Hard on the heels of the decaffeinated coffee bush and the less-allergenic peanut, food scientists have begun work on the flatulence-free bean.
A natural treatment can remove 95% of the fart-triggering compounds in Phaseolus vulgaris - also known as the french bean, haricot, kidney bean or frijol - it is reported today in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture.
Beans are among humanity's oldest staples, a source of protein, energy and vitamins that can be dried and stored through the winter.
The plant that would one day produce the "Boston baked bean" was first domesticated in Mexico about 5000BC, and in the past five centuries has colonised the world.
Beans have been used as folk medicine to treat diarrhoea, acne, eczema, dropsy, hiccups, rheumatism and sciatica, as well as being the basis for dishes such as cassoulet.
But bean eating has been steadily falling out of favour among foodies.
"This poor consumption in occidental countries is mainly explained by the intestinal discomfort that is often generated by the ingestion of beans," report Marisela Granito, of Simon Bolivar University, and her colleagues.
The problem is an old one. The ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras - who knew about broad or fava beans - forbade his disciples beans. Sumerian tablets mention the problem of bean-powered wind generation. The poets Byron and Shelley exchanged insulting couplets about beans and farting.
The usual explanation for the flatulence has been that something within the beans sets people's natural gastrointestinal microorganisms working overtime.
Want to learn more?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,985003,00.html
A natural treatment can remove 95% of the fart-triggering compounds in Phaseolus vulgaris - also known as the french bean, haricot, kidney bean or frijol - it is reported today in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture.
Beans are among humanity's oldest staples, a source of protein, energy and vitamins that can be dried and stored through the winter.
The plant that would one day produce the "Boston baked bean" was first domesticated in Mexico about 5000BC, and in the past five centuries has colonised the world.
Beans have been used as folk medicine to treat diarrhoea, acne, eczema, dropsy, hiccups, rheumatism and sciatica, as well as being the basis for dishes such as cassoulet.
But bean eating has been steadily falling out of favour among foodies.
"This poor consumption in occidental countries is mainly explained by the intestinal discomfort that is often generated by the ingestion of beans," report Marisela Granito, of Simon Bolivar University, and her colleagues.
The problem is an old one. The ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras - who knew about broad or fava beans - forbade his disciples beans. Sumerian tablets mention the problem of bean-powered wind generation. The poets Byron and Shelley exchanged insulting couplets about beans and farting.
The usual explanation for the flatulence has been that something within the beans sets people's natural gastrointestinal microorganisms working overtime.
Want to learn more?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,985003,00.html