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Beans
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Vegetarian

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Last updated: 06 Jan 2011

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How to Cook Beans

Article by: Allrecipes | Picture by: Allrecipes

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Easy to prepare and easy on the wallet, beans are a cheap and healthy way to eat plus they are high in protein, fibre, calcium, potassium and iron. Also known as pulses or legumes they are a must-have in any pantry.

Dried vs Tinned Beans

There's no doubt there's nothing more convenient that opening a tin of fully cooked chick peas or red kidney beans. But dried beans can offer much more variety compared to tinned, give you greater control over how your beans are cooked and are much more economical.

You just need to be a little more organised in how you use them due to the longer preparation time required.

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Soaking Dried Beans
For the best results, soak your beans overnight but – in a pinch - you can do a quick soak about an hour beforehand.

Full Soak Rinse beans in cold water, picking out any shrunken ones as well as pebbles or grass - some of the best beans do have them! Place in a pot with about 3 cups of water for every cup of beans – and soak overnight in the fridge. Discard any beans that float to the top.

Quick Soak Rinse and pick through beans, then place them in a pot with enough cold water to cover them by 5cm. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and let sit covered for one hour. You can either keep the cooking water and proceed with your recipe, or you can drain the beans and start again with fresh water.

Reducing bean gas

Using fresh cooking water will not, as some claim, reduce beans' gas-causing properties. To build up your body's ability to digest beans, eat them more often - just like those cowboys in "Blazing Saddles."

Cooking Beans
When you're ready to cook the soaked beans, drain them and cover with fresh water. Bring the beans to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

Check periodically and keep enough water in the pot so beans are always under at least 1cm of liquid.

After soaking, beans will take between one and two hours to cook, depending on their size. Check the recipe to see how long you need to cook them for.

Lentils

The only exception to the soaking rule is with lentils. These generally don't need to be soaked at all. Just rinse and cover with plenty of water, then simmer for about half an hour - or cook according to the recipe.

Substituting Dried Beans for Cooked
If you have a recipe that has tinned beans but you want to use dried, remember that most dried beans will triple in volume when fully cooked. And if you're using black beans, cannellini beans, split peas or chickpeas, they will nearly quadruple in size.

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Review: AlisonM

great tips & dispels gassy rumours

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Challenging

Posted: 18 Oct 2011 Moderately easy

AlisonM
Intermediate
Perth, Australia

Comment: Alexey007

Hello! This article is great. I once had a tin full of beans...but I didn't feel that well, after eating it.
This has lead me to believe that it's important to cook your own beans...and here is where the pan counts. 
We all know that teflon makes our pans easier to clean, as nothing sticks to them.
We might even consider this as an advantage, as we require no oil so that food doesn't become stuck on the pans, and less oil means a healthier diet.
For all those that don't know, teflon consists of carbon and fluorine molecules that bond so strongly, food can't get a hold and just slips straight of a teflon coated pan.
But few of you may know of the risks involved using teflon coated pans.
Teflon contains a chemical called per-flouro-octanoid-acid also known as PFOA, which can cause cancer.
If you over heat teflon coated pans, to 260 degrees Celsius, you get the risk of releasing that chemical...and this is a risk not worth taking.
So although teflon coated pans are easier to use, they imply high risks on our health...so it is advised that they be used properly.
The alternative to these pans is using copper pans, as they conduct heat quickly.

Hello! This article is great. I once had a tin full of beans...but I didn't feel that well, after eating it. This has lead me to believe that it's important to cook your own beans...and here is where the pan counts. We all know that teflon makes our pans easier to clean, as nothing sticks to them. We might even consider this as an advantage, as we require no oil so that food doesn't become stuck on the pans, and less oil means a healthier diet. For all those that don't know, teflon consists of carbon and fluorine molecules that bond so strongly, food can't get a hold and just slips straight of a teflon coated pan. But few of you may know of the risks involved using teflon coated pans. Teflon contains a chemical called per-flouro-octanoid-acid also known as PFOA, which can cause cancer. If you over heat teflon coated pans, to 260 degrees Celsius, you get the risk of releasing that chemical...and this is a risk not worth taking. So although teflon coated pans are easier to use, they imply high risks on our health...so it is advised that they be used properly. The alternative to these pans is using copper pans, as they conduct heat quickly.

Posted: 08 May 2011