Lentils - turn cooking water dark - is it because the water isn't hot enough?

L. M.

New member
I thought I had this figured out, but I'm still not quite sure.

I like to make soup with lentils. Here is what I do:

Rinse raw lentils under cold water until clean. Wait until soup stock and veggies are hot. Add clean lentils. Simmer until done. Usually, this results in a nice light colored stock. No problems.

When I used to put the lentils in the cold stock, they would turn the entire soup a dark, dirty blackish color.

Tonight, however, I added the lentils just before the stock reached a boil - it was giving off steam. And - whoosh - instant color change to the soup - blackish looking dishwater color. :(

It doesn't affect the taste - but it looks ugly. Was this due to not waiting for the stock to reach a boil? Or is there something else wrong? Help?
 
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