How to Soften Old Beans with Baking Soda - Rill's Specialty Foods (2024)
How Does Baking Soda Help Old Dried Beans?
Baking soda creates an alkaline environment which reduces soaking and cooking time and preserves the beans’ skin. As a result, the old bean’s color comes to life, keeping them vibrant instead of dull. Compared to the grainy texture offered by old beans, baking soda beans can yield a creamy and smooth texture.
Some critics of this method have dismissed using baking soda to soften old beans as they say it gives beans a “soapy” taste. In large amounts, this may be true, but a little baking soda goes a long way! When used correctly, the flavors of the beans really pop! They taste just as fresh as if you just brought them home from the farmer’s market!
Dried beans typically have a moisture content of around 16%. However, as they age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin. These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time! Baking soda can help significantly since itincreases the pH of the water, disintegrating that pectin and allowing beans to soften quicker. Baking soda also removes minerals from hard water, which can prevent beans from hydrating as quickly. We have found that baking soda can do its magic in the soakingANDcooking stages of the process.
We did several tests, but our favorite method was to use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per pound of old beans and to soak the beans for 4 hours. After the soaking stage, we rinsed the beans and added 1/4 teaspoon of fresh baking soda per cup of beans.
Baking Soda – This will actually help soften the beans as they cook so they are just the right (not crunchy, but not mushy) texture. Bacon – Adding a couple slices of bacon brings a nice smokey flavor and a little texture to this recipe. Onion – I use yellow onion though white onion would work great too.
Beans cooked with a tiny amount of baking soda (about one teaspoon per cup of dry beans) added to the cooking water cook in about half the time as beans cooked without.
Quick Soak: This is the fastest method. In a large pot, add 6 cups of water for each pound (2 cups) of dry beans. Heat to boiling; boil for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and soak for at least 1 hour.
Old beans will take longer to cook, and the oldest beans will stay tough and chewy no matter how long (within reason), they simmer. If you find yourself cooking soaked beans for more than two hours, and they just will not soften, it may be your beans...not you.
We did several tests, but our favorite method was to use 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per pound of old beans and to soak the beans for 4 hours. After the soaking stage, we rinsed the beans and added 1/4 teaspoon of fresh baking soda per cup of beans.
A: The results are mixed on whether adding baking soda, either to the soaking water or while cooking beans, will help. Some people notice a small improvement; other notice no change. Soaking beans in plain water and then changing the water before cooking is just as likely to help.
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