/ck/ - Food & Cooking

You gotta learn how to cook first

>>6969111
salt

>>6969111
Take them out of the box first.

>>6969111
First you go through the dryed beans for rocks and other debris. Then put them in some water and boil the fuck out of them for a few hours, make sure to stir and change the water out from time to time.

Don't add salt, just let the beans cook on their own. Once their ready then you have basic beans and can add them to whatever you want. Red pinto beans are damn good in beef or turkey chili.

Do plan for about 3-4 hours of boiling them and really don't add salt, it'll just slow the process down and there's no need to soak them overnight, that serves no purpose.

... the time will vary with the age of the beans. If they've been sitting around in a bag for four years then they might never get cooked, chuck those in the trash can and find a better supplier.

... I'd say add epazote but you're not making black bean soup, though if you're making pinto bean soup that might be a decent addition, I've never tried that with pinto beans but it sounds decent. If you're making soup then blend like 2/3s of them and add that back to the leftover 1/3rd. A bit of cilantro and a habanero works nicely there, chocolate habaneros work great in soups and stews, they have a great flavor.

lard, salt

>>6969111
I do most beans the same way.
It they're hard, soak them for a long time.
Then boil them for a while with a couple strips of bacon or some ham hocks. I like my beans with pork flavor.

If you're gonna blend the beans then make sure hold the top of the blender on or it might shoot all over the place and that's BAD TIMES!

Most basic method

Soak 1lb beans overnight or 8 hours
Drain beans
Add to pot, cover with water +2 inches
Cut onion in half, add to pot
Add 2-3 cloves garlic
Bring to boil, simmer until tender
Add salt to taste
Remove onion

Pressure cooker also makes really good beans but you have to experiment a bit to get them just right.

I was going to make a thread about pinto beans myself, but here it is.

I've only recently gotten into eating pinto beans. All of my life I've had canned refried beans for all of my bean consumption, but I decided to get into pinto beans as I've become very frugal minded and pinto beans are dirt cheap. I've been letting them soak for 12-16 hours and then boiling them for 1-2 hours and they're great. I really like the taste of them in burritos.

I noticed one night I had a bunch leftover and left them in the pot and the next day the pinto beans made some slimy sludge. What's up with that? Are they still edible at this point? I threw them out because I didn't want to risk getting sick.

1) Buy fresh beans. Beans that are old have lots of splits in the bag. Old beans will never get soft.

2) Sort the bag of beans for any small rocks or bad beans

3) Soak the beans. Use cold water and change it when the water gets cloudy. Soak the beans at least 24 hours, but for better beans soak two days. For the absolutely best beans, soak them until they just begin to sprout.

4) Rinse the beans and place them in a pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for a full ten minutes.

5) Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-12 hours. This is best done by transferring the beans (minus cooking water) into a crock pot. Cover with water (you can use the cooking water, just don't cover the beans with too much).

6) Add a few bay leaves and a smoked ham hock.

7) DO NOT ADD SALT UNTIL THE BEANS ARE SOFT.

>>6969388
two myths in one post. Salt will not slow it down, and soaking them while not needed will certainy dramitacly reduce cooking time.

>>6969388
>no soak
>no salt
don't be an asshole, anon

>>6969849
Soaking beans also reduces how gassy the beans make you in my experience.

get a pressure cooker.
cook beans
man they're good, but you will fart a lot.

taste great with tomato paste, hot sauce, spices, etc.

>>6969843
>oak them until they just begin to sprout
never heard of this. what's the benefit to doing it that way?

also, again, there's nothing wrong with salt. it doesn't prevent the beans from softening. that's an old wives tale. furthermore, you should salt the soaking water. it should essentially be a brine.

if you have a problem with hard beans, add some baking soda (about a pinch) to the cooking liquid

>>6969843
>Buy fresh beans. Beans that are old have lots of splits in the bag. Old beans will never get soft.

fresh beans are more difficult to soak and cook, because the skins are in much better shape. Old bags of pinto beans cook much more quickly.

>>6969867
>what's the benefit to doing it that way?
First it's important to remember that beans are seeds. They are living food. When you sprout your beans you "wake them up". Starches turn into sugars and nutrients become more available for the body to absorb. This helps the beans become very creamy when you cook them, something that cannot be achieved by a brief soak or cooking in a pressure cooker.

>you should salt the soaking water. it should essentially be a brine.
I never do this, it would kill the beans and they won't sprout.

>if you have a problem with hard beans
that never happens to me because I buy fresh beans and always sprout them.
>add some baking soda (about a pinch) to the cooking liquid
Baking soda tastes like soap and makes the beans taste bad.

>>6969874
>fresh beans are more difficult to soak and cook, because the skins are in much better shape.
That is incorrect.
>Old bags of pinto beans cook much more quickly
Old beans do not take up water. They are basically dead. They do not get soft no matter how long you soak them, no matter what you add to the soaking water.

>>6969975
>That is incorrect.
when I soak my fresh dry beans I harvest myself, they aren't fully soaked by morning, unlike my old bag of pinto beans
>>6969975
>Old beans do not take up water. They are basically dead. They do not get soft no matter how long you soak them, no matter what you add to the soaking water.
not true at all. an overnight soak is all my old dead pinto beans need, unlike my fresh beans.

>>6969975
>>6969843
Here is some info on the nutrition of sprouted pinto beans (and other sprouts).

>>6969996
>when I soak my fresh dry beans I harvest myself, they aren't fully soaked by morning, unlike my old bag of pinto beans
You probably are not curing your fresh beans properly. Also, that old bag isn't as old as you think if they take up water readily.

>>6969975
Do you activate your almonds too?

>>6969859
How is that being an asshole? I buy a bag of dried beans, sort them for shit in there, then boil the fuck out them for 3-4 hours until they're ready. Big deal, the soaking is fucking useless and adding salt during the cooking process makes no sence since it makes the cooking process take longer. If you want to add salt, add that when the beans are done.

And piss off frog poster.

>>6970011
No. Raw almonds are difficult to source in the US. And I don't eat a lot of almonds so it wouldn't be worth it.
Btw, I know you're joking; but sprouted almonds are in fact a thing.

>>6970017
>the soaking is fucking useless

Soaking reduces the time required on the heat.

>>and adding salt during the cooking process makes no sence since it makes the cooking process take longer

What on earth??

>>6970022
It really doesn't especially when you add the soaking time into the overall time to get them done.

>>6970022
Adding salt during the initial cooking process is useless, especially when you're changing the water every 45 minutes or so. Adding salt during that process is an old wives tale and makes no sense.

>>6970022
Soaking time does not effect cooking time. You soak the beans longer to produce a superior finished product.

>>6970038
I've never noticed a difference and been doing this for a long time, not professionally but still enough times both ways to have noticed a difference if there was one and there's no difference.

>>6969975
I was just asking about sprouting. The rest of my post wasn't meant to be directed at you.

The baking soda really doesn't effect the taste of the beans, though. It just helps them soften

>>6970017
Soaking is not useless. Neither is seasoning the beans before and throughout the cooking process.

>>6970017
>If you want to add salt, add that when the beans are done
that would be like marinating chicken after cooking it.
>>6970034
ok, now you just trolling

>>6970043
If you haven't noticed a difference then you have poor observational skills. Try doing a side-by-side comparison.

i cook beans twice a week and the best method is soaking and pressure cooking. nothing comes close, don't bother with any other way get a pressure cooker.

A small amount of baking soda in the water will make them cook faster and can make older beans usable again.

>>6970055
>If you want to add salt, add that when the beans are done
>that would be like marinating chicken after cooking it.

There is so much wrong with this statement.
Beans are alive, a cut up chicken is not.
Beans do not behave like chicken when you cook them.
Beans will readily take up salt (and other flavores) after cooking, while the dense flesh of chicken does not.

>>6970076
Nothing can fix old, dead beans. They won't take up water period. And baking soda does nothing but make the beans taste bad.

>>6970080
Older beans, not completely dead ones. And unless you're a retard and dump in a ton of it, it has no effect on the flavor whatsoever.

>>6970077
>Beans are alive, a cut up chicken is not
unless you're sprouting them like that other anon, this is irrelevant.
>Beans will readily take up salt (and other flavores) after cooking
Not really, no. You add salt early so you're actually seasoning the beans and not just putting salt on them. There's quite a big difference. Once a bean is cooked it's not going to magically absorb more salt anymore than it's going to magically absorb more water. If you're mashing them or using them in a recipe it's a different story, but if you're just making beans, just salt them as they cook, there's literally no reason not to. I'm sorry that you had difficulty grasping my analogy.

>>6970028
>when you add the soaking time into the overall time

Why would you add the times together? Soaking time is hands-off and requires zero attention. It also requires no energy. So it seems pretty silly to lump it in with the cooking time which requires attention and energy.

>>6970034
I get that. But the other person claimed that salting makes the cooking process take longer. That's what I don't understand. How on earth could adding salt affect the cooking time appreciably at all?

>>6970086
If you are adding a pinch of BS to a gallon of beans then it doesn't effect e taste, but any quantity smaller than that and I can taste it.

>>6970090
>unless you're sprouting them like that other anon, this is irrelevant.
All fresh beans are alive, wether you soak them or not.
>Once a bean is cooked it's not going to magically absorb more salt
Osmosis. Look it up.
>just salt them as they cook, there's literally no reason not to.
The reasons why you shouldn't add salt have already been explained.
>I'm sorry that you had difficulty grasping my analogy.
I understood your analogy, it was just a shit analogy that didn't really apply.

>>6970114
>The reasons why you shouldn't add salt have already been explained
and debunked

I'm done with you, bro. enjoy your flavorless beans

>>6970122
[citation needed]

Anyone who is looking to buy high quality dry beans should check out Rancho Gordo.