Thread: Soaking Beans
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aem
 
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A.C. wrote:
> Jill Delgado wrote:
>
> > Another trick is to NOT add salt to beans as they cook...it makes
> > them tough.

>
> i've been cooking beans for a long time and i've found this to be

completely
> untrue. salting beans while they cook seasons the beans throughout.

you
> can't get that taste into beans from salting afterwards. i've never

had any
> problem with toughness either.


Well, the bean folks at the site Sheldon posted disagree. They say
salting can make the skins impermeable, which retards the tenderizing
process. Perhaps if you salt them you have to cook them longer than if
you don't. Myself, I nearly always put a smoked ham hock in my pinto
beans, which is pretty salty already so I only add additional salt to
taste at the end. Sometimes they're ready in 90 minutes, sometimes in
150.

-aem