Soaking Beans
A Few Tips On Soaking Beans
The process of soaking beans has many purposes, and you will need to understand them all before you go ahead with the bean dish that you are planning. The most important thing to remember about soaking beans is that it is necessary. This doesn’t have to be an annoying, long term project, as the beans and legumes do not require any attention from you while they do their soaking thing. But you will want to remember this step a few hours before you intend to start cooking them, and this is inconvenient for those who have trouble planning well. Don’t worry; I myself am included in that bunch. Soaking beans is done most often with cold water, set out during the morning hours and left to soften and clean the beans slowly until the stew is put on in the afternoon. Should you forget to set yourself up this way, however, a hot soak method can get you out of a timing jam.
Start out with a bowl large enough to allow the beans and the water that they are covered with to be stirred well. Every little while or so you will want to mix the beans around in the lightly salted water, as this will release any sediment or debris from the bottom and allow it to surface. These foreign and fragmented pieces should not worry you, as these objects are a natural occurrence during the harvesting process. When you buy beans which are already cooked and canned, this sifting and cleaning job has already been done for you. If you feel that your soaking beans need their water changed you should feel free to do so. Just pour them into a colander and give them a thorough rinse in the sink. Refill your bowl with fresh salted water and resume the soaking process.
Soaking beans has a few advantages, and there are good reasons why it is necessary. First of all, you will notice while soaking beans that the water may discolor, along with the particles which float to the surface. This hydration and salting process pulls out aver 50% of the sugar which causes flatulence, making for a less uncomfortable end result to your hardy bean meal. Also, soaking beans cuts down considerably on your overall cooking time. It is important that you do not cook your beans in the same water as they were soaked in. If possible, try not to use the water that you cooked the beans in for your edible dish either. If you plan on making a meat stock soup with your beans, you can work on the soup stock in a separate kettle from your cooking beans, and add the beans once they are fork tender.