Hello all,

I have read conflicting advice on cooking dried beans in a slow cooker and
would like you opinions please.

Rose Elliot (all hail!) says that these can be cooked in a slow cooker, but
must be rapidly boiled (presumably after being soaked) for at least 10
minutes before you transfer them to your slow cooker.

The About.com home cooking site on the other hand says: just sling dried
beans plus water in your slow cooker on low and leave overnight.

Clearly the second method is the easier but is it safe? I mostly cook butter
beans, haricot beans and the like.

Thanks in advance,

Helen.

C-Beeby wrote:
<...>
> Rose Elliot (all hail!) says that these can be cooked in a slow cooker, but
> must be rapidly boiled (presumably after being soaked) for at least 10
> minutes before you transfer them to your slow cooker.

I never soak or boil beans before putting them in a slow cooker. It's the most
effortless method around.

> The About.com home cooking site on the other hand says: just sling dried
> beans plus water in your slow cooker on low and leave overnight.

Or, if you'll be around to mind the water level, cook them on high in about 3-4
hours. One of the dried bean marketing association websites (I can't recall
which one, and the one I *thought* it was is no longer available) had a page on
slow cooking which pointed out that starting out with cold water while slow
cooking mimics the soaking process anyway because the gradual rise in
temperature accomplishes the same thing. Soaking or boiling beforehand does seem
like redundancy.

> Clearly the second method is the easier but is it safe? I mostly cook butter
> beans, haricot beans and the like.

Over my lifetime, I've had slow cooked beans that have never been boiled or
soaked before cooking. I've also had beans that went into a pressure cooker
without any soaking or pre-boiling. I have lived to tell about it. So will you.

>>>>> "US" == usual suspect > writes:

US> Over my lifetime, I've had slow cooked beans that have never
US> been boiled or soaked before cooking. I've also had beans
US> that went into a pressure cooker without any soaking or
US> pre-boiling. I have lived to tell about it. So will you.

The question is, will his co-workers?

(snip)
> I don't know if it's safe (sorry).
>
> But I'll tell you my personal experience. This is only my
> personal experience. IIRC, I tried it three times then gave
> up: beans have never cooked satisfactorily in a slow cooker
> (crock pot) for me. I don't know why. They just never
> softened enough.
>
> I didn't want to keep wasting beans and electricity, so I
> quit trying.
>
> OTOH, I never have any trouble cooking beans in the pressure
> cooker. Lovely soft beans, and quickly too.
>
> Pat

I tried it once with canellini beans and the results were great, nice,
plump, soft but not mushy beans. My pressure cooker is a little
temperamental and it is very easy to over cook beans. Plus the electricity
over night here is about half price.

All I'm wondering is if you *have* to quick boil to remove nasty toxins or
windy effects.

Regards,

Helen.

wrote:
<...>
> I don't know if it's safe (sorry).

It is. They're just beans.

> But I'll tell you my personal experience. This is only my
> personal experience. IIRC, I tried it three times then gave
> up: beans have never cooked satisfactorily in a slow cooker
> (crock pot) for me. I don't know why. They just never
> softened enough.

How did you cook them? Just beans, cold water, salt? Did you add any acidic
ingredients to the crockpot? How long did you let them cook?

I've never had a problem with the crockpot. If anything, they can get too soft
if cooked on high -- which is fine for red beans or beans that will be refried,
but unacceptable if one wants to use beans in a salad or another dish.

<...>

wrote:


> OTOH, I never have any trouble cooking beans in the pressure
> cooker. Lovely soft beans, and quickly too.

Did you add any salt to them before cooking? Even in disguised form,
like broth powder or the like? For all legums, salt should be added only
after cooking.

C-Beeby wrote:
<...>
> All I'm wondering is if you *have* to quick boil to remove nasty toxins or
> windy effects.

No ma'am.


[[ moderator note:
this web page suggests otherwise - at least for red/kidney beans:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/back_to_ba...l#kidney_beans
--Gedge
]]

one of the helpful moderators wrote:
>> All I'm wondering is if you *have* to quick boil to remove nasty
>> toxins or
>> windy effects.
>
> No ma'am.
>
> [[ moderator note:
> this web page suggests otherwise - at least for red/kidney beans:
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/back_to_ba...l#kidney_beans
> --Gedge
> ]]

The thread is about dried beans in general. I've never pre-boiled kidney beans,
and I've been eating them my whole life. I think the concerns expressed about
"toxins" (phytohemagglutinin to be precise) are greatly exaggerated -- it's an
issue *only* if they're undercooked and eaten in large quantities. Most people
don't undercook beans, and even if they did, they wouldn't eat enough to suffer
any toxic effects (unless one considers the amount of gas likely to result from
eating too many undercooked beans a "toxic effect"). I certainly haven't read
news accounts of people dropping dead or getting sick from toxemia arising from
phytohemagglutinin. Let me know if you're aware of any such cases and I'll
become a scaremonger about it. :-)

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 10:32:01 GMT, Dr Engelbert Buxbaum
> took a very strange rock and inscribed
these words:

>For all legums, salt should be added only
>after cooking.

That's actually true of all vegetables and most cooked foods. I've
been cooking and baking without salt for many years (for health
reasons) and haven't had any technical problems. I don't even use a
salt substitute. One gets used to using other spices if more flavor is
needed.


--
Therese Shellabarger / The Roving Reporter - Civis Mundi
/ http://tlshell.cnc.net/

> > [[ moderator note:
> > this web page suggests otherwise - at least for red/kidney beans:
> > http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/back_to_ba...l#kidney_beans
> > --Gedge
> > ]]
>
> The thread is about dried beans in general. I've never pre-boiled kidney
beans,
> and I've been eating them my whole life. I think the concerns expressed
about
> "toxins" (phytohemagglutinin to be precise) are greatly exaggerated --
it's an
> issue *only* if they're undercooked and eaten in large quantities. Most
people
> don't undercook beans, and even if they did, they wouldn't eat enough to
suffer
> any toxic effects (unless one considers the amount of gas likely to result
from
> eating too many undercooked beans a "toxic effect"). I certainly haven't
read
> news accounts of people dropping dead or getting sick from toxemia arising
from
> phytohemagglutinin. Let me know if you're aware of any such cases and I'll
> become a scaremonger about it. :-)

Hmm... well, just as you said all along, I see no suggestion that other
beans can't be slow cooked. I think Rose Eliott may have been over-cautious
with that piece of advice. I shall certainly slow-cook all but red kidneys
from now on.

I must say the logic of *having* to boil red kidney beans escapes me,
boiling water can't be that much hotter than simmering water, can it? How
can 10 minutes or so of that little extra temperature be critical?

Still, unlike other types of beans they're very cheap to buy in tins round
these parts, so I can live without cooking them quite easily!

Thanks for your input,

Helen.

In >,
usual suspect > wrote:

*The thread is about dried beans in general. I've never pre-boiled kidney beans,
*and I've been eating them my whole life. I think the concerns expressed about
*"toxins" (phytohemagglutinin to be precise) are greatly exaggerated -- it's an
*issue *only* if they're undercooked and eaten in large quantities. Most people
*don't undercook beans, and even if they did, they wouldn't eat enough to suffer
*any toxic effects (unless one considers the amount of gas likely to result from
*eating too many undercooked beans a "toxic effect"). I certainly haven't read
*news accounts of people dropping dead or getting sick from toxemia arising from
*phytohemagglutinin. Let me know if you're aware of any such cases and I'll
*become a scaremonger about it. :-)

Pardon my butting in here without knowing the background or tenor of the
group. It so happens this subject came up in my life about a year ago when
I happened to slow cook some bean soup containing red kidney beans, and
then encountered dire warnings about having done so (this was after we'd
eaten the soup of course). I contacted my favorite aunt, a registered
dietitian with a masters degree in human nutrition from Cornell U. She
works in various institutional settings (mostly nursing homes) and she
told me she was familiar with the syndrome and had seen a couple of
incidents of poisoning (non fatal) during her career (she's about 50 yrs
old now).

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large

In >,
usual suspect > wrote:

*The thread is about dried beans in general. I've never pre-boiled kidney beans,
*and I've been eating them my whole life. I think the concerns expressed about
*"toxins" (phytohemagglutinin to be precise) are greatly exaggerated -- it's an
*issue *only* if they're undercooked and eaten in large quantities. Most people
*don't undercook beans, and even if they did, they wouldn't eat enough to suffer
*any toxic effects (unless one considers the amount of gas likely to result from
*eating too many undercooked beans a "toxic effect"). I certainly haven't read
*news accounts of people dropping dead or getting sick from toxemia arising from
*phytohemagglutinin. Let me know if you're aware of any such cases and I'll
*become a scaremonger about it. :-)

Pardon my butting in here without knowing the background or tenor of the
group. It so happens this subject came up in my life about a year ago when
I happened to slow cook some bean soup containing red kidney beans, and
then encountered dire warnings about having done so (this was after we'd
eaten the soup of course). I contacted my favorite aunt, a registered
dietitian with a masters degree in human nutrition from Cornell U. She
works in various institutional settings (mostly nursing homes) and she
told me she was familiar with the syndrome and had seen a couple of
incidents of poisoning (non fatal) during her career (she's about 50 yrs
old now).

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large