Even 100 years ago, housewives knew how to soak beans before cooking, and most importantly, why. Today this practice is not so popular. As a result, legume dishes turn out bland and are harmful to health. The wrong cooking method can ruin any product. We suggest you learn how to soak beans correctly in order to extract the maximum benefit from them for the body.
How to cook beans - instructions
You will need: a glass of beans, water for soaking, water for cooking
Although the beans take a long time to cook, the process itself is very simple. Half the success is in soaking. Before cooking, rinse the red beans thoroughly under warm water and soak in boiled water: three glasses of water per glass of beans, cover and leave at room temperature in the shade. It’s better to change the water every couple of hours, but if this is not possible, then just put the cereal in the refrigerator. During this time, the beans will swell well - which means that the cereal is suitable for cooking and will definitely turn out soft. Here are a couple of tips: the most convenient way is to soak the beans in the morning and cook in the evening, or at night to prepare lunch. You shouldn’t soak the cereal for more than 12 hours, it may turn sour. If you are in a hurry, you can pour boiling water over the cereal and leave it warm for an hour. But the natural method of soaking in cold water is more gentle on vitamins.
As you can see in the photo, the beans have swollen considerably and absorbed a lot of water. For cooking you will need more water - add a couple of centimeters extra.
The next stage is even simpler: the beans are washed, filled with water in a saucepan and placed on low heat. Cover the top with a lid and add salt immediately (in moderation). Well, or soaked beans are added to the soup broth. This stage does not require labor - it is only important that there is plenty of water, check it occasionally. After 40 minutes the cereal will be cooked, but it is always better to taste it. It is very simple to understand that the beans are cooked: cool 3 beans and taste them; they should be very soft when you bite them. If the beans are soft enough, stop cooking, but if they are too hard, cook for another 20 minutes.
3. After cooking, the water is drained, and the cereal can be added to a salad, soup, side dish, and so on.
This is the easiest way to cook beans. All other methods - without soaking, with soda, in a pressure cooker, etc. - are emergency and, other things being equal, not optimal. Their use requires more labor and control, and the result may not live up to expectations due to the properties of the cereal or errors when using an unusual method.
To make the beans softer
: - after washing, generously pour boiling water over the beans; - add sunflower oil when cooking; - drain the first boiling water, rinse the beans with ice water, continue cooking in fresh cold water; - soak the beans with the addition of soda: 1/5 spoon of soda per glass of beans, and rinse thoroughly before cooking.
Interesting questions
Does soaking beans reduce gas?
If you want to avoid the famous gas that comes with beans, you should soak and drain the beans before cooking, rinsing the beans thoroughly. The reason for this is that soaking the beans removes some of the sugars that release gas during digestion, and soaking also helps reduce cooking time.
Why do you need to drain the water after soaking?
Soaking the beans removes the sugar that causes gas, making them difficult to digest. Beans also should not be washed before packing and selling as this can cause mold, so the water may retain some of the dirt from the beans. That's why it's best to drain the beans, discard them, and then rinse the beans thoroughly before cooking in fresh, cool water.
How to cook beans in a slow cooker
1. Place two cups of red or white beans in a wide bowl, cover with 5 cups of cold water and leave for about 8 hours to swell. This will save cooking time in the future. 2. During the soaking process, you need to change the water every 3 hours. Do not use drained water under any circumstances, replace it with fresh water. After time, the beans should increase in volume by 2-3 times. 3. Rinse the swollen beans thoroughly in a colander under running cold water, allow the water to drain and place in the multicooker. 4. Salt the beans at the rate of 1 teaspoon of table salt per 1 cup of beans, add ground black pepper to taste, mix gently and add fresh water so that it covers the beans by a centimeter. 5. Turn on the “Stew” mode on the multicooker and set the timer. Depending on the color of the beans, the cooking time will be different: for red beans it will take one and a half hours, for white beans a little less - one hour. After cooking, taste the dish - well-cooked beans should be absolutely soft. Your beans are ready, bon appetit!
Cooking time
Cooking time depends on various factors. The method of soaking is important. Also pay attention to the freshness of the legumes, whether there are any wrinkled grains. Large varieties take longer.
| Cooking method | Soaking time (hour) | Average cooking time (hour) |
| In a saucepan | 8-10 | 1,5-2 |
| 0 | 3-4 | |
| In a slow cooker | 8-10 | 1-1,5 |
| 0 | 2-3 | |
| In a pressure cooker | 8-10 | 1 |
| 0 | 1,5-2 | |
| Microwave | 8-10 | 35-40 |
| 0 | not allowed |
How to cook beans in a double boiler
1. Sort beans (red or white), remove damaged beans. In appearance, the beans should be even, smooth, uniform in color, firm to the touch and not peel off. 2. Pour the sorted beans into a deep bowl and add cold water in the proportion of 1 cup of beans - 2 cups of water. 3. Leave the beans for about 8 hours to swell; for white beans, you can skip the soaking step. During the soaking process, you need to change the water every 3 hours. After time, the beans should increase in volume. 4. Rinse the swollen beans thoroughly in a colander under running cold water and allow to drain. 5. Pour water into a special steamer bowl, place the beans in it and cook at a temperature of 80 degrees. This way the process of moisture evaporation will occur more slowly, the steam will simply heat the water. 6. Cook white beans without soaking for at least 1 hour, red beans for about 1.5 hours. During the cooking process, monitor the presence of water in the bowl and add it if necessary, as well as promptly drain the resulting water from the pan. Once the beans are completely soft and tender in taste, you can put them on plates and serve them - they are cooked.
Beans in the microwave
Cooking beans in the microwave is quite risky - they can boil into porridge or require additional cooking time, which calls into question the feasibility of the method.
1. Place the beans in a deep microwave-safe dish and add cold water in the proportion: 1 cup of beans to 2 cups of water. Leave to swell for about 8 hours. 2. Carefully drain the water from the bowl. To prevent the beans from accidentally falling out of the bowl, you can cover the bowl with a flat plate, leaving a small gap. Excess liquid will drain through it. 3. Pour clean water over the beans and place in the microwave. Cook red beans at maximum power for 10 minutes, white beans for 7 minutes. 4. Stir the beans, add salt and sprinkle with oil. 5. Return the beans to the microwave and cook at 700 W - 20 minutes for red beans and 15 minutes for white beans. 7. Remove the beans from the microwave and place in a colander to drain any remaining liquid.
Beans in a pressure cooker
1 cup of beans about 250 grams - the output will be about 500 grams of boiled cereal
1. Rinse the beans and soak for 8-12 hours in cold water. 2. Set the pressure cooker for 1 hour with the valve closed and full pressure; if the pressure cooker is electronic, select the “Beans” mode. 3. Cook the beans for 20 minutes after gaining pressure. 4. Turn off the pressure cooker and, without opening the lid, wait 40 minutes until the pressure is released and the beans are cooked due to the accumulated temperature.
Fun facts about beans
— Cooking beans without soaking
takes quite a long time, which not every housewife has. On average, it will take up to 4 hours to cook such beans. You need to cook over low heat and constantly make sure that the water in the pan does not completely evaporate, and add it in a timely manner. In addition, prolonged cooking can damage the structure of the beans, and they will begin to fall apart.
- Cooking time for beans may vary depending on the size and type of beans. Check readiness
beans can be prepared as follows: remove 3 beans from the pan and taste each of them. Well-cooked beans should be absolutely soft. If at least one grain is too hard, you need to continue cooking. Then try 3 beans again. You can start checking the hardness of the beans 40 minutes after you put the beans on the fire, and do this every 10 minutes. This method will allow you to accurately determine the optimal cooking time and prevent the beans from overcooking. The finished beans should be soft and mash well with a fork. Another way to check is to blow on the beans immediately after they come out of the pan.
How to quickly soak beans before cooking
Beans can be soaked in a quick way before cooking, but it is more labor-intensive and requires more activity in the kitchen: 1) sort, rinse, pour the beans into a saucepan, add water in a ratio of 1:3 (for 1 cup of beans, 3 cups of water); 2) bring to a boil over low heat, keep for 5 minutes over high heat; 3) turn off the heat and leave the beans in the broth for 3 hours; 4) cook in the usual way.
Proportions of water and beans
— There are 200 grams in 1 glass of beans. — During cooking, the beans increase in size by 2-3 times. — To prepare 2 servings of a side dish, use 1.5 cups of beans. — Water and beans should be taken in proportions of 1:3, that is, to cook 1 cup of beans you need 3 cups of water.
Important when cooking beans
1. White beans do not require soaking; they can be cooked immediately (for the same amount of time).
2. Beans are salted at the end of cooking (10 minutes before) or when salting the final dish, because salt slows down the cooking process. Benefits of beans
Beans are rich in vegetable protein. Beans are the second highest amino acid content product (the first is meat). 100 grams of green beans contain 20 milligrams of vitamin C, vitamins PP, B1 and B2. Beans are beneficial for improving skin health. When cooked, beans do not lose their beneficial properties. Calorie content of red beans is 292 Kcal.
The price of beans in Moscow
The cost of red beans is 70 rubles per kilogram. The cost of white beans is 80 rubles per kilogram.
Determining the readiness of the product
We have already looked at how to properly cook some types of beans. Now let's talk about determining the readiness of the product. To do this, you need to remove one grain from the pan, cut it with a knife or eat it. The finished boiled grain should be whole, soft, but not porridge-like. If it is still a bit hard, difficult to pierce or crackles, then you should continue cooking further and check readiness at intervals of 5-10 minutes.
The finished grains are soft, whole, and not porridge-like.
Boiled bean salad
Ingredients
Red beans - 150 grams Red onion - 1 head Pickled champignons - 100 grams Parsley - 10 grams Mayonnaise - 2 tablespoons Olive oil - 2 tablespoons Salt and pepper - to taste
Preparation
Cook the beans and place in a colander to cool. Peel, wash and thinly slice the onion into half rings. Fry the onion in olive oil until golden brown. Place beans and onions in a salad bowl, add chopped pickled champignons, salt, pepper and mayonnaise. Chop the parsley and add to the salad. Mix well.
Vegetable puree with white beans
Ingredients for puree with boiled beans
Dry white beans - 300 grams Tomato - 4 medium tomatoes Carrots - 1 piece Onion - 1 head Garlic - 2 cloves Lemon - half a lemon Parsley - 10 grams Sugar - teaspoon Salt and pepper - to taste
How to cook vegetables with boiled beans
1. Soak the beans, rinse and cook for 40 minutes (not until completely cooked). 2. Scald the tomatoes with boiling water, remove the skin, and chop using a blender. 3. Peel, wash and finely chop the onion. 4. Grate the carrots on a fine grater. 5. Peel the garlic and pass through a garlic press (or finely chop). 6. Wash the parsley, dry and cut. 7. Pour olive oil into the pan, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. 8. Add carrots, garlic, sugar, squeeze the juice from half a lemon. Simmer for 15 minutes. 9. Add beans, stir, add water so that it completely covers the beans), cook for another 1 hour. 10. Serve with peeled lemon slices and sprinkled with parsley.
Secrets of quick cooking
Beans can be cooked for two hours if you add a spoonful of cool water every five minutes to the dish being prepared.
Another way is as follows.
- Bring the water with the beans to a boil. The fruits are boiled in a boiling liquid medium for five minutes and left in it for an hour, which helps them steam and soften.
- By adding a teaspoon of baking soda to the water, you can also speed up the cooking, but at the same time you cannot avoid the loss of beneficial microelements.
Red bean side dish
Products
Red beans - 600 grams Onions - 2 pieces Carrots - 2 pieces Sweet pepper - 2 pieces Urop and parsley - 1/2 bunch each Garlic - 2 cloves Spicy ketchup - 4 tablespoons Salt, ground black pepper - to taste Sour cream - 6 tablespoons Butter - 20 grams
How to cook red bean side dish
1. Sort 600 grams of beans and soak in a saucepan in cold water for 8 hours. 2. Drain the beans from the water they were in and add new water to lightly cover the beans. 3. Place the pan on the fire and cook for 90 minutes. At the end of cooking, leave the beans on the stove to brew for about half an hour. 4. Place the finished beans in a colander or sieve and let drain. 5. Pour a little water into the pan to cover the bottom and place on high heat. Add 20 grams of butter and quickly stir it in the water. 6. Place the beans in the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 7 minutes. 7. Season the beans with 4 tablespoons of hot ketchup and 2 cloves of garlic passed through a press. 8. Peel 2 onions, finely chop and add to the beans. 9. Wash 2 sweet peppers, remove seeds, cut into cubes and also mix with beans. 10. Scrape 2 small carrots with a knife, grate them on a coarse grater and add to the vegetable mixture. 11. Sprinkle the side dish with salt and pepper to taste, mix well and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. 12. Place the finished dish in a deep bowl, mix with 6 tablespoons of sour cream. 13. Rinse half a bunch of dill and parsley, chop and sprinkle on top as a decoration.
White bean side dish
Products
White beans - 2 cups Onion (medium) - 2 pieces Tomato - 4 pieces Sweet pepper - 4 pieces Garlic - 2 cloves Tomato paste - 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil - 4 tablespoons Salt, ground black pepper - to taste Bay leaf - 2 pieces Dill - 1/2 bunch
How to cook a side dish of white beans
1. Sort 600 grams of beans and soak in a saucepan in cold water for 8 hours (overnight). 2. Place the pan on the fire and boil until tender (a little over an hour). Well-cooked beans should be absolutely soft. 3. Place the beans in a sieve or colander to drain. 4. Wash 4 peppers, cut lengthwise, remove seeds and cut into cubes. 5. Peel 2 medium onions and chop finely. 6. Heat a frying pan with 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and lightly fry the chopped peppers and onions. 7. Rinse 4 ripe tomatoes, grate on a coarse grater and add to the frying pan along with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. 8. Pour a little water into the vegetable mixture, add salt and pepper to taste, 2 bay leaves and stir. 9. Close the pan with a lid and simmer the beans for 10 minutes. After time has passed, remove from heat. 10. Pass 2 cloves of garlic through a press, chop half a bunch of dill and mix with the side dish. 11. Close the pan with a lid and let the dish brew for another 10 minutes.
Soaking methods
There are several ways to pre-soak beans:
- long;
- express;
- instant (without soaking).
The long soaking method is the most common and used method for softening beans before cooking. The required amount of product is placed in a glass jar and filled with cold water. The water level should exceed the level of the seeds by 5 cm. Soaking is done both during the day and at night, since this method involves soaking the legumes in water for a period of 6 to 12 hours. This pre-treatment will help reduce flatulence after eating bean dishes.
The name of the express method contains its essence: the process occurs at an accelerated pace, having a minimum duration - usually within two hours. The soaking technology in this case is as follows: a container of water is brought to a boil, beans are added, which should boil in water for about five minutes. The process ends with the beans removed from the heat being kept in this hot liquid for an hour. The method is good for processing green beans.
Instant soaking involves the process of cooking broth for soup, when the beans can be sent to the cooking container along with the ribs or bone for about four hours. This time is quite enough to simultaneously obtain broth from meat and boiled beans.
