How do i cook dried beans etc so they are soft to eat?!


Question: i have been soaking them for 24/hours but still find that i have to boil them for about 3/hrs and they are still quite firm.


Answers: i have been soaking them for 24/hours but still find that i have to boil them for about 3/hrs and they are still quite firm.

Here are the main reasons your beans might not cook quickly:

1. They are too old. Beans that are a couple years old or more may never cook soft.

2. You have hard water. Hard water creates changes in the beans that prevent them from softening. If this is your problem, use filtered or bottled water to cook your beans.

The jury is out whether you should add salt to your beans at the beginning of cooking. I would suggest, for a change, that you do the opposite of whatever you're doing now: If you have been adding salt at the beginning of cooking, add it towards the end, or vice-versa.

Acid in beans retards cooking. Don't add wine, tomato products, citrus or vinegar unless you want to slow down the beans' softening. The same goes for molasses, which is high in minerals, and can cause the same problems as hard water. Tomatoes + molasses are the reason why you can bake beans for hours in the oven and they don't fall apart.

You're soaking your beans long enough. You don't mention what type they are, although most beans would cook in 3 hours. I have another desperate suggestion to make, but I would experiment with a smaller amount of beans to see what you think. You can add 1/4 tsp of baking soda to your cooking water. The problem with this is that it might alter the taste of the beans, and the soda will reduce the nutrition of your beans. Stick with the bottled water routine instead if you can. But baking soda does soften beans while cooking.

The last reason I can think of for slow bean cookery, and one that I experience where I live, is high altitude. At higher altitudes, water boils at a lower temperature, meaning that things take longer to cook by boiling (it takes 15 minutes for spaghetti to cook where I live). If this is your situation (over 3000 ft), then you either have to be patient, or, you can get a pressure cooker and cook your beans in there, in which case, at 15 lbs pressure, you can have your beans done in about 11-18 minutes.

soak em in water

nope, promise, they do not need 3 hours just an hour or so

I soak mine in the refrig overnight then cook them

no they dont' have to be soaked for 24 hours. they need only couple hours and then you wold chop up some onions (red) and sometimes use a ham bone and boil it for only 20 to 3 0 minutes adn ti shoudl be done. you dont' want them real soft but ok enough and then if you pour off the water you can put molasis on it in covered dish and put in over 350 for an hour and have baked beans if you are using navy beans.

Pressure cooker works great. 45 min on med/low - done, no soaking.
Also an all day stint in the slow cooker makes a great pot of beans.

Then use fresh or frozen beans.

the more you soak them the less you have to cook them. There are plenty of perfect recipes on google search if you look.

Soak them overnight, then slow cook on low heat on the stove, not in a crock pot. Slow cook on low heat for about 5 hours. Remove from heat, and let them sit till cold, about 2 hours. Then slow cook for 2 more hours. Excellent soft and tasty beans. With or without meat. If you add meat, wait till about 2 hours of cooking then add the meat. (bacon, ham, bones, etc.)

after you boil em, don't you bake em in covered corningware in the oven? usually like for 30-45 minutes?

Three hours is more then enough time to cook even the large ones. You don't want them mushy, so I don't understand what can be wrong. If you bite into them and they are not hard to chew, then they are done.

Soak em.

Them boil them with some spices or whatever.

Heres a great web site it should answer your question....
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebox/b...
happy beaning

Excellent website here: www.centralbean.com/cooking.html

soak them with a pinch of salt. or just boil them slow

That is unusual. If you soak them for 24 hours drain the water, add fresh water and cook they should be soft after no more then two hours of simmering. You might want to use more water or use a bigger pot and use the lid.

As in all beans while you soak them and salt to the water, well down South at our sea level it softens them better. Are you covering the pot while you boil the beans, make sure you do? I am kinda stumped with the beans not becoming soft after 3 hrs. Good Luck

you could try baking them..
or buying them canned (and already soft) like the rest of us

soak in hot water for 4hrs.
while boiling add a pinch of backing soda and salt to tat

The only time I ever had that problem was when the beans were old. I cook beans all the time and if you soak them they should only take about an hour to be very soft or without soaking them cook them about 3 hours. And what kind of beans are you using? Some beans are naturally firmer than others. Try using pintos or navy beans. I usually mix 3 or 4 kinds.

Even if you soak beans, it is still going to around 1 and a half hours, depending on the bean you are using. For example, soy beans take up to 3 hours to be cooked all the way.
If you are looking to have them prepared quickly. I would suggest giving yourself 3 days in advance for preparation. One day for soaking, the next for actually cooking the beans thouroughly, then cooling. Whenever you need them, reheat them. (NOT IN A MICROWAVE!!!) A microwave will dry your beans out and may cause them to crack. (Ugly looking.)

Also, cooking your beans with seasonings such as salt and acids in the water will cause the beans to cook slower.

If you are soaking your beans for 24 hours, change your soaking water once or twice, this will slightly speed up your cooking process.

Cooking steps for your beans:

Bring up to a hard boil, for five minutes. This little trick hastens the cooking.

But then, cook at a simmer, mostly covered. If the heat is up too high, the beans tear and look unsightly. They also tend to cook on the outside, but not on the inside.

Cooking liquid level should be one to three inches above the beans. Liquid will reduce during cooking, so be vigilant. Several inches of water not only increases cooking time, it dilutes the flavor of the beans.

Cook beans mostly nude -- as in without seasoning. I know this seems counterintuitive, but beans, for the most part, need to be left alone in the pot and do their thing. Flavorings such as a bay leaf, a cinnamon stick, star anise pod, herb sprigs are acceptable as they are relatively non-intrusive, while gently infusing flavor.

If you want your beans cooked to perfection, there is no way to speed up the timing, it is going to take you at least an hour, when cooking. (I suggest renting a movie or two)

A great bean recipe: try cassoulet, you can make it vegan, or with meat.
Hope I helped.
What kind of beans are you trying to cook?

FAT FREE DRIED WHITE BEANS

1 lb. white dried beans (limas, Great Northern or Navy)
1 1/2 qts water
3 cloves fresh minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon chopped dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon Italian dried pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon salt free seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cover with water. Let simmer all day on xlow cook setting (check user guide).





The consumer Foods information on foodaq.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007 FoodAQ - Terms of Use - Contact us - Privacy Policy

Food's Q&A Resources