Hot answers tagged beans
23
Coffee beans have a natural oil in them. Often beans that have been roasted longer will have more visible oil on the surface. Not really an indicator of quality, though, but a longer roast will be darker, have a stronger flavor, and (paradoxically to some) less caffeine.
(At least, this is what I learned when slinging Cappuccinos at a Canadian coffee chain ...
19
I finally found what I'm looking for, from the University of Michigan - some actual data on the subject!
They say that rinsing canned beans can reduce the amount of sodium by half, and also reduces the amount of complex sugars which humans can't digest (but the bacteria in our intestines can, with uncomfortable results!)
It appears that draining the fluid ...
17
One reason is to remove some of the indigestible complex sugars that cause gas.
Another reason is that beans are dirty, so you're just cleaning them with the soaking. If the recipe wants the beans to be cooked in the water used for soaking, the washing needs to be done before the soaking.
On top of that the soaking can reduce cooking time considerably, ...
12
Soften. Other things that typically are added with salt will tend to toughen the beans, but it isn't the fault of the salt. For decades, chefs have circulated the oral tradition that adding salt hardens beans, but it's a myth.
Several scientific studies verify that adding salt to the soaking water for dried beans will reduce the cooking times. The first ...
12
The most commonly used method is the Swiss Water Process:
A batch of unroasted beans is soaked in hot water. Caffeine is water soluble, so it's extracted from the beans. However, some of the other substances that give coffee its flavour ("coffee solids") are also water-soluble and are also extracted.
The first batch of beans is discarded and the caffeine ...
12
Yes, it is normal for pulses to develop froth when soaked. I've seen it at lower temperatures and shorter soaking times. They can feel slimy too. This isn't a sign of bacteria development in itself. Chickpeas, as well as other legumes, contain lots of saponins. Saponins are a type of detergent, and they form a foam when dissolved in water. An example is ...
10
Argh. The oil is not the caffeine. The oil is not (alone, or even predominantly) what makes the flavor. Also, beans that look oily are not oilier than beans that look dry. A bean that's roasted dark enough to produce an oily surface has had many of its lower viscosity oils volatilized, leaving only heavier oils. A more lightly roasted bean has not lost these ...
10
If Wikipedia is to be trusted (and in this case, their source is the FDA), there is in fact a toxin in some raw beans, such as kidney beans.
The toxic compound phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin, is present in many
common bean varieties, but is especially concentrated in red kidney
beans. White kidney beans contain about a third as much toxin as the
red ...
9
Depending on the temperature in your fridge, cooked lentils will be safe to eat for 2 to 5 days when using a sealed container, filled with the cooking water. By immersing them, your lentils won't dry out and they'll be ready to use whenever you need them - just drain the amount you need.
If you've got sufficient freezer space you could also freeze the ...
9
In fact, soaking helps reduce the flatulence-causing sugars and starches. See this answer, for example. Soaking alone won't completely neutralize the problem, though. Certain spices may help; according to Wikipedia:
Many herbal substances have been observered since antiquity for reducing flatulence, particularly gas from eating legumes. Cloves, ...
8
just as a point of personal experience: I spent some time in Ethopia and had fantastic coffee in many places. The beans were ALL non-oily and downright dry looking. I was really surprised as my assumption was the same as yours.
I've noticed some of the Starbucks beans are so oily I have wondered at times if they add oil for that effect.
8
The actual action of soaking is what does most of the work.
Most legumes have complex oligosaccharides, a type of complex sugar. Digestion of this complex sugar is what causes flatulence. By soaking your beans will help remove some of this excess sugar. Be sure you discard the soaking water.
Though it is often said that adding baking soda helps I've yet ...
8
I've found stones in dried beans, so it's no myth. Not common, but I'd say I find one every year or two. If you simply swallowed a small stone, it would almost certainly pass without harm, but as TFD pointed out in his comment, biting down on one could be an expensive and painful dental experience. What I do is spread the beans out on a kitchen towel in a ...
8
Most beans can be soaked and cooked together with two exceptions.
The beans should obviously have similar cooking times. For example I wouldn't cook chickpeas with other, harder beans because the chickpeas would be mush. Most brand do have similar cooking times so this isn't often a problem.
Second, black beans shouldn't be soaked with any other beans ...
8
You probably want to just use already-cooked beans, from a can. (Hope there's a store nearby.) Then you just have to cook as long as it takes to let the flavors mingle; half an hour is plenty.
If you happen to have a pressure cooker, you can cook dried beans much faster, something like 20-30 minutes. See for example this recipe - you can add back in ...
7
Overnight is ideal, but even an hour or two will help. If you don't have much time, you can speed the processs by using hot water. Tap water, and not salted - salt toughens the skin of beans if it used before they are cooked. Most folks discard the soaking water, as it is thought to produce flatulence. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, you can cook dried ...
7
Mark Bittman distinguishes three techniques:
Quick-Soak (boil, turn off heat, let soak 2 hrs, return to heat, simmer til done), No-Soak (boil then simmer, til done), and Long-Soak (soak in cold water for 6-12 hrs, drain, simmer til done). (taken from here)
The cooking time of beans varies from bean to bean. Bittman prefers the "quick soak" variant, and ...
6
As "Mrs Garden" states, the canned beans are soaked and fully cooked in advance.
Different beans (legumes) require different amounts of soaking and cooking, so you need to be specific as to the type in your decisions. Butter beans (lima) take very little time, Chick Peas (garbanzo) take hours.
Some legumes, like lentils, often do not need soaking at all.
...
6
We make vegetarian chili every few months, and use a combination of many kinds of beans. You can use kidney, cannelini (white kidney beans), pinto, small red, small white, roman, etc. We like Goya's beans. If the meat is tough, you may want mushier beans to add textural difference, so you might want to avoid black beans or black-eyed peas. (Unless they're ...
6
The Chinese use what is often referred to as black beans, but they're actually fermented soybeans.
Azuki/Adzuki beans are the beans used in red bean paste. Most often, they're sweetened and mashed. But I don't see any reason you can't use them in Hoppin' John. I'd temper the slight sweetness of the azukis with a bit of black bean paste to give a more ...
6
There is no exact conversion because there are so many different varieties of chickpeas or any bean types for that matter
Their water absorption rate and amount is effected by many things including how they have been stored, have they been heat treated on import, and what time of year they where grown!
My rough rule of thumb for beans in general is 2.5 ±.5 ...
6
It looks to me like you have a couple of things going on here:
You are worried about the safety of undercooked beans
You want your beans to be palatable
To address the safety issue, I think we'd need to know more about the kind of beans you're using. Kidney beans are the ones most well known to be toxic if they are undercooked. Other beans, say, great ...
6
As rfusca says, they'll be fine for a few days in the fridge; HOWEVER, if you want to transform them into something more delicious and less perishable to go with eggs, you can cook them into black bean fritters.
First, cook the beans with garlic, minced onion, and chile powder to soften them. Mash or puree, and reduce until thick, then add salt. Done ...
6
Beans freeze marvelously. I put mine in freezer bags and lay them flat so they freeze quickly and are easier to thaw.
They are very sturdy little nuggets of joy and hold up well to canning or freezing without getting mushy.
Different beans behave differently. Pintos soften quickly and don't have much of a skin. Black beans keep their shape and skin a lot ...
6
Go to the beans section in J. Kenji López-Alt's chili blog post:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/01/how-to-make-the-best-chili-ever-recipe-super-bowl.html
In short: salt replaces calcium and magnesium in the beans' skins that make them tougher. The result is that when beans are soaked in salt water the skin softens at the same rate as the bean interior and ...
6
In addition to what rheone said, I have noticed that using baking soda kind of softens food. A characteristica example of this is
Use baking soda in green vegetables to keep them green after cooking is done
which isn't the best solution because just a minute is enough to miss it and eat a soup instead of green vegetables.
I have also noticed that if ...
5
Standard Refried Beans (from a can)
Heat your fat of choice (olive oil, lard, shortening) in a heavy pan
Add this mash to the fat in blobs. The idea is to get as much surface area exposed to the fat as possible, because this is where the yumminess comes from, so, not a big blob in the middle of the pan. Preferably, several smaller ones
After a time, start ...
5
It rather depends on the temperature of the room. Where I live, in the summer it gets hot and humid, and they shouldn't be out on the counter during the day, or they ferment.
In winter (like spring in the northern US, 45-70 farenheit) they can be out for two days with no problem.
My recommendation would be to soak overnight for morning use, or to soak ...
5
I do not have any information on the change itself, but neither does that claim in Wikipedia.
However, I would refer you to the discussion page of lentil's and read over the community's discussion regarding the article's nutrition claims generally. They are not pleased with many of the claims, and have been active in moderating it. Also of note, the claim ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
