sage (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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boilingwater2010-07-09 05:46 pm
sage) wrote in boilingwater2010-07-09 05:46 pm
beans!
Dear cooks who know more than me,
I've been cooking with dry beans for the last some-odd months to save money and reduce exposure to harmful toxins and such. The cookbooks say:
1. soak beans 8 hrs or overnight.
2. parboil soaked (rinsed, drained) beans at a rolling boil for 10-12 minutes.
3. rinse and cover with fresh water and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the kind of bean.
Got it. The thing is, after I parboil? I simmer for 25 minutes and the beans are done!
I'm generally cooking one cup of any of these varieties: black, pinto, lima, rattlesnake, kidney, or small red. Chickpeas and chana dal take longer -- much closer to what directions indicate.
Why are my beans done so fast? If I look away for like, a minute, they get mushy and/or burn to the bottom of the pot.
Also, I'm at practically sea level, whatever San Antonio is at, if that matters.
I am so confused. I mean, they taste okay, but I keep thinking I must be doing something wrong! Help?
Thank you!
I've been cooking with dry beans for the last some-odd months to save money and reduce exposure to harmful toxins and such. The cookbooks say:
1. soak beans 8 hrs or overnight.
2. parboil soaked (rinsed, drained) beans at a rolling boil for 10-12 minutes.
3. rinse and cover with fresh water and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the kind of bean.
Got it. The thing is, after I parboil? I simmer for 25 minutes and the beans are done!
I'm generally cooking one cup of any of these varieties: black, pinto, lima, rattlesnake, kidney, or small red. Chickpeas and chana dal take longer -- much closer to what directions indicate.
Why are my beans done so fast? If I look away for like, a minute, they get mushy and/or burn to the bottom of the pot.
Also, I'm at practically sea level, whatever San Antonio is at, if that matters.
I am so confused. I mean, they taste okay, but I keep thinking I must be doing something wrong! Help?
Thank you!
no subject
Have you checked the directions on the bags of beans themselves? Sometimes they can give a more precise time estimate.
no subject
The package times are even longer, that's why I was baffled. In another comment, someone mentions the plainer the liquid, the shorter the cook time, so that may be related...