[canadacatman]

I was wondering if to make homemade beans do you just soak them in plain water over night then drain and cook til tender.

Does anything go in the water overnight with them or the water when you cook them.

Thanks

[LockItUp]

I usually just follow the directions on the bag. But I believe you soak over night in plain water. Then rinse them well. I think you bring to a boil (not positive, bad memory), then simmer for a couple of hours until tender to your liking. I can't remember off hand what the water to bean ratio is, but I think maybe twice as much water as beans. You can certainly season the cooking water, I do!

[gardenerjoy]

No reason to season the soaking water -- you're going to rinse that off anyway. That's what gets rid of some of the things that cause gas.

I've heard a little seaweed in the cooking water can also help with gas, but I didn't notice it made much difference.

If you're going to use salt as a seasoning, don't put it in until the very end. It can toughen the beans if cooked with them for too long.

[canadacatman]

Thanks for the help..

Thanks

[mnemosyne]

No reason to season the soaking water -- you're going to rinse that off anyway. That's what gets rid of some of the things that cause gas.

I've heard a little seaweed in the cooking water can also help with gas, but I didn't notice it made much difference.

If you're going to use salt as a seasoning, don't put it in until the very end. It can toughen the beans if cooked with them for too long.

This is great advice, especially about the salt. I soak beans overnight, change the water, bring them to an initial boil, and then try to remember to change the water once again after the initial boil.

Seasoning at that point depends on personal conviction. Loads of folks would put in a ham hock or fat back (in the south, at least). I don't, but I do experiment with other things. I have a tea ball dedicated to suspending various herbs in cooked beans. I like using Tajin seasoning (sold in Mexico - a combination of hot pepper and dehydrated lime, probably available in speciality stores) when I am doing black beans, and would experiment with different combinations of things in other bean dishes, though much of the flavoring comes AFTER the whole soak-and-boil-til-tender thing.

If I am cooking lentils I always try to season them during the boiling process (obviously they don't need to soak): because flavor develops in layers.

A couple of recipes I really like for beans are Kemp's Black Beans from epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...k-Beans-238086

And this Hutterite bean soup:

http://beckyandthebeanstock.com/?p=28

Which could be lovely with ANY sort of white bean, I think. And would probably also work beautifully with chick peas. There, there's no flavoring directly in the water process. It comes after.

[geobuilder]

I just rinse beans, add water to cover beans about 1 or 2 inches, bring to boil for about 5 minutes, lower to simmer for about 2 hours adding hot water to keep beans covered. I add salt the last 1/2 hour.

[canadacatman]

Thanks for the recipes mnemosyne..