I have scarlet runner beans in my garden this year. I just picked my first batch of dry pods and shelled them. Most of the recipes I find online assume that you are buying or using dry beans and call for a 4-6 hour pre-soak.
I have cooked dried black beans and pinto beans before using a pre-soak, and the beans are usually hard and wrinkled before soaking and smooth and plump afterwards. My scarlet runner beans are already plump and smooth straight out of the pod.
Do I need to soak them before cooking? What about other bean varieties? If I grew black or pinto beans in the garden, would I need to soak them?