Bean Cooking Method Comparison

[Steve Kroll]

The subject of cooking beans has come up numerous times here. Some say to soak overnight; others say you shouldn't. The decision on whether or not to salt the cooking liquid also seems to be controversial.

I stumbled across this article in the LA Times. The author took the time to experiment with different bean cooking methods. It's a few months old now, but I thought I'd post a link for those who are interested.

Don't soak your dried beans! Now even the cool kids agree - LA Times

FWIW, I made up a pot of beans every week for almost 20 years. I always soaked, and I always used salt. Soaking seems to make for softer beans, and I liked my beans to be somewhat mushy. I could see where some might prefer them a little more al dente, though.

 

[Mad Cook]

The subject of cooking beans has come up numerous times here. Some say to soak overnight; others say you shouldn't. The decision on whether or not to salt the cooking liquid also seems to be controversial.

I stumbled across this article in the LA Times. The author took the time to experiment with different bean cooking methods. It's a few months old now, but I thought I'd post a link for those who are interested.

Don't soak your dried beans! Now even the cool kids agree - LA Times

FWIW, I made up a pot of beans every week for almost 20 years. I always soaked, and I always used salt. Soaking seems to make for softer beans, and I liked my beans to be somewhat mushy. I could see where some might prefer them a little more al dente, though.

First question - Who are the "cool kids"?

Second question - Do we care?

What commercial canners of beans do is somewhat irrelevant to the rest of us home cooks.

I soak for economy. Putting beans in cold water the night before I need them is no great effort, doesn't cast anything and I don't have to stand and watch them soak so they don't impinge on my time - I'm sleeping! Soaking cuts down the cooking time and if you've ever looked at the disc on your meter (if you have one) when the stove is lit you'll do about anything to cut down what you have to pay the gas or electricity company.

Still, it's up to you. Do what you like, I do.

 

[Mad Cook]

Incidentally, the way to avoid flatulence is to throw away the soaking water and to cook the beans in fresh.

 

[Zhizara]

I never soak my beans, but I'm retired and have plenty of time to enjoy letting them cook as long as it takes with regular checks to stir and evaluate their progress.

I've found that waiting until they are done to salt them means they will be more tender. I like them mushy.

i do, however, soak large lima beans (butterbeans) overnight so that I can remove the hard shells. This results in a cream of butterbean soup which is my favorite.

 

[GotGarlic]

I soak for economy. Putting beans in cold water the night before I need them is no great effort, doesn't cast anything and I don't have to stand and watch them soak so they don't impinge on my time - I'm sleeping! Soaking cuts down the cooking time and if you've ever looked at the disc on your meter (if you have one) when the stove is lit you'll do about anything to cut down what you have to pay the gas or electricity company.

It's interesting that several members from the UK in the last few months have specifically mentioned being concerned about cooking times, asking how long certain methods take or what long oven roasting or braising would cost. Here in the U.S., I doubt anyone who can afford Internet access gives it a thought at all.

 

[salt and pepper]

I put them in a pressure cooker, then prepare.

 

[Mad Cook]

It's interesting that several members from the UK in the last few months have specifically mentioned being concerned about cooking times, asking how long certain methods take or what long oven roasting or braising would cost. Here in the U.S., I doubt anyone who can afford Internet access gives it a thought at all.

Lucky you. You don't have our gas and electricity prices!

Anyway, what's wrong with practising practical home economy? I, and many of my compatriots who post here, were brought up in the aftermath of the privations of the second world war (and food rationing didn't end in the UK until 1954) by parents who had learned the hard way not to waste resources and to make do and mend.

The world is going to hell in a handcart because of what the human race is wasting today.

 

[GotGarlic]

I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. Just that I thought it interesting that it was brought up several times by UK members. We are indeed lucky in that regard. There are always tradeoffs.

 

[Dawgluver]

I've done beans in the CP, rinsed, no soaking, and they turned out great.

Regarding electricity charges, I know in Mexico and some parts of the Caribbean where we've been, rent may be cheap, but the electricity charges can more than double the cost. Crazy.

 

[Whiskadoodle]

Mad Cook et al, I remember watching old British movies and sometimes a person needed to put a schilling in the gas meter for heat or cooking; noted because sometimes they needed to borrow that shilling Also, after WW2, the UK continued to ration until 1952, which is a long time.

--

I use the quick soaking method, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and cover and let sit one hour. Change water and proceed.

I do this because Mostly I don't plan ahead to soak overnight. Works fine.

I do not add salt (if any) until near the end of cooking, esp if using a ham bone or ham hocks.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Incidentally, the way to avoid flatulence is to throw away the soaking water and to cook the beans in fresh.

But then you are throwing away the fun of having beans...

 

[Zhizara]

Oh, Princess, you crack me up!!!

 

[Cooking4to]

I used to make a pot of beans every single weekend, and I had the ritual down, soak {used salt} them, then hours and hours of heating, and then sometimes I would dowse them in honey and maple sugar, line bacon through them and bake them low and slow for hours and hours..... They were sooooooo gooooood...

Then I went to a clam bake/frish fry and watched them make beans in NOT hours and hours, in a pressure cooker on a propane outdoor burner, then I tasted them, and they were soooooo gooooood too.... So now I cook my beans in a pressure cooker.... and bake bread for hours and hours and hours...

 

[Mad Cook]

Mad Cook et al, I remember watching old British movies and sometimes a person needed to put a schilling in the gas meter for heat or cooking; noted because sometimes they needed to borrow that shilling Also, after WW2, the UK continued to ration until 1952, which is a long time.

--

I use the quick soaking method, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and cover and let sit one hour. Change water and proceed.

I do this because Mostly I don't plan ahead to soak overnight. Works fine.

I do not add salt (if any) until near the end of cooking, esp if using a ham bone or ham hocks.

Pre-payment gas and electricity meters where you inserted coins or these days a plastic card that you charge up at the post office, have usually been used by the poor or people who are in debt to the gas or electricity company or sometimes if they rent their house. It must be a pain in the neck if you aren't organised enough to remember to charge up your meter and then you run out of fuel.

 

[Mad Cook]

But then you are throwing away the fun of having beans...

 

[Mad Cook]

Mad Cook et al, I remember watching old British movies and sometimes a person needed to put a schilling in the gas meter for heat or cooking; noted because sometimes they needed to borrow that shilling Also, after WW2, the UK continued to ration until 1952, which is a long time.

--

I use the quick soaking method, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and cover and let sit one hour. Change water and proceed.

I do this because Mostly I don't plan ahead to soak overnight. Works fine.

I do not add salt (if any) until near the end of cooking, esp if using a ham bone or ham hocks.

One of the reasons that rationing continued so long after WW2 (to 1954, not '52) was that we owed so much to so many countries (American Lend Lease, etc.,) that we had to concentrate on building up our post war industrial infrastructure to make goods that we could sell to raise the necessary capital, for example new cars were in short supply in Britain because most of the production was being exported. In addition, many food processing plants and storage facilities had been converted to war production (and a lot of it destroyed in bombing raids) and we were short of the means to convert raw materials into foodstuffs, particularly what might be considered "luxury" foods.

Crumbs, you can take the woman out of history teaching but you can't take history teaching out of the woman

 

[Roll_Bones]

My wife will feel vindicated when I send her the link to the story.
She does not soak, but I do and always tell her she should soak. She uses no soaking method at all. Just dumps them in the pot, adds water and cooks the heck out of them.
Time to shut up I guess.

 

[zfranca]

Soaking the beans will only reduce the cooking time by 15 minutes more or less. So if you decide to have beans and no time to soak them, just go ahead.....

 

[jennyema]

Sometimes I soak in salted water, sometimes I don't.

I haven't noticed a difference so now I usually just throw them in the pot and go.

 

[Addie]

When the kids were small and growing up, every Saturday night was bean night. After cleaning the kitchen on Friday night after supper, the first thing I did was sort and remove any stones, then put a small bag of Navy Beans in a large bowl to soak. I kept an eye on them and would add water if needed. I gave them the last check just before I headed off to bed. They soak up a lot of water when soaking. The next morning the beans were drained off and cooked on the stove until the skin would split when blown on. Time to put them in the bean pot. I saved the water that I boiled them with. That went into the pot with the beans. For the next seven to eight hours, they baked in a slow oven.

I once tried to make them without soaking them. I found that they didn't cook to the degree of softness I liked. Even the kids noticed the difference. They had that little nib of undoneness in the very center. Sure it was more work with the soaking. But not enough work that would bring on a heart attack. I learned to cook beans from my mother when she was still cooking on a wood burning stove. So I stuck with that recipe all my life.

I am a New England cook. I stay with what I learned as a child from my mother. For me, I soak. I get a better product in the end.