My New Year's Resolution: Beans

[sugaree]

I am vowing this year to conquer my fear of cooking beans from scratch. I know there have been threads before about cooking beans but a search turned up two gazillion different bean threads. I have a crock pot and a pressure cooker. Tips would be appreciated as would links to other threads with help on cooking and storing. Vegetarian bean recipes would also be welcome. Thanks and Happy New Year!

[Mpenny1001]

I'm a fan of the crockpot method. Rinse and sort your beans. Dump them in the crockpot. Cover with cold water (you want the water to be an inch or two over the beans. Put the cover on, turn crockpot on to high, and come back in about 5 hours to check doneness. Once they are nice and soft, add some salt.

I then like to add some salt and freeze the beans with some of their cooking liquid in 2-cup portions.

[sneezles]

Buy from a reliable source (Bob's Redmill or Rancho Gordo are 2). If you have a local source that you know has a good turnover that's good too.

I'd skip the slow cooker and would wait on the pressure cooker. Slow cookers take forever and pressure cookers cook fast but you have to let the pressure reduce naturally so they don't wrinkle. Easy enough to do in the PC but I lack the patience waiting on the pressure to come down.

Overnight soak or quick soak work fine. Overnight is good if you plan ahead, quick soak works for me because I decide last minute.

Made a pot of ham and bean soup yesterday, started the quick soak at 2:00 and had supper ready at 6:30.

[dreamer101]

Beans are something I'd like to do also. Pressure cookers scare the bejesus out of me! I never owned one and never will. I would like to do the oven or slow cooker method. Don't the beans have to be soaked overnight no matter the method?

[heavy hedonist]

there are two reliable methods for soaking-- and if you don't soak, your beans will take forever to cook.
method 1-- rinse and sort beans-- which means taking out any wrinkly ones, or stones and bits of dirt. rinse in a strainer under cool water. put beans in a large pan or bowl, cover with cold water an inch or mpore above beans and leave overnight. rinse and drain again in morning before cooking.

method two-- rinse and sort beans, put in a large pan and cover with cold water. bring to a boil over high heat-- no lid on pan-- and let boil for two minutes. remove from heat and let soak in same pan of water for one hour. Rinse under cold water before cooking.

Slow cookers are actually the perfect way to cook beans, in that you don't have to mess around or even stir them while cooking. it does take a good amount of time, but they cook there beautifully without attention or hassle, in either a shorter amount of time on high, as posted above (I like to add a bay leaf and clove of garlic) or in 8-9 hours on low. If you're home during the cooking, you can stir once or twice. but it' s not necessity!

But to cook in a pot on the stove, use a deep heavy pot, cover with fresh cold water by at least two inches, bring to a full simmer uncovered, then partially cover pan with it's lid and keep it at a simmer (stirring occasionally) till beans are tender, which will usually be a couple of hours, unless the beans are really freshly dried, such as those from Rancho Gordo. But grocery store beans work fine, they just take a bit longer. Lentils take an hour max, on the stove, and don't need soaking.

my method is to soak the beans during the day, and cook overnight in the slowcooker on low. they are ready in the morning for whatever i want to do with them. of course you can reverse this, depending on your schedule.
there's nothing to be scared about-- dried beans are actually one of the original convenience foods-- they could be carried for ages without going bad, and you didn't need anything special to prepare them with. You can do it!
Tip-- always test a spoonful of beans for doneness rather than just one bean, as sometimes some will be tender while others are still hard.
I cook at least one big pot of beans every week.

[dreamer101]

My aunt used to make her Boston Baked Beans in a Boston Baked Bean pot (http://www.potshopofboston.com/BeanPots.htm) in the oven. They always tasted so good. She swore by it. Actually she never swore in her life! LOL

[apple*tart]

I'm with you on this! I started my efforts last year, but I'm on a mission to add more beans to our diet.

In How to Cook Everything (Bittman) there's a chapter on beans that I definitely recommend reading (if you don't own the book you can probably get it from the library). It has basic information about the different methods for soaking beans, a great chart on types of beans that includes descriptions and cooking times, recommendations for buying, storing, and flavoring beans, and of course, lots of recipes.

Cook's Illustrated also has some good articles on dried beans, if you're a member. They have an article called "Dried Beans 101" from March '08 if you're not a member and want to track down the article at the library. One of the most interesting tidbits from the article, to me, is the trade off between the long- and quick-soak methods. The long soak method retains more nutrients in the beans, but it also retains more stachyose, which is apparently the thing that causes gas.

I have been making up a big batch of beans (1.5 to 2 pounds at a time), portioning them up into canning jars in the cooking liquid, and freezing them. I measured and figure that there's about 1 3/4 cup beans in the cans I was bringing home from the supermarket, so that's how I portion them out. I also make little half-pint jars which are great for a lunch portion or any recipe in which you don't need the whole can. It's a great way to control the sodium in the beans (canned beans have so much!), and it reduces waste since you can reuse the jars over and over. I reuse the lids, but as I run them through the dishwasher, I mark them so I won't use them for regular canning in the future.

I'm also going to try flavoring the beans while cooking. I've got plans for doing some kidney beans for chili and infusing them with ancho peppers, onion, and cumin!

One thing I've realized is that, for whatever reason, thawing frozen cooked beans in the fridge seems to take forever. I'm talking days! I usually end up finishing the job by immersing the jar in warm water for 15 minute or so.

[heavy hedonist]

my late sister's baked beans were made in the oven too-- she would soak navy beans overnight, then cook them in plain water for one hour. then drain and rinse, and cook in the oven with lots of tomato puree, molasses and brown sugar, onion and spices... for six hours! Uncovered, adding more water or tomato as necessary. They are sooo good, tangy, a little bit sweet and full of barbecue flavor.
i asked her what to put into them once, and she said, and i quote " throw everything you can think of in there, Mari."
so i figured out the flavors gradually. it's still in the perfection stage, but i'm the only one who makes them anymore.
they work out decently in the slowcooker, but don't get as deeep a flavor as in the oven. but this is a spec ially rich and spiced kind of bean dish... i do recommend finishing any boston style baked beans in the oven for a couple of hours. it helps the particular flavors to marry better...

[sugaree]

Wow, that's a lot of helpful stuff, thanks! A couple more questions - are there any beans that are better or worse to cook - or is that easier or harder? I use a lot of black beans, navy beans, kidney beans and chick peas. Same method for all? And apple*tart, do you just put the beans and liquid in the jars, put the top on and stick in the freezer? They don't expand when frozen?

[Canice]

I'll leave the method questions to the others since I cook beans on the stove, but as for whether some are harder or easier...it's the same method, just that some take longer than others. I often skip the soaking for regular white or black beans but not for chickpeas or larger beans.

[Cookin4Love]

I cook beans all the time. I never soak. I just wait for a day I'm going to be home, pick out any that are obviously no good, throw them in a pot with a chopped onion, a bay leaf, a halved clove and garlic and (really, truly) a piece or two of dried seaweed. I cover with about 2" of water, and cook them low and slow, adding water as necessary. When they begin to get tender, I salt the water, then continue cooking. When they're done, I take out the seaweed (at least any big chunks of it), garlic, and bay leaf, portion them out (including the pot liquor), and freeze what I'm not going to use in a day or two. Most beans take somewhere between 5 and 7 hours this way. (I personally don't care for beans cooked in the crock pot; they just don't develop the deeper flavor that the constant reduction of the cooking liquid results in when they're cooked on the stove.)

[cherylopal]

I love beans and really prefer the taste and texture of the dried ones that I cook.

I soak overnight or for 8 hours by starting them soaking when I get up and then cook in the late afternoon. The day soak is great if I do it the day before I need the beans. They soak all day and then I cook them while I'm making dinner. After dinner, I let them cool, refridge the amount I need for the next nights dinner and then freeze the rest.

I usually cook a pound of dried beans at a time. I start by dumping them on a rimmed cookie sheet and sorting out the stones and icky looking beans. Then rinse them in a strainer. I put the rinsed beans in my dutch oven, cover with water about 2 inches but not more of water. When its time to cook, I turn on the burner and add some lightly sauteed onion and garlic, maybe also throw a bit of carrot or celery depending on the recipe, and a bay leaf. I bring the beans and seasonings to a boil and boil hard for about 5 minutes. Then simmer until they are just soft. Add some salt- this was the hardest part when I first started cooking beans from scratch- adding enough salt! I was so afraid of over salting. Cook for another 15-30 minutes or until done.

I love rancho gordo beans. My local grocery store has pretty good turnover with the dried beans (Goya and Iberia) so I often buy garbanzos, pinto, black beans well the more common beans there. I have thought about trying the beans from Whole Foods bulk section but haven't yet.

I have used the crock pot successfully and it is easier in that you don't have to watch the water level so closely but for some reason I seem to prefer the taste and texture of the beans cooked on the stove. I don't have a pressure cooker so I can't speak to that.

Good luck and give yourself a bit of a learning curve. :)

[sugaree]

a piece or two of dried seaweed.

What's the purpose of the seaweed?

[Cookin4Love]

The seaweed provides a little bit of umami, a deep, savory taste that is hard to describe, but you know it once you taste it.

[mizqueen]

As to kinds of beans, I find a huge variation in cooking times. Part of it may be the turnover in particular beans in your area. Here in SoCal, I think every store has a tremendous turnover on pinto beans, and they always are the fastest, other than lentils. I cook a pot of pintos at least once a week and they only take a little over an hour to be edible tender and 2 at most. Small white beans are a little longer. On the other hand, black beans and garbanzos take forever - I would say minimum of 4-5 hours. Kidneys and black-eyed-peas seem to be in-between. I also like stove cooked better than pressure cooked. The consistency is just not the same.

[sugaree]

The seaweed provides a little bit of umami, a deep, savory taste that is hard to describe, but you know it once you taste it.

Oh, I was hoping it was to help with that delicate problem lots of people have when they eat beans.

[cherylopal]

The seaweed provides a little bit of umami, a deep, savory taste that is hard to describe, but you know it once you taste it.


uuummm i put some in when i cook greens but never thought to put it in beans.... might have to give it a go!

[Cookin4Love]

I think you'll really taste the difference, Cheryl. I'm pretty sure it was Bobmark who originally mentioned it, and I've done it ever since.

[sneezles]

Oh, I was hoping it was to help with that delicate problem lots of people have when they eat beans.

For that you can use epazote (dried or fresh) though if you eat beans often enough it isn't a problem.

[sugaree]

For that you can use epazote (dried or fresh) though if you eat beans often enough it isn't a problem.

Do you just put the epazote into the pot when you cook the beans? Where do you buy it?

[apple*tart]

And apple*tart, do you just put the beans and liquid in the jars, put the top on and stick in the freezer? They don't expand when frozen?

Here's what I do. When the beans are cooked and cooled, I use a slotted spoon to measure 1 3/4 cup of beans (without any liquid) into each pint jar. Then I go back through and ladle the cooking liquid into the jars, leaving a generous amount of headroom - 3/4" to 1". A funnel helps with the ladling.

Turns out there are specific canning jars that are labelled "freezer safe," and I only have those in one size. That's why I'm extra generous with the headspace - so far, no problems at all. If you're going to buy jars, though, I'd recommend getting the freezer-safe ones. HTH!

[cherylopal]

Here's what I do. When the beans are cooked and cooled, I use a slotted spoon to measure 1 3/4 cup of beans (without any liquid) into each pint jar. Then I go back through and ladle the cooking liquid into the jars, leaving a generous amount of headroom - 3/4" to 1". A funnel helps with the ladling.

Turns out there are specific canning jars that are labelled "freezer safe," and I only have those in one size. That's why I'm extra generous with the headspace - so far, no problems at all. If you're going to buy jars, though, I'd recommend getting the freezer-safe ones. HTH!

I like the idea of freezer safe jars. :)

[Hoodone]

If you already have a pressure cooker please do yourself a favor and try your beans in it. I love my pressure cooked beans!

Lorna Sass has a good bean chart and method in her "Pressure Perfect" book.

What I love, love, love about the PC is no need to presoak the beans! Just pop them in and go. It is not super quick, but I find that most beans will be done in an hour to an hour and a half which includes the time coming to pressure, cooking and natural release. Even stuff like garbanzo beans, which, btw, are awesome in the PC. Before the PC I never liked garbanzo/chickpeas except in hummus!

If you're at all into Indian food, you'll find they do most every bean dish in the PC. They use this term "whistle" as in cook for 2 whistles. They use whistling pressure cookers. I researched a bit and found 1 whistle = 3 minutes. For fun Indian food cooking lessons visit www.showmethecurry.com. These two ladies have put together a bunch of youtube videos showing you how to cook Indian food. Their bean recipes use the PC. For some of the spices and beans you do need to visit an Indian food store. Believe me, if you want to add more beans to your diet, the Indian route is a superb way to go. Also recommended is Barti Kirchner's "The Healthy Cuisine of India". The Festive Chickpea recipe is a personal favorite.

What I often do is cook up a bigger batch of beans than needed then put the extras in ziplock bags and store them in the freezer.

[cherylopal]

I think you'll really taste the difference, Cheryl. I'm pretty sure it was Bobmark who originally mentioned it, and I've done it ever since.

I might try this tonight when I make some soup- using canned beans though but still will see how it goes. :)

[heavy hedonist]

(I personally don't care for beans cooked in the crock pot; they just don't develop the deeper flavor that the constant reduction of the cooking liquid results in when they're cooked on the stove.)

I used to cook beans stovetop all the time too-- but my stove is wretched and can't keep a bare simmer going!
oh-- for those in need of it, the soak helps take out some of the gas-causing elemnts. If you really have trouble, you can soak, drain and rinse, bring the beans to a boil in more water, and then drain and start again in more fresh water as soon as they get up to the boil. Julia Child recommended thsi method for people just starting out on the bean eating trail. It does delete some of the nutrients, but as she said-- if you're avoiding beans because they cause discomfort, you're not getting the benefits anyway!

[sugaree]

Woo Hoo - I did it!! I cooked my own kidney beans and made chili out of them. I must admit I was a little worried that when I put the beans in the pot and the water started getting hot, they all floated to the top and were very wrinkled. Yikes. But I waited it out, kept going, and they came out beautifully. I spent about $3 on a pound and a half of organic beans and got at least three times as many beans as I would have with canned organic beans. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and help!

[heavy hedonist]

Woo Hoo - I did it!!

Congrats!
now, here's a great flavor tip i got from Taste of Home ages ago-- use any leftover coffee as part/all of the soaking water for chili beans (whether that's black, pintos, navy, kidney, whatever). even though it's drained off before cooking, it imparts extra flavor that really works in chilis, barbecue and baked beans.

[Canice]

Good for you, sugaree! I was thinking about the cost the other night when I bought enough organic chickpeas to equal two cans and it cost me under a buck.

HH, that is a very cool tip! I'm definitely going to try it next time I make chili.

[KarenMcG]

All these posts are so informative and offer many different ways to fix different kinds of beans. Thank you.

When my husband and I were first married (years and years ago), I about killed us both trying to fix beans from scratch. :)

They were Northern beans and I followed the recipe from scratch to the letter. The instructions were to NOT drain the water after the beans had soaked. I kid you not.

So I didn't drain the water from the beans and cooked them in that water.

Whoa!

They tasted so good when they were cooked...but oh the aftermath! A little too strong on the bowel.

The good news is...we're still married! :)

[Just Mary]

I'd love to cook beans but every time I've tried it they come grainy. Anyone know what to do about that? They're just grocery store beans but it's a big, busy store and I'm sure the bean turnover is plenty fast. Lentils is all I can do well. :(

[heavy hedonist]

I'd love to cook beans but every time I've tried it they come grainy. Anyone know what to do about that? They're just grocery store beans but it's a big, busy store and I'm sure the bean turnover is plenty fast. Lentils is all I can do well. :(

that's a case where you might have better luck with one of the recipes where you soak, cook for one hour on the stove, then cook in the oven in a sauce, perhaps covered with foil for part of the time.

[Just Mary]

that's a case where you might have better luck with one of the recipes where you soak, cook for one hour on the stove, then cook in the oven in a sauce, perhaps covered with foil for part of the time.

Thanks. Out of curiousity I did some googling and it might also be from salting the water, undercooking or my insanely hard water. So I'll try again-- no salt til last, and cooking longer! I think I'll try the oven, too.

[Canice]

My first thought was that they just weren't done when you took them off. Even if the store does a high volume of business, they may not sell a lot of dried beans and as been noted, bagged beans in the supermarket can be very, very old which increases the cooking time. And do hold off on the salt until the beans have 20-30 minutes to go. I cook my beans in their soaking water.

[Cookin4Love]

We have ridiculously hard water, too. I only use distilled water for soaking and cooking beans.

[Just Mary]

I'm adding to my list 'use the RO water!'

I would try beans from the bulk bins at Sprouts but I figured those would probably be even older than the giant Kroger's bagged beans. Maybe not. The nature of those bins probably require the store to keep a close eye on product age.

Maybe Food City, which caters to the hispanic market here, would be a good source of pinto beans.

[Cookin4Love]

Food City? Hard water? You must live in my neck of the woods! And I would think Food City would be a great source for pintos (although I've never had problems with the ones I've bought at Fry's either).

[cherylopal]

Woo Hoo - I did it!! I cooked my own kidney beans and made chili out of them. I must admit I was a little worried that when I put the beans in the pot and the water started getting hot, they all floated to the top and were very wrinkled. Yikes. But I waited it out, kept going, and they came out beautifully. I spent about $3 on a pound and a half of organic beans and got at least three times as many beans as I would have with canned organic beans. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions and help!

Congratulations!!!!

[cherylopal]

All these posts are so informative and offer many different ways to fix different kinds of beans. Thank you.

When my husband and I were first married (years and years ago), I about killed us both trying to fix beans from scratch. :)

They were Northern beans and I followed the recipe from scratch to the letter. The instructions were to NOT drain the water after the beans had soaked. I kid you not.

So I didn't drain the water from the beans and cooked them in that water.

Whoa!

They tasted so good when they were cooked...but oh the aftermath! A little too strong on the bowel.

The good news is...we're still married! :)

Glad you're still married- me too after some learning curve mishaps of my own!!

I cook my beans in the soaking liquid. Even DH no longer has bowel issues- the more often you eat beans the better you get at digesting them. I also think DH is eating a lot more veggies and that's helping too.

[Just Mary]

Food City? Hard water? You must live in my neck of the woods! And I would think Food City would be a great source for pintos (although I've never had problems with the ones I've bought at Fry's either).

The Phoenix area, right? (Of course, that Kroger I mentioned is a Fry's, but I figure their other name is more widely recognizable as a big-a$$ grocer.)

I went to Sprouts last night and picked up some Great Northern beans from the bulk bins. The stocker assured me their beans get great rotation and are re-stocked nightly. Interestingly, she said "those beans?" pointing to the bins, making me wonder if she knew the bagged beans were less turned-over.

I soaked them overnight, boiled them in that water this morning, and now they're in the oven. I did use R/O water.
We'll see!

[KarenMcG]

Glad you're still married- me too after some learning curve mishaps of my own!!

I cook my beans in the soaking liquid. Even DH no longer has bowel issues- the more often you eat beans the better you get at digesting them. I also think DH is eating a lot more veggies and that's helping too.


So, it can be done! I'm glad to know that.

Thank you for your input, Cheryl. :)