I've found that baking soda isn't always necessary in order to decrease the
"octane potential" of beans. I cook beans in my little crockpot by soaking
them overnight, then pouring out the soaking water, giving the beans a
quick rins & then filling the pot with fresh cooking water. This seems to
do it for me - ever since I started this method, I've never had a problem.
In fact, the one time I added baking soda to a batch of kidney beans, I got
a really odd chemical reaction which made the beans smell & look like they
had been burnt.
Good luck - and *good* question!
Kristin
Kristin Bass || Aphorism for the computer age:
The University of Michigan ||
Combined Program in || The E-mail of the species is
Education and Psychology || more deadly than the mail. ;^)
email: kmbass@xxxxxxxxx ||
------------------------------