primitives full of beans

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115713078

Oh my.

freethought (2,267 posts)

Got a question about dried beans.

Lately I tend to favor various soups, stews, and dishes made with beans. They're nutritious, lots of fiber, filling, and above all....cheap. At least for now.

Given that I am starving student, yet again, I am also looking for ways to trim that weekly grocery bill. One of them is to use dried beans as opposed to ones that are canned. The extra convenience costs you.

I read recently that when one is cooking pre-soaked chickpeas that it helps to add a little salt and a small amount of baking soda to the cooking water. (1/2 tsp salt adn 1/4 tsp baking soda per quart cooking water) As I understand it, this helps makes the chickpeas less grainy and smoother in texture. Pretty nice if your making a batch of hummus or something. Something to do with the water chemistry I guess.

Does anyone know if the same technique would apply to other beans as well? Say, pinto beans, red kidney, great northern and the like?

The defrocked warped primitive, who's as mean and ugly as a snake:

Warpy (64,156 posts)

1. Salt helps the flavor. Baking soda is supposed to cut the gas but doesn't. I don't bother since water is already alkaline here and I cook without salt.

The best hints I know for cooking beans are using a crock pot or pressure cooker to do it. And if you want your chickpeas creamy, you need to cook them until they're completely done.

Canning is a pressure cooking process, so that's the most efficient way to do it. Just be careful with split peas, those can foam and clog the vent and need to be monitored closely.

OffWithTheirHeads (8,155 posts)

3. I just watched an episode of America's Test Kitchen, an excellent PBS cooking show

On this very subject. Apparently, brining the beans (salting the water you soak them in) has some kind of effect on the skins that allows the skins to cook at the same rate as the insides. Without brineing, you have to cook the beans to mush to get the skins fully cooked. I'll try to go through my Tivo tomorrow and find the episode with all the scientific explaination but that seems to be the bottom line. I tried it. It works.

Major Nikon (5,271 posts)

5. I've never heard this, but I've been making legumes on a regular basis for 30 years

... and I've never done it. I don't remember ever having a problem with grainy chickpeas. Graininess would be the result of uneven cooking, which leads me to believe they weren't soaked long enough.

I generally don't soak black-eye peas, split peas, lentils, or most white beans like lima/great northern. The reason is because the outer layers on these beans are thin and easily breached while cooking, so there's no real need to soak them.

Gas is produced by the indigestable sugars from the legumes fermenting in your gut. Parboiling for a couple of minutes and then soaking overnight will activate the enzymes which break down these sugars better than just soaking alone.

Retrograde (2,951 posts)

6. I just soak the beans in plain water overnight

In general, chickpeas need a lot of soaking - I cover them with water to about twice their depth and let them sit overnight. Then I pour off the soaking water, and cook with a lot of additional water: I adjust the seasoning when I'm using them in the final dish. I haven't noticed any graininess: if I wanted them ultra-smooth I'd probably run them through a food mill after a trip through a blender or a food processor.

I will sometimes cook pinto or black beans with various flavorings - chiles, onions, garlic, spices - if I'm making a particular dish, but for prep just do the basic overnight soak in water. The baking soda sounds like an attempt to make the beans less gassy, but if you eat enough beans and other high-fiber foods you'll encourage the intestinal flora to deal with that.

BTW, cooked beans freeze well, so it's easy to make a big batch, then parcel it out in portions suitable for one or two meals and freeze them until needed.

Le Taz Hot (12,324 posts)

10. One tip I adopted a couple of years ago is, when you soak beans, add garlic, onions, and bell peppers (I add cumin as well). As the beans soak up the water overnight, they also soak up the other flavors.

I also discovered "Sofrito" which is good for a lot of things but especially beans. Essentially, you find aromatic items such as garlic, onions, peppers, tomato etc., cut them into small pieces and slow-saute them in olive oil. You end up with a sort of slurry which is added to the dish, in this case, the beans. I add it about 1/2 hour before the beans are done. It sort of supercharges the dish with flavors.

SoapBox (3,232 posts)

13. I always thought that it helped to reduce the gas (from the sugars) by soaking in a LOT of water and changing it a few times.

I wonder if that was just a cooking myth?!?

[JohnnyReb]

Beans and DUmmies have a lot in common...they're both full of hot, smelly gases.

[Skul]

Why do they want to de-gas them?  That's half the fun of beans.
You'd think they'd be all over that.
It's natural.
It's organic.
For the most part, can be considered "green".

[franksolich]

Beans and DUmmies have a lot in common...they're both full of hot, smelly gases.

I'm surprised the Treasonous Bastard primitive hasn't weighed in on this.

It was about a couple of years ago that the Treasonous Bastard primitive boasted about how kind, how generous, how charitable he was, donating a pot of cooked beans to a place that serves the homeless dinner during the day.

But before doing that, the Treasonous Bastard primitive inquired of the cooking-and-baking primitives for the cheapest sort of beans one could buy and cook.

But that's not all.

All the Treasonous Bastard primitive did was boil the beans in water, adding a little bit of salt.

Just plain old boiled beans, nothing more.

And then the Treasonous Bastard primitive expressed disappointment the homeless didn't chow down on it, finish it off.  He thought them ungrateful, the jerks, not appreciating plain boiled beans.

And.....and.....and at the same time, the Treasonous Bastard primitive elsewhere was boasting about the cuisine he was fixing for himself--petits rouleaux de boeuf, veau a l'Italienne, pouding au poulet a la mode du sud, souffle aux asperges, those sorts of fine dining.

[JohnnyReb]

I'm surprised the Treasonous Bastard primitive hasn't weighed in on this.

It was about a couple of years ago that the Treasonous Bastard primitive boasted about how kind, how generous, how charitable he was, donating a pot of cooked beans to a place that serves the homeless dinner during the day.

But before doing that, the Treasonous Bastard primitive inquired of the cooking-and-baking primitives for the cheapest sort of beans one could buy and cook.

But that's not all.

All the Treasonous Bastard primitive did was boil the beans in water, adding a little bit of salt.

Just plain old boiled beans, nothing more.

And then the Treasonous Bastard primitive expressed disappointment the homeless didn't chow down on it, finish it off.  He thought them ungrateful, the jerks, not appreciating plain boiled beans.

And.....and.....and at the same time, the Treasonous Bastard primitive elsewhere was boasting about the cuisine he was fixing for himself--petits rouleaux de boeuf, veau a l'Italienne, pouding au poulet a la mode du sud, souffle aux asperges, those sorts of fine dining.

That's DUmmies for you. Thinking of themselves as the elite and deserving of the very best wheather they earned it or not. The rest of humanity didn't make doesn't deserve it that good.

[Crazy Horse]

The quick soak method works best for me, boil the beans for two minutes then let em soak a good hour or two.  Strain em and boil.

Though i'll use tasso to season em by adding bacin grease and stirring in the tasso.  I then add chicken stock r broth depending on what I have. Hour or so later,cooked beans.


The biggest problem is the damn price of beans

[Jasonw560]

Pinto beans: rinse them in a collander (they sometmes have stones in them).

Soak them in water an hour or so.

Chop some cilantro, bacon, and onions.

Add these to the beans, and cook until they're soft. Add some garlic powder after they've started boiling, and turn the heat to medium.

Taste them to see when they're done.

[diesel driver]

Rinse them, put them in a crockpot with several slices of "side meat" (bacon/hamhock scraps), season to taste, set crockpot on low and go to bed.

Next morning, fix a pan of cornbread, ladle out some beans, enjoy and eat.

Very simple, very easy.

DUmmies couldn't change a light bulb without a congressional mandate, and 2000+pages of legislation.   

[JohnnyReb]

Rinse them, put them in a crockpot with several slices of "side meat" (bacon/hamhock scraps), season to taste, set crockpot on low and go to bed.

Next morning, fix a pan of cornbread, ladle out some beans, enjoy and eat.

Very simple, very easy.

DUmmies couldn't change a light bulb without a congressional mandate, and 2000+pages of legislation.   

When are you going to invite us over for beans and cornbread?....

[dixierose]

Rinse them, put them in a crockpot with several slices of "side meat" (bacon/hamhock scraps), season to taste, set crockpot on low and go to bed.

Next morning, fix a pan of cornbread, ladle out some beans, enjoy and eat.

Very simple, very easy.

DUmmies couldn't change a light bulb without a congressional mandate, and 2000+pages of legislation.   

That's exactly how I cook my beans. I usually use baby limas and a left over ham bone for seasoning. They go great with Jiffy cornbread...

[Gina]

Rinse them, put them in a crockpot with several slices of "side meat" (bacon/hamhock scraps), season to taste, set crockpot on low and go to bed.

Next morning, fix a pan of cornbread, ladle out some beans, enjoy and eat.

Very simple, very easy.

I live by the Atkins diet but you make me want to eat some carbs with that!

[Randy]

That's exactly how I cook my beans. I usually use baby limas and a left over ham bone for seasoning. They go great with Jiffy cornbread...

Martha White is better.

[Gina]

Martha White is better.

Cuz she is white right?   






























   j/k

[obumazombie]

They're good for your heart.

[Zeus]

That's exactly how I cook my beans. I usually use baby limas and a left over ham bone for seasoning. They go great with Jiffy cornbread...

Hog Jowl in the beans. Smoked & Cured of course.

My ex used to make a killer broccoli Corn bread , I know sounds strange but actually quite tasty. Even better the next day or two.

[diesel driver]

Hog Jowl in the beans. Smoked & Cured of course.

My ex used to make a killer broccoli Corn bread , I know sounds strange but actually quite tasty. Even better the next day or two.

So are the beans.  Day old beans are the best!   

[Jasonw560]

Hog Jowl in the beans. Smoked & Cured of course.

Martha White corn bread. With some collard greens. Man, I am getting hungry!!!

[Randy]

Cuz she is white right?   
 

   j/k

Of course!! But mainly because she's moister and tastier. 

[obumazombie]

Cuz she is white right?   

White is (w)right





























   j/k

[Crazy Horse]

Holy hell,......you don't put sugar in cornbread

[obumazombie]

Holy hell,......you don't put sugar in cornbread

Molasses ?

[Zeus]

Molasses ?

Cracklin

[obumazombie]

Cracklin

Cousin to bacon