All About Beans
Cooking Tips
Dried beans double in volume and weight after soaking and cooking (two exceptions are soybeans and chickpeas which triple in volume). One cup (8 ounces) dried beans equals 2 to 2 1/2 cups (1 to 1 1/4 pounds) soaked and cooked. Soaking and cooking times depend on the type of bean you are using. Please refer to this handy chart for specifics.
Simplest method for cooking beans:
Place presoaked beans in a pot and cover with fresh, cold water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, partially cover and simmer them for the indicated length of time until they are soft and tender.
Old beans may take longer to cook. Test for doneness by pressing a cooked bean against a flat surface with a fork. If it mashes easily, it is done. For a more tactile testing approach allow bean to cool to a comfortable tasting temperature, and then press it against the roof of your mouth with your tongue.
Crock pots are another simple and effective method for cooking beans. Follow the manufacturer’s directions or cook on the lowest setting all day or until beans are done.
Pressure Cooking
When using a pressure cooker, be sure the pot is no more than half full of ingredients, including water or cooking liquid. Cook at 15 pounds pressure for the required time. When cooking is completed, you can reduce the pressure by running cold water over the lid of the pressure cooker. Alternatively, the cooker can be removed from the heat and allowed to gradually reduce in pressure. When choosing this option, reduce the cooking time by 2-3 minutes as the beans will continue to cook as the pressure gradually decreases.
Pressure cooking often has problems with frothing, especially with soybeans. Adding a tablespoon of oil per cup of beans can help this problem, and will also keep any bean skins that might come loose from rising up and clogging the steam valve. Oil can also be used to reduce foaming in stove-top cooking.
Time Saving Tips
Warmer soaking water will reduce cooking time, but don’t soak your beans in the oven under a pilot light as this will result in loss of nutrients as well as other chemical reactions detrimental to flavour, texture and digestibility.
Quick Soaking
Place washed and picked-over beans in a large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of fresh unsalted water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to soak covered for 1 hour. Discard soaking water, rinse beans, and they are ready for use.
Alternative Quick-Soaking Method
Place washed and picked-over beans in a large saucepan. Cover with 2 inches of fresh unsalted water (or three times their volume). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Drain beans and cover with 2 inches or three times their volume of fresh, cool water. Allow to soak for 30 minutes. Discard soaking water, rinse, and the beans are reconstituted and ready for further cooking.
Tough and Old Beans
Soybeans and very tough beans can take a long time to cook. Old beans, while still nutritionally sound, will also take much longer to cook. To shorten the cooking time in these circumstances you can freeze the beans in their soaking water, then thaw, discarding the liquid. Cover beans with fresh water and cook.
Next – Beans – Troubleshooting
No Comments