soaking dry beans

[songbirdie]

All the recipes I have and have read on the internet say to soak the beans overnight. But I want to cook the beans in the late afternoon so they're ready for evening dinner. So does that mean I should soak them all day from early in the morning, soak them overnight and leave them soaking all day until I'm ready to cook them, or soak overnight and rinse and set in the fridge until I'm ready to cook them? I've found tons of information *about* this question on the internet, but nothing that actually *answers* the question. Thank you so much! I can always count on the hive mind!

[Capt_Uhura]

I'd soak them overnight, drain the AM and put in the fridge until you need them. I've done that in the past w/ no issues.

[abbeyej]

Soak anywhere from 18-48 hours -- they'll be fine. :) If you add a little apple cider vinegar, or a tablespoon or so of plain yogurt, or the juice of a lemon to the soaking water, even better.

 

If you're going to soak for more than 24 hours, pour the water off and replace it with fresh at some point. You'll also want to pour the water off and replace with fresh cooking water when the time comes.

[AuntieM]

I do a hot soak, which I believe does a better job of breaking down those indigestible starches that beans are famous for.

 

Put your rinsed beans into a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes. Cover the beans and remoe them from heat. Soak anywhere from 4 to 10 hours. Drain and rinse the beans when you are ready to proceed with cooking them.

 

I usually boil the beans right before I go to bed, then put them into the crock pot first thing in the morning. I chop any veggie additions while the beans are boiling so everything is ready to go into the pot.

 

I have also boiled the beans first thing in the morning, then at around lunch time rinsed them and put them in the crock, but on a higher temp at least for the first hour to get them going and ready in time for dinner.

[justamouse]

I soak mine overnight, rinse them a few times and refill and cook them when I need. No refrigeration.

 

I DID just buy myself a pressure cooker-OMG, *bliss*. Worth. Every. Penny. Last week I made a soup and into the pressure cooker wnet an onion, bay leaf, 6 cloves of garlic, thyme, a little paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, and a few bullion cubes. Oh, and three shallots. 20 minurtes and they were done. Then I sauteed some duck bacon, some onion, and cabbage. Added the beans, some potatoes and enough water for broth-AMAZING. I ahd made a free form bread loaf and it was the best dinner ever and I beat Rachel Ray on the time.

Edited January 16, 2011 by justamouse

[songbirdie]

Woohoo! Thank you, Hive Mind! We'll be eating our beans tomorrow night!:grouphug:

[milovany]

There's always the quick soak method, too, if you don't want to soak overnight, or forgot -- which was actually described above (boil for 10 minutes, then cover and leave for an hour - although above it said 4-10 hours). You can begin cooking the beans after they've soaked for just an hour with this method. I've done it many times.