Nothing is more comforting than having a pot of beans simmering in the oven when cool weather arrives because they are rich, earthy, and hearty. The planning required to soak them overnight before you start is one of the main reasons why fewer people cook them. I recognize the expression, but it still amazes me that some people plan their meals a day in advance.
However, the truth is that you typically don’t have to. I started looking into whether there was a way to speed up the soaking and cooking process many years ago. What I learned surprised me. And it has enabled me to prepare a pot of beans whenever I want for dinner.
“Almost every recipe you’ve ever read in a cookbook instructs you to soak dried beans before cooking them. In almost every case that advice is wrong. “I wrote that when I first conducted the experiments 20 years ago. And it’s true. Advertisement.
Most dried beans don’t require any soaking at all; you can simply place them in a pot and simmer them until tender. Not only is it more convenient, it actually improves them. A lot. Beans cooked without soaking have a richer, fuller flavor. They taste more “beany. Additionally, the cooking broth is also thick and rich.
Given that this is how many Mexican cooks have been preparing beans for centuries, I can’t claim to have discovered it. It’s just information that somehow got lost (much like we forgot to soak long-grain rice for about an hour before cooking, as every Indian and Persian cook knows).
While cooking beans without soaking does lengthen the process, most varieties only require an additional 20 to 30 minutes, and even then, they are cooked alone. All types of beans cook without a trace of difficulty, including black beans, pinto beans, Great Northern beans, cannellini beans, and navy beans.
There are a couple of caveats. First, if you’re using very old beans, such as those that have been in the back of your pantry for about a year or those you purchased from a store that doesn’t regularly rotate its stock, soaking them first is advised.
Additionally, some bean varieties do need to be soaked. Of course, I continue to soak chickpeas, which are technically a legume rather than a bean.
Additionally, I spoke with Rancho Gordo’s Steve Sando, my go-to bean expert (if you haven’t tried its specialty beans, you’re missing out). In general, he advised always soaking beans from the Phaseolus coccineus species, which is a runner bean. The very large, dense beans need soaking in order to soften in a reasonable amount of time before cooking, turning out beautifully creamy.
Additionally, when using beans in soups or stews, avoid soaking them. You should either soak the beans or, at the very least, rinse them after cooking if you intend to use them in salads or other dishes where you want them to be distinct and separate.
If you want proof, cook these black beans both ways and then contrast the results. People frequently ask me what the secret ingredient is whenever I make this recipe. And since it only takes 10 minutes to put it together to cook it without soaking, you can actually make it frequently.
Get our L. A. To help you discover and experience our city, the Goes Out newsletter includes the best events for the week.
12 Ways to Use White Beans
White beans are very versatile. Here are 12 of my favorite ways to use them:
Inexpensive, versatile, white beans are a true superfood. A one-cup serving provides:
Cooking your own dried beans ensures that all of their nutritional value is retained.
Christy’s Handy Dandy List of Reasons Not To be Offended:
Let’s just go with the fact that I’m talking a lot about myself in the third person today.
1. People can enjoy being around you. Being friends with an easily offended person is exhausting. Truly. Here is a silly example from my teenage years, but there are plenty more around us today, and I’m sure you can think of a few in your own life. There was a sweet person I knew when I was younger who was constantly upset because someone had offended her. Each of her friends eventually took turns being the one who had to apologize and then make amends to her. It got ridiculous. When I addressed her boyfriend as “my friend” in front of her, it was my turn. She was devastated that I had referred to her boyfriend as “my,” and she paraded her pain around the school for more than a week until the next chance to offend presented itself to deflect attention from my transgression.
As a result, I made the decision to keep my feet as close to me as possible in accordance with Christy’s third rule of not offending anyone: “People who complain about always having their toes stepped on need to look at how far they are sticking their feet out.” I’ve been successful with this mindset for a few decades now.
Get down off the cross, honey, as my dear aunt recently reminded me of the wise words of Dolly Parton. Somebody needs the wood.
2. Being easily offended is draining to you, too. Imagine being at peace. putting a smile on your face and basking in the warmth of the sun while taking in life’s warmth and joy Being offended is opposite of that.
3. Being offended is a diversion that prevents you from appreciating and noticing the positive aspects of your life. Being offended requires a lot of focus, effort, and energy. Despite our desire to not see it that way, being offended is an action, and actions need energy to support them. We can use that same energy to be joyful and see the positive side of things. Don’t you want to be using your energy on a road that leads to a good place if you’re going to be using it to gain traction on a road?
4. Being easily offended is the sign of a fool. I was going to say, “is not the sign of a wise person,” but I decided to just quote Proverbs because it makes such an impact. Either way, your Mama didn’t raise no fool. Proverbs 12:16.
Disclaimer time (sort of like Hammer Time, but different): At this point, I’m not referring to someone violating your rights. I’m not referring to someone seriously crossing the line. I’m talking about the little things. We should let the small things slide right off of us, but instead we allow them to adhere to us like lint to velcro. Velcro is a bristly, uncomfortable thing. Don’t be velcro.
Sometimes, people themselves are just offensive. I once worked with one of the most repulsive people ever to have been born on Earth for a full day. On every level I can think of, I had a legitimate, sacred right to be offended. I endured it, I got over it. Instead of being offended for my own sake, I felt bad for him and everyone else who must put up with him while I am no longer forced to. After that day, I had a victory party and took a few showers.
Because of circumstances in their lives versus those in the world, I have friends who are more entitled than anyone I know to spend the entire day taking offense. However, instead of doing that, they bob along joyfully, almost dancing on top of life’s storm clouds because they have made the decision not to take offense.
I’m so grateful for the example of people like that.
Being quick to listen, slow to offend, and slow to speak are all qualities that men should possess. (James 1:19).
There is merit in being a steady individual with a gracious heart toward others. You are comfortable around those people because you are familiar with them. Given that they are not seeking offense, you are aware that you cannot inadvertently offend them. Instead, they assume the best in you. I’ve spent enough time with those people to want to be one of them.
I decided a few years back to stop being offended. Life is dramatic enough without me manufacturing more.
Slow to take offense. Quick to love.
That’s the stuff.
Okay, since I must eventually discuss food, here is what will happen. Today I’m going to demonstrate how to prepare dried beans without presoaking them and without having to keep an eye on them as they cook.
Because I’m usually too disorganized to remember to soak my beans and because I like to ignore the food I’m cooking whenever I can,
There are many virtues to dried beans. They taste AMAZING, I grew up on them, and they are much more affordable than canned ones, but sometimes you just need a big bowl of pintos and cornbread for supper. They are a great source of protein for meatless meals. It’s good for the soul.
This method and recipe is not just for pintos though. You can use this to prepare any dried bean you like, including pinto, navy, northern, black-eyed peas, black, lima, and other varieties. You can prepare dried beans in this manner without soaking them if they are. Simply visualize your preferred bean in the images for this recipe. It will work.
To season it, you’ll need a slow cooker, beans, salt, pepper, and preferably a ham bone from a smoked turkey leg. Pepper is not pictured here and is optional. I use it, but I don’t make it pose for a photo when it’s not feeling it.
Sort your dried beans before adding them and your turkey leg to a slow cooker.
I mean to “sort” them by going through a handful of them at a time to check for stones. This is just part of life with dried beans. Stones occasionally jump up from the fields during harvest, and since the machines can’t distinguish them from the beans, we must do that on our end.
Add in your salt (and pepper if using)
My grandmother would describe the amount in the picture as “a good bit”
Up to about an inch from the top, fill with water.
Cook on low 8 hours. If work keeps you away, you can cook them for longer than that. I have cooked mine up to ten before, no worries. You’ll be fine as long as your slow cooker is a fairly recent model (I advise buying one within the last five years) and has enough water in it.
They work great to put on first thing in the morning for supper that night, but I frequently cook these overnight and then set the setting to warm during the day so I can have them for lunch and supper.
When you take off the lid, poke the turkey a little to get it all off the bone, then stir it around. Discard the bone, though, as you probably don’t want to eat it.
Note: Contrary to what my camera and lighting in these photos appear to show, the color of the walls in my kitchen is “sweet buttered corn,” not “putrid peas mashed together with a lemon.”
These beans are shown here with pickled onions on top and Mama’s Mexican Cornbread.
That, my friends, is how to prepare dried beans without soaking! WHOOWEEE, What a meal!
Quick soaking beans is a simple alternative to overnight soaking that works for all types of beans and other legumes.
As I previously stated, you can use this method to prepare any dish using any type of bean. After soaking, proceed to preparing your dish as directed by the recipe. For a tasty, healthy afternoon snack, quickly soak the beans for a batch of cilantro-jalapeo hummus if you don’t already have a recipe in mind.
It has happened to me more than once, so it happens more frequently than you might think. There’s no need to get frustrated if and when it occurs to you. Breathe deeply and follow these directions to quickly soak your beans. In no time, you’ll be on your way to a mouthwatering meal!
You’ve prepared everything for a delicious pot of navy white beans or black bean soup for dinner, so just picture your frustration. When you’re prepared to begin cooking after putting in the hard work, you discover that the recipe calls for soaking the beans for 6–10 hours before cooking them. Oh no!.
Long before he started writing, award winning journalist, author and cook, Michael Ruhlman, had a small food blog like this one. He used the blogging platform to share his cooking knowledge and experience for several years; then he began sharing that same information in his books. In The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen, Ruhlman explains the importance of soaking beans. That sealed the deal for me.