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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 2/12/2010
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I have some dried beans from my storage and have cooked about half the bag which left me completly unsatisfied. I thought cooking beans was easy! I let them soak overnight, put them in a pot and let 'em boil for about an hour. Really an hour -ish. I added a bit of spice to the water and it was still as bland as could be. Dried beans are cheaper and supposibly more tasty than canned beans and I'm assuming they don't have nearly as much sodium so what am I doing wrong? Is there a trick or a known method?! This is a good cheap alternative protien for my family but rumor is you're supposed to eat what you store and store what you eat. Please Help, Thank you.
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 3/1/2010
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Try dissolving 3 Tbs salt in your soaking liquid making a brine. Throw this away before you cook your beans. Add some onion, celery, carrots, bay leaf, sometimes I add a can of tomatoes while the beans cook. I hope this helps.
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 3/13/2010
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I've always preferred cooking dry beans myself. I've found it easier to soak the beans in a gallon pitcher designed for tea or juice. It takes less room in the fridge, and makes it easier to drain the liquid off the next morning. My kids always turned their noses up if they saw anything approaching a second vegetable in their beans, so to trick them and satisfy my taste buds, I always put a whole peeled onion, and a couple stalks of celery in the slow cooker with the beans. When I got home from work at 2 before the kids at 3, I'd remove the onion and celery.
A couple pieces of bacon tossed in the slow cooker also adds wonnnnderful flavor to almost any kind of bean, as do a leftover ham bone, maybe even a slice or two of the ham itself! I've also been known to pan fry some sausage and toss it in the beans.
According to my mother in law, you put a pinch of ginger in to "take out the poots" without taking out the vitamins as baking soda does.
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 11/16/2009
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These are great suggestions. I have had the same problems as Tracy when making beans. I tried the ginger and it came out great! I also put some salt into the pot when boiling as well. I have been told to take off the foam that forms at the top when boiling as well though I dont know really what that does. Kathe, how long to you cook the beans in the slow cooker? I make 3 servings at a time because its just me, so I dont need that much. I was thinking of getting a mini slow cooker....I'm not even sure if that exists but I really wont utilize the huge ones that I've seen.
Thanks
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 8/31/2009
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in response to the last replier, there are small slowcookers. I'm sure you can get them at target or something. I did a quick search on amazon and there were a bunch. Hope this helps. I generally use canned beans but with your suggestions I think I may try the dried beans....what about frozen ones...How are frozen ones prepared and are they less time consuming than the dried beans?
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Rank: Newbie
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Joined: 8/24/2009
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Older beans take longer to cook. I've heard that adding salt during cooking prevents proper softening.
This was in the All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage Basic Recipes pamphlet from the LDS church, "The longer dry beans are stored the longer they take to cook. When beans don't soften with normal soaking and cooking, add three cups of water and 3/8 teaspoon [just under half a teaspoon] of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for each cup of dry beans. Let them soak overnight. More baking soda may be required for older beans or hard water."
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Joined: 11/5/2009
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what is the difference between beans and lentils? Are the cooking methods the same if they are dry?
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