the next day I drain & rinse them, put them in a pot covered with water and bring them to a boil. I simmer them for only a half hour and then drain and rinse them again. It's at this point that I add flavorings, broth, etc. This method seems to work for me. With just a regular dose of Beano, I'm OK. I'd love to return to my younger days where eating beans didn't affect me, but, alas, that isn't going to happen. At this stage in my life, my system is not going to get used to them all over again. I may lose some nutrients in the process, but, for me, it's better than going completely without beans.

Sherrmann:
Remember the poem,"Beans, Beans are good for your heart"

Guess some people have different digestive systems.

Shambo:
You win the Gold Star. Who knows you may get younger.
Lou

I do whatever method is convenient at the time. For instance, reading this thread on a cool, rainy Saturday morning has me thinking about putting on a pot of beans to cook for the day. It's too late to soak them over night, so I'll use the quick cook method.

Lou, I use canned beans all the time, again for the convenience. However, I love a good bowl of beans that I've cooked from the dried beans.

Beano doesn't work well for me, probably because I don't remember to use it until I'm half way through my bowl of beans or broccoli salad, lol. I've discovered a product that's kind of a pro-biotic, filled with beneficial bacteria, that you only have to take one or two a day, and you don't have to remember to take it right before the first bite. Being a vegetarian, it's a lot easier to deal with the side effects that way.

Sally

Like Beverly, I just rinse and cook. I usually put beans into the crockpot and cook them all day while I'm at work, it's fast and convenient for me.

Maybe because I eat beans two or three times a week, or maybe because my diet is so high in my garden vegetables, but I never have any digestive issues with those beans, whether soaked or not, canned or dried, whatever.

Annie

Mmmm, Bean Tea. Goodness, Lou, that sounds just delish!