I always soak dried beans overnight, except mung beans which are fine cooked from dry like lentils. Kidney beans get the 10 or 15 mins hard boiling, the others just brought up to the boil and simmered in whatever it is I'm cooking. Most beans take a good while to soften but lentils and mung beans are quicker, maybe half an hour for those.
With the price of gas being what it is at the moment, I'm wondering if I should work out whether it's actually cheaper to buy tinned beans and chick peas.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Puy lentils don't need to be pre-soaked or boiled, afaik?
Soaking beans is supposed to make them less, er, windy, even the ones that don't have the nasty toxins, but they may not need the hard boil bit. I tend to do it anyway
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I'm not sure I understand the question. Is it essential to cook raw lentils, chick peas etc before eating? Yes, unless you sprout them. What alternatives were you considering, B?
As I say, @Dovefromabove I didn't understand the question.
I've cooked a lot of kidney beans and chickpeas in my life and never rapid boiled them first. They need so much cooking (after soaking) to get tender that I assumed that much cooking would kill any dodginess stone dead.
Put lentils don’t usually need soaking … but if they’ve been in the back of your cupboard for quite a while, a soak for a few hours will make the cooking time shorter.
I assume everyone knows not to add salt to the cooking water for pulses until they are tender.
😊
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I always use tinned red kidney beans for chilli, but I always put them in a colander and rinse well until the froth has all gone. I'm never sure if the toxic bit has denatured or gone into the water.
Canned beans have been pre-cooked and this has rendered the toxic element non-toxic. It’s not contained in the liquid in the can, which can be used as aquafaba to make meringues … as can the water beans have been cooked in on the hob.
Of course coloured beans will colour the meringue, but a bit of natural food colouring to intensify the effect and huzzah! pink vegan meringues and good food has not been wasted 😃
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I understood that skimming off the froth reduced the windiness. Something to do during the fast boil! I use tinned kidney beans for chilli too. What I find irritating is that even within a brand, the beans vary in firmness from tin to tin. I like a nice firm bean.
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Soaking beans is supposed to make them less, er, windy, even the ones that don't have the nasty toxins, but they may not need the hard boil bit. I tend to do it anyway
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I use tinned kidney beans for chilli too. What I find irritating is that even within a brand, the beans vary in firmness from tin to tin. I like a nice firm bean.
Ah, life is sweet for B.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”