Question: Does adding baking soda to dry beans destroy B vitamins?
Recently a well known doctor had given out the recipe for cooking beans - he suggested soaking the beans with baking soda for six to eight hours, then cooking them. Years ago, my mom (a nutritionist from Columbia U) told me to never do that - she said it destroys the B vitamins. How do you cook beans?
Marie - About.com User
Answer: Adding baking soda to any food that you are cooking will destroy a B vitamin called thiamine. Baking soda is often added to reduce cooking time. A pressure cooker (buy direct) can be used instead of baking soda to reduce cooking time for dry beans.
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