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Whenever I cook black lentils there is always a hard crunchy piece in every bite while other pieces become soft as they should, I start cooking by boiling for about 30 minutes in unsalted water until almost all the lentils are soft. I tried changing my soaking time and boiling time before I add salt but it didn't help. Could it be that the manufacturer is mixing old lentils with newer ones or is there something else.

Ahmad Hani
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    There are many sorts of lentils, and they cook differently. Some names are used for more than one type so please update witrh what sort, being as specific as you can – Chris H Nov 21 '18 at 09:53
  • related: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/6928/when-sorting-lentils-what-exactly-am-i-looking-for?rq=1 – Ess Kay Nov 21 '18 at 10:03
  • It is black lentils, I don't know the exact name – Ahmad Hani Nov 21 '18 at 10:44
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    do you mean black gram, also called urad? do you use it whole or split? do you buy it loose or already packaged? do you sort it if you buy loose? how long do you soak it? do you soak in cold water or room temperature water? how long do you boil it for? More information will help getting a better answer. – Ess Kay Nov 21 '18 at 11:11
  • I bought it loose and it was whole lentils that keep its shape after cooking, I boiled it for almost 30 minutes and soaked it in tap water I can't know what type of lentil it was because I live in Egypt and we have only 2 types yellow and black, also I didnt sort it – Ahmad Hani Nov 21 '18 at 11:26
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    http://www.foodsubs.com/Lentils.html has a few different types, can you tell from that which you've got? Certainly I always soak black gram overnight then slow cook (simmer gentle for hours) without trouble. – Chris H Nov 21 '18 at 12:40
  • loose lentils can often have some 'dodgy' ones which don't cook very well. You should try sorting it first. [This question](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/6928/when-sorting-lentils-what-exactly-am-i-looking-for) is about sorting. Try soaking it for longer. I used to soak black gram for about 8-10 hours and then cook but had to cook it for longer to prevent uncoooked bits. Now I soak for about 24 hours and it cooks beautifully. Search on google for term black lentil and decide which one looks similar to what you've got. It will help in getting a better relevant answer. – Ess Kay Nov 22 '18 at 14:34
  • Thank you I think it looks similar to black gram. I will try buying the prepackaged stuff and sort it before cooking, I will also cook some with a 2 hour soak and another with 24 hour to see the difference – Ahmad Hani Nov 23 '18 at 10:26

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When cooking any sort of legumes 1) Sort them (if you don't trust it to be pre-sorted) 2) Soak them (make cooking easier, and also more uniform, since they already absorbed moisture) 3) Now you cook them. I don't simmer in the slow cooker, I usually pressure cook them

Juliana Karasawa Souza
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