Well..............we all have different ways of doing the same thing and
that's interesting to hear, I'd rather just let the beans soak overnight and
get their act together while I'm asleep rather than mess around with boiling
pans of water and this and that! Still, might give it a go sometime.


"Jonathan Ball" > wrote in message
hlink.net...
> Lots of dried bean recipes specify an overnight soaking
> for the beans. You can shorten the total start-finish
> elapsed time by using the quick soaking method, which
> is anyway superior at removing the three indigestible
> sugars (raffinose, stachyose and verbascose) that cause
> flatulence, according to every good bean cookbook:
>
> 1. Bring enough water to cover the dried beans to
> 2-1/2 times the height of the beans to a boil;
> DO NOT SALT THE WATER.
>
> 2. Add the beans, and immediately remove from heat.
>
> 3. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.
>
> 4. Drain the beans, DISCARDING the soaking water.
>
> The beans are now ready for the subsequent preparation.
>
>
> As noted elsewhere, when cooking the beans, you want to
> delay the addition of acidic foods, usually tomato,
> until the beans are mostly cooked. You also want to
> delay adding salt. Both acid and salt prevent the
> beans from softening.
>