Soaking Beans

[Valgas]

Hello. I use to soak beans overnight in the refrigerator but also heard that it is better to soak them at room temperature. I don't know the advantages/disadvantages between the two. What are they?

[coll]

I always soak them at room temp: the advantage being they don't take up a whole shelf in my refrigerator, which is overflowing as it is.

[luckyfatima]

I was taught to soak in a bowl on the counter and add a pinch of baking soda when soaking beans for stove top cooking, and always have. I think if you soak them in the fridge they won't soften as nicely. Also, it prevents beans from sprouting or fermenting if that is your goal in soaking like for making a sprout salad or fermenting to make a bean paste dumpling or something.

[Valgas]

Ok so it is ok to soak at room temp. The only beans I don't soak are black beans, I want to preserve the deep color and rich meaty flavor so I just simmer longer.

[eastvillgirl]

According to Mexican cookbook author Rick Bayless, adding baking soda - although it DOES help beans soften faster - can keep your body from absorbing some of the food's protein and vitamins. I don't have any evidence of this obviously, but it's just a thought.

I always bring my pot of beans to a boil and then turn them off (without taking off the lid) and allow them to soak overnight on the stovetop. They don't ever seem to be hurt by the room temperature, and like Coll, I don't have the fridge space to soak them in there!

By the way, I recently learned that it is best to discard the bean soaking liquid before, as a lot of the oligosaccharides that tend to cause flatulence/digestive discomfort are concentrated in this soaking liquid. I was surprised to notice a difference when I did this in my last few batches of refried beans!

[Louise]

True, though for black beans you don't want to, as you will throw out a bunch of that wonderful color.

[scubadoo97]

Beans for the most part don't need soaking. I have abandoned the practice as well as the holding off on salting. For beans that you can cover and forget, bake in the oven instead of doing them on the stove. 90 mins is an average time to cook a lot of different beans. I now salt my beans at the onset of cooking but hold off on any acid which is the culprit in keeping beans from softening. Beans turn out with more flavor if you salt early.

[frankiii]

My experience with dried beans is a little different. I do prefer to soak them overnight and at room temperate. I also discard the soaking liquid. I have not had great experiences with throwing dried beans into boiling water and going to town. I also find that adding salt at the beginning of the cooking process can cause the beans to lose their shape and thus much of their starch too early in the cooking process for my taste. I like the beans to be starchy, with some of them ruptured but they tend to do this too early if they are cooked in a salty liquid; likewise for un-soaked beans. My experiences are similar to an earlier poster in that I have found acid to also cause the beans to break down too early. Thus, I hold of on the addition of my beloved vinegar until deglazing the aromatics that will be added to the dish.

So, agree to disagree.

[Valgas]

Not to be disgusting but I always experience a little gas after ingesting some beans. I dislike soaking black beans because I love the color and I've read that that's where the antioxidants are. I try to use some of the herbs and spices cookbooks claim to reduce gas and ease digestion. Cumin, Tumeric, Chili, Parsley, Oregano... I forgot the other ones. But if soaking my Black Beans eliminates bloating, bubbling and poofing completely then I'll do some experimenting. (Im a new cook).

[meatn3]

Many people swear by kombu seaweed to aid the digestion of beans. Just add a strip to the batch while cooking. I seem to remember that Eden does that with their canned beans. Have heard the same about adding Epazote.

I found I did not like the results of adding baking soda - seemed to change the texture of the beans.

[inuksuk]

As long as you cook the black beans in the water they soak in you should have no loss of colour. However, you will also retain the starch from that water and your beans will have an increased potential causing gas. There's your trade off.

[C. Hamster]

Acid inhibits softening in beans

[Todlie]

Salt toughens the skin, which causes them to rip instead of expand while cooking. That's why they break down earlier in the cooking process if you salt at the beginning. Also, the faster the beans absorb water the more likely the skins are to tear, so a fast soak method (hot water or boiling water, then soak) also makes them more likely to break down while cooking as opposed to a slow, room temp soak.

[C. Hamster]

Salt toughening skin has been proven to be untrue by McGee among others.

[rworange]

I asked this a few weeks back ... and am too lazy too look it up ... but don't soak.

I've been basically ... bringing a pot of dry, unsoaked beans to a boil. Simmering about a 1/2 an hour ... draining ... this gets rid of the gassy stuff on the beans ... covering with water ... bringing to a boil again and then simmering (preferabbly slowly) until most of the liquid is absorbed.

[mschow]

I made red beans in the crockpot last week. I got delayed and ended up making the beans 2 days after I started soaking them. So, I ended up changing the water 3 times a day and starting the beans overnight in the crockpot. The beans were not gassy at all. I think the extra soaking did them good, and will probably do the same thing next time I make them.

[Valgas]

thanks everyone!

[CHEFBUCK]

You dont need to soak canned beans.

[laurendlewis]

Soaking --> Cooking
Canned beans --> already cooked

[Valgas]

Who asked about canned beans :D?

[CHEFBUCK]

I thought it would be a quicker idea for you. NO/LESS GAS PROBLEMS. Its a good thing.

[Valgas]

AH! I misinterpreted, sorry! Well i tried canned black beans but they always taste "off". I guess I need to try different brands. I will take all of your suggestions! thanks again :D!

[1stmakearoux]

In his wonderful cookbook, "Southern Cooking," Craig Claiborne's recipe for Red Beans & Rice starts with this: "Wash the beans carefully and discard the broken ones. Do not, in spite of the instructions, soak them. (The modern bean has been over-processed and needs no soaking)."

If it's good enough for Craig Claiborne, it's good enough for me! By the way, his Red Beans & Rice recipe is the best I've ever tasted!

If you feel you must soak the beans, try this. Place the beans in a pot, cover generously with water. Bring to a boil, then cover and turn off. Let them sit, covered, for an hour and you're ready to cook them.

[Valgas]

I only used that method once with Black beans. While the beans weren't as tender as I would have liked, all the color was there and looked really good.