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Questions tagged [beans]

Questions about selecting, identifying, storing, preparing, replacing or cooking with beans as a main ingredient.

248 questions
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18 answers

Why should I soak beans before cooking?

Every recipe says I should soak beans in water overnight before cooking. Why? I did some experiments. I have tried soaked and unsoaked beans from the same batch. There was no difference in cooking time, taste, structure or color. Even farts were the…
Fczbkk
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Should I rinse canned beans before using them?

Certainly, if I were making a salad with canned beans, I would thoroughly rinse them first. But if I'm making soup or chili with canned black beans or kidney beans, should I drain and rinse them first? Goya brand beans have recipes on the side of…
Josh
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6 answers

Does chilli get milder with cooking?

I have made a tomato, onion and cannelini bean curry. I put a lot of chilli spice in it, perhaps too much. If I keep simmering it, will it get milder? I'm hoping it will cook into the (bland) beans.
S Meaden
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What can you surmise about coffee beans that have oil on them at the time of purchase?

I find myself favoring the purchase of coffee beans that have visible oil on them. My inference was that this bean had some extra flavor or awesomeness. Am I right, are beans 'better' if they are oily, or more simply, what does that mean about the…
Nathan Feger
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9 answers

What can I do to help prevent flatulence from beans?

I love the feijoada (typical Brazilian recipe). For optimal cooking, beans should be soaked in water for 12 hours, but it seems this is the cause of flatulence. What is it in beans that causes flatulence and what can I do during cooking to help…
Cinthia
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22
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3 answers

Does adding salt when soaking dry beans toughen or soften the skin of the bean?

I have heard opinions on both sides of this. The the latest answer on this site, says salt softens bean skins quoted Cooks Illustrated (I can't see the article, but I trust CI), while another answer says salt hardens the beans' skins. In case is…
Clay Nichols
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6 answers

How do I convert a weight of dried chick peas to volume of cooked?

I'm following a recipe that calls for 200g of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight. I have two 28 fl. oz. (796 ml) cans of chick peas, packed in water. This is made complicated by two things: You can't easily convert a weight measurement to a volume…
Brant
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7 answers

Can I cook two types of dried beans simultaneously?

My bean cooking method is to soak overnight, then cook in a crockpot on low all day. By dinner time the beans are ready. I have only ever done this with a single type of bean at a time. However, I would like to make chili and I have two types of…
lemontwist
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How does adding baking soda to soaking beans/lentils reduce the gas they make you have?

I've heard a few times that adding a pinch of baking soda to the water you use to soak beans/lentils in, reduces the gas it makes you have. I've not do any measured experiments myself, but I have anecdotal evidence it does help. But what's the…
notthetup
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3 answers

Substituting black beans for ground beef in a meat pie

My wife has recently decided not to eat meat, so we have been substituting black beans for ground beef in some of our favorite dishes. This has worked fine so far, but I am not sure about making this substitution in cheeseburger pie. The recipe…
Plutoro
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1 answer

What does it mean to sort beans?

I have some bags of dried beans. The instructions say, for overnight soaking: OVERNIGHT SOAK: Rinse and sort beans in a large pot. To 1 lb. of beans (about 2 cups), add 6-8 cups cold water. Let stand overnight or at least 6 to 8 hours. Drain…
JesseTG
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1 answer

Black Beans - Toss the soak water?

I'm making a two pounds of dry black beans by: Sorting out the rocks, dirt, malformed beans Washing any dirt or mud from the remaining beans Soaking for only 1 hour in 2 gallons of water and 2 Tablespoons of salt Add any non-acidic ingredients and…
DaaBoss
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17
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8 answers

Is soaking beans 24 hours unrefrigerated safe?

It strikes me as an unsafe food practice to follow Cook's Illustrated's advice for soaking dried beans for 24 hours unrefrigerated. I've also seen them suggest you soak steel-cut oats unrefrigerated overnight. Is there some reason why these…
Jeff Axelrod
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Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth after being soaked for 12 hours?

Yesterday at 08:00 I had soaked white Chickpeas in water and left the container in the kitchen. Daytime temperature here is 44C. At 20:00 the same day I saw the container covered by white froth. Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth…
Aquarius_Girl
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9 answers

Are these worms in my black eyed peas/beans?

I was cooking some organic black eyed peas earlier today and I found what appeared to be worms. I had the peas for about 1.5 weeks before I cooked them. Is this common? I did rinse the peas before cooking them, but clearly that wasn't enough. What…
user19171
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