Beans are a very healthy, inexpensive and filling food to use for family dinners. To have the best success with beans in your cooking, follow some of these helpful tips.

The traditional way to prepare dry beans for cooking is to put three cups of cold water for every cup of dry beans in a big pot. You should soak the beans for eight hours, or you can store them in the fridge overnight. Then the next day, drain the beans and rinse them off. Rinsing them and changing the water is important because this gets rid of much of the residue that can lead to flatulence. After you have drained and rinsed the beans, they are all ready to use for cooking. Also, remember that if you soak your beans overnight, they are going to keep their shape better and have a more uniform texture than when you soak the beans faster (see below).

If you do not have as much time to soak your beans, you can add three cups of cold water for every 1 cup of dry beans. Boil the water in your pot and cook them for about 2-3 minutes. Put a lid on the pot and let it stand on your stove for an hour. The beans are ready for cooking.

If you do not even have time to presoak your beans using the previous method, you also can use prepared beans. There are many dry beans today that can be purchased in cans and jars. They are precooked and are ready to use. All you need to do is to drain the can or jar and rinse the beans and add them to your dish. Also, keep in mind that beans freeze quite well. You can prepare a 2 or 3x supply of dry beans when you have some spare time. All you need to do is to freeze the beans in the proportions that you will need.

Another way to prepare dry beans is to use a crock pot. First, put your beans in boiling water and simmer them for about 10 minutes. Put the beans in your crock pot and put in three cups of water for every cup of beans. Cook them on low for about 10 hours. You also can consult the specific instructions for your crock pot. The advantage of this technique is that it will replace the soaking and early cooking steps you usually need to do with beans.

In a pinch, you even can prepare dry beans in your microwave. You will first need to wash and soak them as you normally do. Then you put your beans and eight cups of water into a casserole dish that will hold at least five quarts. Next, microwave the beans at maximum power for 10 minutes or until they are boiling. Cover them with the lid and let them stand for an hour. You will need to stir them a few times and add very hot water to keep the beans covered. Cook them at maximum power for another 10 minutes or until they are boiling. Then you should cook them at about 1/2 power for another 15 minutes.

Some additional tips for cooking with beans:

– You can reduce foaming problems by using a tablespoon of butter or oil.

– You should simmer the beans gently so that you do not end up with bursting skins.

– If you have hard water, try to soak and cook longer if possible.

– To keep your beans tender, try to add salt after you have cooked them.

– To make them spicier, add onion, thyme, garlic or parsley while cooking.

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Category: Cooking
Keywords: cooking, recipes, potatoes, cooking potatoes, slow cookers, blenders, kitchen appliances