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vandenberg
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Cooking beans
Does anyone but me have trouble cooking dried beans ?
Most times the beans do not soften, even after soaking for 24 hours and boiling for hours. Googling it, a lot of blame is put on hard water. Today I
had the same problems with split peas. Anyone know a remedy or solution besides buying canned beans 
Also, is the 5 gallon bottled water softened or just purified 
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comitan
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Don't soak them, cook them in a Crockpot 12 hrs perfect.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Taco de Baja
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I think my wife simply soaks them in plain cold water for 8-hours before turning up the heat. We have a reverse osmosis filter so the water has very
little TDS....But, shouldn't really make a difference.
She has great luck even with the dried bags of "25-bean" bean soup.
I'll ask what she does when she is back in town. She may weight them down with a plate, so there are no floaters….
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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lingililingili
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From what I understand when beans do not soften it's because they are not fresh. However, since beans are dried I have not figured out how to tell if
they are fresh or stale! Hmmm, quien sabe? I hope this one is figured out though.
•Life is just one damned thing after another
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DENNIS
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That water is just filtered.
I don't have an answer to your bean problem. When you find an expert, ask him'her what the secret to barbque beans is. I tried that and made a
terrible mess.
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BajaGeoff
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The secret to bbq beans is bacon and brown sugar!
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astrobaja
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OK heres my 2 cents:
for sure no. one reason if they never get soft, is that they are old!! make sure you get them at a place that has good turnover.
Never salt your beans until they are soft! Otherwise the skins get tough.
I got a tip from Andrea at Rancho Meling, put in your beans AFTER the water is boiling, then put in a clove of ajo or 2 . When they are done put in a
little pork manteca.
Also if the beans run out of water during the cooking, never add cold water only boiling water!
--Astro
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Osprey
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Van, I think you're right, the beans you tried were old. Those are hasbeans. Spend a few more pesos and buy new beans. Surely you can trust the word
of the sellers.
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Festus
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I do beans all the time. You just have to plan ahead. Soak them two nights before. Then put them in a crockpot or in a bean pot or covered
casserole dish in the oven (low temp) over night if you are eating for lunch. If dinner, you can get away with putting them in early in the morning.
Takes a good 8-10 hours of cooking to get them soft. If you need to cook them faster get a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers will cook them in 2-3
hours. Just make sure the lid is on tight or you will have a bean bomb about 45 minutes into the process.
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bajajudy
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For pinto beans the lighter the color, the fresher. Here in San Jose, I buy mine from Lizarraga's where the turnover is fast and they package their
own.
I soak overnight and use the quick method of pouring boiling water over them and let the stand until the water cools. always discard the soaking
water. I do not use a crock pot. On the stove top they take a couple of hours.
A secret I learned from a local lady, is to put a little chorizo, cooked and drained on paper towels, in with the beans. I also put a couple of
cloves of garlic and sometimes chopped onions too.
good luck, ed
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Capt. George
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Osprey
You are "priceless"!!!
enjoying St. James City..........be in Baja July hasta
Jorge II
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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Russ
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My friend told me/us that she cooks beans three times, twice for an hour then adding all the goodies for the last long cook until they're soft. I like
the idea of putting fresh beans into already boiling water. I use purified water on the last cooking.
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bajabound2005
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Split peas don't have to be soaked. They should cook up in no more than 45 minutes. Yes, use purified water. It is much softer than the other
stuff. We just hooked up our dishwasher to purified water and now the dishes actually come out clean and the glasses are sparkling. And yes it's
worth every damn cent.
A pressure cooker is another excellent way to cook dried beans.
From America's Test Kitchen:
Brining Beans
Why does soaking dried beans in salted water make them cook up with softer skins? It has to do with how the sodium ions in salt interact with the
cells of the bean skins. As the beans soak, the sodium ions replace some of the calcium and magnesium ions in the skins. Because sodium ions are
weaker than mineral ions, they allow more water to penetrate into the skins, leading to a softer texture. During soaking, the sodium ions will only
filter partway into the beans, so their greatest effect is on the cells in the outermost part of the beans.
And from the Kelley Bean Company:
Hard Water Will Slow Down the Cooking Process
Hard water is bad news for dry bean cooking. Hard water will slow down the cooking process or bring it to a complete halt and the beans will not
become tender. If you have trouble getting dry beans to become tender, use either distilled water or try using 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda for each
cup of dry beans to soften the water.
Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel.
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Natalie Ann
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Gene/Hose A is a bean cooking specialist... makes 'em really delicious and in one day start to finish. Perhaps he'll share his secret?
Nena
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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bajabound2005
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Well, if that's the case, maybe Hose A will cook up a batch for the Golf Tourney???
Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel.
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Natalie Ann
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Oh shoot, bb2005.... he's gonna kill me. 
Nena
(*edit so it doesn't read like I suggested shooting bb2005)
[Edited on 3-21-2008 by Natalie Ann]
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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vandenberg
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajabound2005
the Kelley Bean Company:
Hard Water Will Slow Down the Cooking Process
Hard water is bad news for dry bean cooking. Hard water will slow down the cooking process or bring it to a complete halt and the beans will not
become tender. If you have trouble getting dry beans to become tender, use either distilled water or try using 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda for each
cup of dry beans to soften the water. |
Since I buy our beans at the Issste store they shouldn't be old. They have a terrific turnover. I read in some cooking magazines that they have the
same problem in all areas with extreme hard water. No body gives a solution but to get a water softener. I have one, but not in operation for want of
the necessary salt, not to be had around here.
[Edited on 3-21-2008 by vandenberg]
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Osprey
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Van, I would keep a low profile here. No more talk about needing salt, brine, etc or you invite Loreto bay to pump the new desal plant right to your
place.
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bajabound2005
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Well, the baking soda ought to do the trick and that's readily available. Do a follow up post when you've tried the different methods 
Friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel.
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Oso
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In over 40 years in and out of Mexico, I have never heard of a Mexican cook pre-soaking beans. The key seems to be cooking them slowly a looong time.
My wife swears they are better cooked in a clay olla, but reluctantly gave hers up a few years ago when I was involved with the issue of children and
lead-based paint and pointed out the problem with the ollas. It's not the clay itself but the fact that the potters use or used lead-based glaze.
Citrus in particular leaches out the lead which makes Percebu's famous cazuelas problematic. If you can be 100% certain the glaze is free of lead,
then cooking in clay is fine.
BTW, "frijoles refritos" does NOT mean "refried beans". It means "well fried beans".
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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