What did I do wrong (cooking beans)?

[jazzyjas]

Did you cook the beans in the chili? Beans should be cooked separtely first and then added to other vegetables, spices and especially salt. The salt in a recipe will often prevent the beans from softening in the center if they are not cooked first.
Anyway that is my theory.

jas

[JHolcomb]

You just didn't cook them long enough. While dried beans do absorb some liquid when they soak, I don't think it's that much. Cooking time varies with the freshness of the beans, too. I've had experiences where it took almost 3 hours to get a pot of beans soft enough for my liking (though it usually takes 11/2-2 hours, though). I've NEVER had a pot finish in 45 minutes, and my grandma, mom, and I have cooked a lot of dried beans. I think they should be cooked first and then put into the recipe, also. And add salt late in the game. To shorten cooking you could buy a pressure cooker if you aren't afraid of them and can make the investment. The new ones are much safer than they used to be and will cost $60-300 dollars depending on what you want.

Jen

[This message has been edited by JHolcomb (edited 05-08-2001).]

[SandyM]

Hang on....... I hear Phoebe, The Bean Queen, stepping in........ http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Jewel]

From what I was told my my OWN Bean Queen (Grandma) soaking overnight doesn't soften beans, only helps the skins open a bit and expand them so they don't break apart and explode as they're cooking in your recipe. I've never heard that you should precook beans before using them in recipes, I've always used my soaked beans in soups and chilis without precooking. If anything, the starch that is released from the beans as they cook (especially navy beans!) helps the dish get more creamy! If you precook you lose that creamy consistency.

A faster way is to put your rinsed beans in a pot covered by 2" of water and bring to a boil. Let boil for one minute, then remove from heat, cover and let sit for 1 hour. It's almost the same as the overnight soak if you're pressed for time!

[Ohioan]

The Bean Queen arrives....

What kind of beans did you use, Valerie? Most beans will cook in two hours from scratch by my method, but others (limas, chickpeas, etc.) take three or more hours, and soybeans -- well, forget about it; you don't want to know. And as Jen says, the freshness of the beans will make a difference, too.

At any rate, the way I cook beans is to set a kettle of water boiling while I pick over and rinse the beans. Then I put the rinsed beans into a pot with some slices of onion and a cut-up clove or two of garlic, pour the boiling water over them, cover, and cook on low or medium-low heat for about two hours, stirring them up at the one-hour point and then every 15 minutes thereafter until they're tender.

As a couple of people have said, adding salt or citrus (tomatoes, lemon, etc.) during the cooking will often toughen the skins so that they never soften. Save the salt and tomatoes until the beans begin to feel tender. However, you can put all the other seasonings in whenever you want.

Also, although you start with boiling water, try to keep the cooking water at less than a real rolling boil. Sometimes too hard a boil will toughen the beans. (For some reason, though, this doesn't apply to the quick-cooking legumes, i.e., lentils and split peas. With them, a high boil softens them faster. I used to joke that my split pea soups were always at their best when they'd boiled over at least twice. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/tongue.gif)

Give it another shot; fresh-cooked beans are way better than canned. In fact, why not make up enough of a batch for two or three times, as I do? You can keep cooked beans in the fridge for about four days, and lots of people freeze extra portions with great success.

Cheers,
Phoebe

[Wendy w]

It's about time you arrived Phoebe!

http://www.harrythecat.com/graphics/k/fairy4.gif

Since I couldn't find queens on the graphic site, I had to use a fairy.

[valeriek]

Your guys are so great!

Jewel, it sound like what I did was what your grandmother warned you about. Soaking overnight just didn't work, then I cooked them for too short of a time.

I should have looked to this board before I started this little project! I love the idea of making a big batch and storing for later use.

You have all inspired me to try again. I do like beans, but since I've only used canned, I feel like I might be missing something. Thanks for the advice!

[Gail]

One other thought here.

I'm fickle; sometimes I soak beans overnight, sometimes I do the quick method already described. Either seems to work for me equally well, HOWEVER, I have noticed that old beans (by this I mean those I've had a while) tend to be hard. It's always possible that the package of beans you picked up might have been sitting on the shelf a long time. Anyway, don't give up, as everyone says. IMHO canned beans tend to taste more of can than of bean. Once you try the fresh, you will be amazed at the difference.

Good luck!

[Jewel]

I have to agree with Gail. I never tried a canned bean until a year or so ago when I needed some black beans for a recipe and didn't have time to soak or do a quickie boil. No matter how much I rinsed, I couldn't get that salty briny taste out of them! I'll stick with my fresh!

Another tip learned from Grandma: She said if I'm going to store beans on the shelf, to put my sealed bags of beans inside one good sized clear tupperware container. It not only keeps all those bags in one place, it's a lot cleaner in my cupboard! I just pull down my 'bean drawer' and rummage through until I find the one I want. I find I don't buy beans unnecessarily thinking I was out of them! Makes organization easier, and I think it keeps them from going 'hard' as quickly!

[valeriek]

I usually use canned beans but thought I might try to use the dry ones because I heard they tasted better. I made turkey chili last night and the recipe called for a can of great northern beans. Perfect time for me to try using the dry beans. Sunday night I put the beans into a large pot of water and let them sit until dinner time on Monday. I thought this was enough time to soften them. WRONG!!!! They were still hard as rocks. I had to be somewhere later Monday night so I thought that if the chili had to simmer for 45 minutes anyway, I could throw the beans in the pot with an extra can of chicken broth and "the boil then reduce heat to simmer" directions should cook the beans. WRONG AGAIN!! The beans were still rock hard. So, I ate crackers for dinner, made it to my softball game, and put the chili (with the hard beans) in the fridge (it had cooled by the time I had to leave). The thinking here was that by having the beans sit in the chili overnight, I should be able to salvage it for lunch for the remaider of the week (I thought the beans should absorb some of the liquid sitting overnight). WRONG a third time!!! I just ate my lunch portion and while the beans had softened, they were still hard in the middle and certainly not soft like the canned beans. How hard are dried beans supposed to be? Is there a better method of softening them instead of letting them sit overnight (I chose this over the package directions that called for boiling them and then letting them sit for an hour because time-wise, it was easier to ignore a pot of beans sitting on my counter overnight than to wait an hour and then start cooking before the softball game). Should I stick to canned beans? I can't believe I'm that inept that I can't even cook a cup and half of beans properly. Any suggestions?