cooking dried beans

A

Amaya Sakaruta

New member
I've been reading lately about adding a pinch of baking soda (no more
than 1/8 tsp to a large pot of water) in the first boil. It's
something I've never heard of before a week or so ago and haven't
tried yet. Is this a usual practice here on rfc that is just taken
for granted as common knowledge?

The first time I read about it, I thought the baking soda was added to
the cooking water to make them tender sooner. Then I read about
adding it to the soaking water to reduce flatulence. Now that I'm
googling, I see there are two camps - soaking water and cooking water.
But *why*? Does it reduce flatulence, make the beans tender sooner -
or does it do nothing? TIA

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:22:01 -0600, zxcvbob
wrote:

No, one web site specifically warned against adding too much for that
very reason.


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On 11-Feb-2011, sf wrote:


I have cooked many varieties of dried beans over the years and never once
added baking soda; so, to answer that part of the question, is not a
practice I take for granted. I do not recall my mother or either
grandmother ever adding baking soda to any type of bean.
--
Change Cujo to Juno in email address.
 
l, not -l wrote:

I've never added baking soda either. I can't imagine that 1/8
teaspoon in a large pot of water would accomplish much anyway.
 
In article ,
sf wrote:


I have a problem with beans taking a long time to get tender. I read
that 1/8 t of baking soda per pint of liquid would fix that. It works
for me.

I don't know about flatulence (but it doesn't make sense that it would
help), and when I make beans at someone else's house, I don't need to
add anything to the water.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]
 
On Feb 11, 10:09?am, sf wrote:


I don't put no baking soda in no beans. But back when the 49ers went
to the Superbowl every year, KCBS's Narsai David prescribed this
recipe to degas your dried beans:

Bring water to a rapid boil in a 3-4 qt. saucepan. Add beans and
continue boiling for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, cover and
let stand for one hour to soak.

Drain the beans and discard the liquid. (This removes about 85% of the
gas-causing element in beans.)
 
On 2/11/2011 1:46 PM, Dan Abel wrote:
Do you live well above sea level? Or is it your cooking method? I live
at sea level, well, actually twelve feet above sea level, and have no
trouble getting beans tender. When we lived at 8200 feet in Yemen it
took a pressure cooker to cook dry beans any old way.
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:56:40 -0800 (PST), spamtrap1888
wrote:


If I don't soak them over night (which means preplanning - something
I'd rather not do), that's the method I use. I've seen baking soda
mentioned so often lately (not here) that I was wondering if it was
another one of those taken for granted things that everyone but me
knew about. Mom never made beans that didn't come out of a can, so I
didn't learn beans from her.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
sf wrote:


I assume it's to counteract acidic conditions that might retard
cooking. I've never found it necessary, but maybe some people have.

Steve
 
"sf" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I have heard of that but never did it. I thought it was to prevent boil
over. I heard on a recent cooking show that you should not do it. I think
they said it toughened the beans. If your beans are fresh, they won't take
long to cook.
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:36:53 -0800, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


It's amazing what fresh (dried) beans will do to cooking time isn't
it?


--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
In article ,
George Shirley wrote:



I'll have to look up at you, George! Our city is only 10 feet above sea
level. I suspect I'm a little higher, but it's a big, flat flood plain,
so the slope is minor. Since my cooking method works fine in other
places, and the beans soften within a half hour of adding a pinch of
baking soda, I am assuming that it's the water.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA
[email protected]
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 16:39:38 -0700, Arri London
wrote:

Okay, thanks! I think I'll try that (hope I remember) the next time
I'm cooking beans of questionable age. :)

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
sf wrote:

Meant to help soften the beans/peas when they are cooking. One brand of
dried marrowfat peas in the UK used to come with a tablet of bicarb for
the soaking water. Normally rinsed away and fresh water used for the
cooking.
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:10:59 -0800, sf wrote:


That's a load of crap... they're dried, they ain't fresh... when dried
beans are stored properly they will cook up the same whether you just
bought them or they're a hundred years old.
 
"Omelet" wrote in message
news:o[email protected]...

My brother got me a bean ladder. I think it was made of bamboo. The gas
was supposed to travel up the ladder as the beans cooked.

I soak mine at least overnight. Often 12 hours. Change the water often.
No gas in my beans.
Wow! That's longer than what I do.


My mom must not have soaked hers long enough. Once my dad referred to them
as "poppers".
 
"Brooklyn1" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

I don't believe that. Before they came out with pull dates, I would cook
beans sometimes half a day before they were tender. Same goes quite often
with bulk beans because you can't tell how old they are.

Freshly dried beans will cook in about an hour and a half to two hours. Of
course it depends on the variety of bean. I was just amazed at how fast
they do cook.

My health food store sells nuts and popcorn that they buy in bulk and
package. The keep the extra in the freezer. The nuts always taste the best
and the popcorn always all pops. If they did dried beans this way I would
buy those too. But they don't. They sell canned beans and a couple of
verities of pre-packaged dry that I am not interested in, although I have
tried them. One is Adzuki. I can't remember the other one.
 
On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:47:41 -0800, "Julie Bove"
wrote:


I've never thought about changing the soaking water. I just change it
when I put them on to cook. Need to try that idea, but our bodies are
becoming used to digesting beans so we aren't as gassy these days.

I wonder if that idea works with the quick soak method too?

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
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