How to cook dried beans

by Cookthink

Cooking dried beans is one of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen tasks. Canned beans are convenient but are usually loaded with salt, making home-cooked beans healthier. And while it's true that it takes longer to cook beans than to open a can, cooking beans requires only about 5 minutes of active time. You can soak beans overnight in cold water or soak them for an hour in boiling water if you're pressed for time. Legumes such as lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked at all before cooking, just quickly rinsed to clean off any dust. Otherwise, any bean that would ordinarily need to be soaked overnight can get the quick-soak treatment, including lima beans, chickpeas, black beans, white beans, red beans, pinto beans, cranberry beans, navy beans, kidney beans, fava beans, pigeon peas and mung beans. To cook beans, cover them with water and simmer slowly for about 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked. Adding cured pork or aromatics like bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley stems and vegetables such as carrots and onions to the cooking liquid adds flavor and character to a pot of beans.