beans!

[sage]

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!

Comments

[leanne]

What everyone else said, plus:

Fresher beans cook faster. So -- this is really good! You're getting high-quality fresh beans, rather than old beans.

I looked at how you're prepping the beans as well, and you're doing a lot of things that will make them cook faster. Soaking overnight is one of those steps, but parboiling is also one of those steps. Typically, I'll skip the soak-overnight step, boil my beans for about five minutes, let sit for an hour, drain, add fresh water, and then cook for about two to three hours.

So yeah, you're fine! (:

[sage]

Hi, thanks for answering this. It's so interesting how many different ways there are to do this! :)