Anyone know anything about it? Does it really prevent flatulence when used to flavor bean dishes? Is it hard to grow? Where can I get some?
Thanks.
Epazote?
I've never used and/or heard of this today. Two things put me off a bit. Poisonous in large doses and smells like kerosene. Not sure it would enhance the flavor of my baked beans. lol.
But, I'm curious, nevertheless. I'll watch for more information.
Hi, I think the poisonous might be an error- maybe refers to the fact that people get allergies to it, but then people get allergies to chamomile (moi!), lavender, roses, etc. Did find it on other websites for sale as dried herb and as plant, with same claim for bean dishes, and some comments (positive) about flavor in Mexican dishes too.
I have grown epazote. Once you get it started it tends to reseed and come back. It adds a flavor, but only a mild one to beans. I quit growing it because I was unimpressed. I didn't notice any improvement in flatulance from beans either, but that's kind of hard to measure. I once read an article by a chef who said it was the most unimpressive herb he had ever used.
It is used a lot in Mexico where it is a common weed. Many people there are very poor. I suspect a little extra green in their beans makes a good nutritional addition to their diets, but I didn't find epazote very interesting one way or the other.
Mexicans also add purslane ( verdelagas) to their beans. It is also a weed and is very nutritious. It is also rather bland. I suspect these plants provide more nutritional value than flavor.
This message was edited Oct 10, 2006 11:18 AM
well, my DH suffers from intestinal upset at the slightest thing, yet he loves beans. there is only so much Beano and Gasex one can consume in a day! I'm willing to try the herb, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. If it add flavor, good. If not and doesn't control DH's upset, well, it's worth a try, I think. I'll buy some of the dried stuff, not expensive. have a nice recipe for it too.
It doesn't hurt to try. I have heard that appalosa beans are easier on the flatulence. They are a bean raised from old beans from an archeological dig. I have never tried them myself, but a friend told me that. People around here love their beans and eat a lot of them. Appalosa beans are pretty black and white spotted beans, like a pinto horse. I think they can be bought lots of places now.
Oh good, will try those in the potted bean recipe I have.
One more question-- someone tell me how to pronounce it please. As in Spanish so the final e would be pronounced, or ep-a-zote, with a long o in the last syllable?
I think it's "ep-a-'zoat-ee" (long o)
I've grown it and added a handful of chopped leaves to a pot of mexican beans... I liked the extra flavor note but wouldn't miss it a lot if I didn't have any on hand.
I think epazote is not GRAS ("generally recognized as safe" according to, hmmm, is it the US Agricultural folks?) but doesn't seem to be harmful in moderate amounts... Certainly it's been used in Mexico & elsewhere for years.
As far as making beans more, ah, socially acceptable to eat... I've found a huge difference in starting with dried beans rather than canned. I don't soak them overnight, but I do bring them to a boil, let them cool for 30 minutes, then pour off the water before adding more water and continuing to cook them. With black beans, I change the water several times so they don't turn my pinto beans grey when I combine them.
Grey beans- urg! that'll cure DH, he might not eat them !!
I was going to use black beans for the potted bean recipe but now maybe will use the appaloosa beans pajaritomtn suggests.
Critter, I saw in PF that epazote is listed as poisonous. Wonder if it is really poisonous, or if it is like rue or some other herbs, enough of it may cause a hypersensitivity reaction.
bb, beans tend to cause gas because energetically they are cold, dry and astringent. Traditional cultures balance these qualities by using oils & fats along with warming, carminative herbs and spices. If you care to post your potted bean recipe, I will try to suggest some possible additions that may reduce or eliminate the gaseous effect of the beans. Soaking the beans and changing the water will also help remove some of the phytates and contribute to the gas. The quick soak method that critter suggests will help in this way as well.
I had always heard that epazote was primarily used primarily as an anthelmintic (to expel intestinal parasites).
Since the herb is heating, and has a pungent post-digestive effect, it would help reduce the cold and dry qualities of the beans that produce gas.
Here is a link to some further information on the traditional uses of the plant.
http://www.rain-tree.com/epazote.htm
Does your DH like black beans? Would you be interested in a Cuban recipe for some?
Hi G-M,
I'll find the recipe and post. Actually, the reason beans and certainother food cause flatulence is that our bodies rely on gut bacteria to break down some of the complex carbohydrates they contain (we lack those enzymes and the bacteria have them). The gas is a by-product of the enzymatic action. Has nothing to do with being cold, dry, or astringent. To be very technical, it's the alpha-glycosides in the beans we can't digest on our own but our gut bacteria do it for us.
DH likles various beans, have to ask if he likes black beans in particular, know he likes limas and navy beans and pinto beans are up there too.
bb, I was giving you a brief explanation from an Ayurvedic medical perspective. Ayurveda is the oldest medical system in the world. We look at the balance of energetic qualities of food, constitution, environment etc. Digestive enzymes would be considered part of "agni", or digestive fire. I believe you took my description of beans as cold, dry and astringent in a literal manner.
Oops, I made a mistake on the appalosa beans. What I should have said is anasazi beans. The rest is correct. Sorry, don't know where my mind was that night! Maybe I was thinking of appalosa horses which have spots when I thought of the beans? No telling. Anyhow they are anasazi beans and were grown from beans found in archeological digs. I have been told by a bean-loving friend that they cause less gas.
I notice that switching to a diet based mostly on vegetables as opposed to the usual American kind which I normally eat, I have a great deal of gas, but that it subsides after a while. I am told this is because our bodies supply the digestive enzymes according to what they are used to getting. Perhaps it would help your DH if he were to eat beans every day for a couple of weeks, that is if you both can take it during the adjustment period.
Just a thought. I love beans, too, but have never been able to figure out why sometimes they cause a great deal of gas and other times they don't. Black beans are one of my favorites. So are pinto beans and the Camelia red beans, as in red beans and rice. Lately I have been cooking a recipe that uses cannelli beans. They seem to me, a sample of one, to cause less gas. I do cook them from dried by the fast soak method.
I wish I knew of a definitive answer to this problem. Beans are wonderful and nutritious. Maybe he should start his beans every day experiment on a weekend or vacation!
Pajarito, I was thinking the horse breed when I read the post about the beans, good thing I didn't go shopping.
The roughage in a high-bean and vegetable diet contributes to gas too, but most people adjust. We always eat a high roughage diet although we are not big bean eaters. DH just has that kind of digestive system, easily upset. We eat a lot of cruciferous veggies around here, and his intestinal system acts as if it has never seen broccoli, ever. We'd probably be bigger bean eaters if DH's digestive system could handle them, I like to make vegetarian tacos out of mashed chick peas.
G_M, I'm med school faculty and tend approach things in a scientific manner- show me the datas and give me the scientific explanation, in other words. Don't believe in Ayurvedic medicine, sorry. I know that the inability to digest alpha-glycosides in beans leads to flatulence, and that sources of alpha-glycosidase is one way to prevent it, so is ingestion of charcoal tablets. I was asking if anyone knew from experience that epazote in bean dishes reduced flatulence.
bb~ If you're looking for an herb that might help with flats, check out Pennyroyal..
It is a mint family herb. !! Keep it away from pregnant women!!...It is also used by midwives to induce labor. The oils are a natural way to keep fleas off your pets too. You may want to look into it more, but maybe the health stores carry it, with tight controls bc some ppl want to use it irresponsibly. (You can imagine why..:o((. )
Several years ago I was looking for seeds, and couldn't find them anywhere. Then one Spring day shopping I was amazed to find it at WM, no less! I have been growing it in my herb bed all year, it crawls like a ground cover, but it doesnt choke anything. I have taken it as an herbal suppliment and it really does ease the tummy. Papaya is also great for digestion!
Deb
Hi Debnes,
How will pennyroyal taste in SW cuisine? Have you tried it in any dishes? Have no idea why papaya would help bean digestion, it doesn't have anything in it that would break down the alpha-glycosides in beans responsible for gas. has a proteolytic enzyme in it, papain, that causes allergic symptoms in some folks. Love papaya though.
Here is a kinda blurry pic of my Pennyroyal..
Funny when I saw Epazote, I thought of a word my sister uses for a really bad cold/flu, etc.
Epizooty Frizerotus... and I happen to have it now. Yucky!
Deb
Sorry bb I went off on a tangent, must be the Epizooty!!
I really dont think I would put it in a dish, rather make a tea of it maybe. For pinto beans I use Cilantro.. I have also used a mix of thyme & lavender flowers we get at the Grocery Store called "Herbs From Provence with Lavender". Whatever is in there is marvelous with ANY kind of beans. (Wish I knew all the herbs in it..) many things not just beans. I use it in Great Northern Beans, a favorite of ours. Everyone always wants me to bring my beans as a covered dish, because they are unusually non-flatulant. It's the flowers i think. I have also used Sambac Jassmine flowers right out of my garden in bean recipes...puttin them in last. Quite lovely!
(Used to live in NJ myself, DHs mom lives in Montclair, btw.. That's where he grew up.)
This message was edited Oct 30, 2006 3:30 PM
I cooked up about 6 cups of dried beans last week and added a generous handful of dried epazote. I added minced peppers, crushed tomatoes, onions, other seasonings while they cooked, Half went into chile, and the other half got smashed up for "mexican beans" that we use in burritos etc. We had bean & cheese burritos for lunch today -- yum!
Hello, I just discovered the website and I am really excited. Let me tell you I am from Mexico and we cook a lot with the epazote. We put it on the beans to cook and it DOES help to prevent flatulence, also it's known for it's antiparasite characteristics. It smells Delicious. You can find it in any Mexican grocery store and it comes either fresh or dry. if you want some recipes I will be willing to give you some of the Actual Good Mexican ones. Usually Mexican cuisine is not hot, we rather put the chiles on the table so it can be the choice of who is eating.
Hasta luego.
Sofia.
Hi Sofia,
Muchos gracias, I would like to try it! Maybe I can grow some in a pot, I'm sure it's too cold around here for epazote to live over the winter. I do a little Mexican cooking (lived in California for a spell) and would like to make some different dishes. No Mexican grocery stores here, but I bet I can find it fried on line.
Hasta luego,
Tu nueva amiga,
Beverly
Debnes....I grow pennyroyal and am curious as to how one would go about extracting the oil for flea prevention. Interesting! Maybe I should get my cats to roll in it? LOL.
Wanted to add, I had a visitor from Columbia at my house when I was growing epazote. She said they chewed on it for toothaches. This hasn't been mentioned in the thread and I wonder if anyone else has heard of this.
Hi knolan!
Interresting it aids toothache pain...
About extracting Pennyroyal oil for fleas>
I searched and found this page for one> http://earthnotes.tripod.com/basics.htm#howto
Skim to the "How to Make It" section, from about halfway to 2/3 down the page.
**Caution when making this in the house around anyone who is pregnant** (Caution info is on the above url.)
Deb
Thanks, Debnes! That's a cool site....lots of info. I'd much rather try this oil concoction than the prescribed flea medications that inevitably make my pets sick. Every single time I apply Advantage or Front Line, they seem droopy for a day or two. Even worse is the over the counter Bio Spot. I'll never put that on them again.
There's no one pregnant around these parts. ;>}
Great information!