Why did my Chickpea water congeal?

Question

I cooked a bag of chickpeas in a slow cooker, just water and the peas. Once the peas were soft I ate them with the water they were cooked in, like a bean soup. Once that cooled the "soup" congealed like jello.

I didn't know it would do that. Is that good for you...I mean it looked like something that would clog your arteries.

Answer 1

Chickpeas are starchy, so it's natural that the liquid they are cooked in will thicken when it cools. It will not 'clog your arteries' - food doesn't travel directly to your bloodstream in the form in which you eat it.