Cooking Dried Beans?

**3LittleMonkeys** · 02-20-2009, 05:38 PM

Does anyone have a foolproof method of preparing dried beans? I can never get them to turn out right.

Also, how do you know if the dried beans are too old? Or do they expire?

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-20-2009, 05:44 PM

i make tons of beans every week (i'm a vegan) ....

i just throw them in the slow cooker (not crock-pot)....cover them with lots of water and put them on (3) for about 3 hrs....doesn't matter the bean type it seems to work the same on all of them...

after the time is up (just check them coz your cooker could have different temp settings than mine) drain the excess water off them by dumping it all into a colander...

i make up 3-4 kinds a week and keep them in a container in the fridge ...

i don't know about the old beans part...i thought beans lasted forever...unless they are moldy or something....that's a question for someone else...sorry....

if you do lentils the time will be less..but same process...

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-20-2009, 05:45 PM

oh yea...if you have plants...don't put the water down the drain...plants supposably LOVE the water....(i have cats...cats and plants in MY house could not co-exist...) lol....

**3LittleMonkeys** · 02-20-2009, 05:48 PM

Do you need to presoak the beans though?

**Dancing Lotus** · 02-20-2009, 06:09 PM

I pre soak mine over night and all through the day. If I don't they never seam to fully cook. As far as beans getting to old to eat,I don't' know but my rule of thumb is that if they were used as decoration in anyway don't bother eating them. For the .69 a bag they cost , just get some more. LOL

**thesightofoneself** · 02-20-2009, 06:19 PM

i never presoak. i just skip to the other directions on the bag. expiration date? on the bag

**gardening momma** · 02-20-2009, 07:06 PM

The first time I tried cooking dried beans, I did the "speed" method where you don't presoak, or at least, you do for a very short time, but cook at a higher temp. I burned them.

Years later, I tried again. Now I start soaking them the night before and let them soak most of the day. They do need about 3 hours to cook at a low boil on the stovetop, if I recall correctly. It seems the longer the better.

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-20-2009, 07:14 PM

i do not pre soak them....i just dump them from the bag (yes, i know...i don't even wash them....ewww...gross....) anyway...i dump them in...3 hrs on 3 in a bath of water.....(i way over-estimate my water) coz like i said i strain them when i am done....they cook perfectly for me everytime.... (but your cooker is probably different so you will have to experiment with the time)....i don't cook them on the stove coz that burns alot more electricity....(you know how i am about that...)......this is the way it works for me....

**JerryG** · 02-20-2009, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by sabrelvssammy

i do not pre soak them....i just dump them from the bag (yes, i know...i don't even wash them....ewww...gross....) anyway...i dump them in...3 hrs on 3 in a bath of water.....(i way over-estimate my water) coz like i said i strain them when i am done....they cook perfectly for me everytime.... (but your cooker is probably different so you will have to experiment with the time)....i don't cook them on the stove coz that burns alot more electricity....(you know how i am about that...)......this is the way it works for me....

Last time I cooked beans (Tuesday??), I cleaned them and found a rock, not a pebble, a ROCK the size of my thumb. Granted I have small hands, but still.

Please do wash and sort. EEK!

**tervsforme** · 02-20-2009, 07:41 PM

I never presoak my beans either. I make a different bean soup every week. Basically the same method as sabrelvssammy although probably a bit less water and I add some chopped up ham and a few veggies.

**sabrelvssammy** · 02-20-2009, 08:37 PM

i have heard of people finding 'rocks' but in the 40 yrs i've been eating beans i have never actually seen one.... i guess i have been lucky....

**brycespeed** · 02-20-2009, 09:18 PM

I also do not pre-soak..doesn't seem to do very much good. I boil them at high heat for about 15 minutes in lots of water and spices of your choice...they need a good bit of salt. Then, take them off of the heat and let them sit with the lit on for an hour or so and they will get nice and tender.

You can then bring them back and maybe pour off some of the water, depending on your recipe, they will have absorded lots of the spices and salt by now, but still need to be cooked for 45minutes to an hour to get them nice and tender.

Cook them on low-med heat and stir them as to not scorch the bottom.

I throw in an onion, garlic and herbs sometimes too

**Durgan** · 02-20-2009, 09:43 PM

Pressure cooking dried beans.
http://www.durgan.org/ShortURL/?LCBMN 12 August 2007 Pressure cooking dried beans.

This is the first time stevia was utilized as a substence for sweetening dried beans. The objective is to reduce the sugar content. There will be sugar in some of the spices used, but hopefully significantly reduced. Two cups of dried beans make a lot of finished product. The finished product has a most pleasant taste, probably a bit more sweet tasting than I desired.

Dried beans make a good substitute for meat and makes and pleasant and nourishing meal, along with normal vegetables.

The variety of dried beans can be anything available, I find they mix well together.

Beans are washed, boiled for about 10 minutes to remove dirt, and possibly the ingredients that cause flatulence in some people, and rinsed again. The beans are installed in the colander, and placed in the pressure cooker with sufficient water just below the bean level. Cooking time is about 1 hour. The beans are then placed in another pot and the spices mixed, and water added to cover the beans, then boiled again to reduce the mixture to the consistency desired.

The colander prevents ingredients from boiling up and clogging the venting valve, thus preventing the rubber safety valve from blowing off, and creating a mess.

**old_lady_in_the_shoe** · 02-20-2009, 10:25 PM

A crock pot renders dried beans almost effortless.

Just throw the dried beans in a crock pot–a 3 quart pot can easily accommodate 2 pounds of beans–cover with a couple inches of water and cook on high until the beans are tender, without being mushy. For medium sized beans like pintos and garbanzos, this takes about 3 hours. Smaller beans like navy beans or great northern beans will cook a little faster, and limas and butter beans will take longer. Drain the cooking water (save it for the plants!) and you have nutritious beans ready with less than five minutes of actual work time. Start the beans in the crock pot while you fix dinner, and they will be ready to go in the fridge or freezer by bedtime.

This is what I do!!

**Grainlady** · 02-21-2009, 09:03 AM

If you are cooking them to add to a salad or make into refried beans (not soup beans), you might enjoy this easy method in a Thermos. It also takes less energy to cook them this way. I use a 1-liter Stanley Thermos.

Black Beans

3/4 c. black beans yields approximately 2-1/4 c. "cooked" beans (a can of black beans measures approx. 1-2/3 c.)

Soak 3/4 cup black beans for 8 hours (or overnight). Drain soak water. Fill the thermos with hot tap water and allow to heat-up for 10 minutes. Drain hot water. Place beans in thermos and fill with boiling water. Place the cap and lid on the thermos and lay on it's side (cooks more evenly when distributed over a larger space than at the bottom of an up-right thermos). If you think about it, you can roll/shake the thermos several times during the day. Drain after 8-10 hours. If the beans aren't completely cooked, add more boiling water and allow to "cook" some more. CAUTION: remember beans expand to approximately 3X the dry amount, so don't over-fill your thermos.

For more information:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2275972_cook...rgy-money.html

http://thriftyliving.net/?p=71