I have better luck with beans in the pressure cooker. I dump in a pound of dried beans, about four cups of water and set it on the bean setting. They’re usually done to perfection in about fourteen minutes. I usually leave them pressurized for an hour or more just to be safe.
Love the cartoon -- fits so well with our distracted lives where seemingly random blurts happen out of context. On beans, check out Tamar Adler's wonderful book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace. It has been my "go to" for years, not just for cooking beans (and also minestrone), but as a reverie and intuitive, lovely approach to cooking. My favorite beans for cooking from dried are Great Northern. They are not only plump, but downright pillowy.
Even when I gave away nearly all of my cookbooks to a culinary program at the local state college, Adler's An Everlasting Meal was always in the "this one stays" stack. It's small and unassuming, with chapter titles like How to Teach an Egg to Fly, How to Light a Room, and How to Make Peace, and maybe my favorite, How to Have Your Day. Of course, you know this. It is wonderful, isn't it?
This won't be helpful, but I don't like beans and I know nothing about cooking them. So your cartoon by itself is not meaningful to me. But it could well be to other people with more adult tastes than I have. When you do a cartoon about Twinkies or Oreos, though, I'm all in.
Presenting the topic in the setting of this drawing is excellent.
Once (or a few times) we had as a guest a post-grad scholar from the Yucatán Peninsula visiting us. He showed us how he prepared black beans at "home." He claimed that the key was cooking them for a long time (hours) over low heat and stirring (when he pronounced it, it sounded like "steering") them frequently. Mayhaps the people in the cartoon should his follow his guidance.
Jul 31, 2023·edited Jul 31, 2023Liked by Liza Donnelly
You must try the brothy bean method by Alison Roman. She also is a big fan of a bean of the month club from Rancho Gordo that provides different dried beans to try as indicated. https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/brothy-beans-video ETA I have tried this method using some inexpensive pinto beans from Aldi and they were delicious.
I was going to give a shout out about the beans from rancho Gordo too, but you beat me to it! So many different beans and recipes and some are just so darn pretty!
Some professional cookbook authors claim you don't need to quick soak, or soak overnight. Soaking reduces the cooking time, I don't think it adds to plumpiness. Old beans take longer to get tender, nothing to do with pumping up either. Whenever I cook beans, I pre soak either by boiling for two minutes, then putting the lid on w/ no heat for an hour, or soak over night. I've never combined both methods as you seem to have done. I think I've seen notes about not salting until the beans are tender. Of course none of this goes directly to non plump beans, which I've never heard of.
I’ve cooked beans in most of the ways described below (except instant pot and pressure cooker), but never even considered that they should be plumped up! I love to soak them in beer. Despite my ignorance about to plump or not to plump, they end up tasting fine to me. My best advice to you: Don’t try so hard.
InstantPot is your friend.
I have better luck with beans in the pressure cooker. I dump in a pound of dried beans, about four cups of water and set it on the bean setting. They’re usually done to perfection in about fourteen minutes. I usually leave them pressurized for an hour or more just to be safe.
i think you’re supposed to soak them before you boil them.
Soak them overnight in the fridge. Also, simmer don’t boil.
Love the cartoon -- fits so well with our distracted lives where seemingly random blurts happen out of context. On beans, check out Tamar Adler's wonderful book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace. It has been my "go to" for years, not just for cooking beans (and also minestrone), but as a reverie and intuitive, lovely approach to cooking. My favorite beans for cooking from dried are Great Northern. They are not only plump, but downright pillowy.
What a wonderful book reference. Thank you. Looked up this book and saw that none other than the legendary Alice Waters wrote its Preface. Cheers.
One of my favorite books ever.
Even when I gave away nearly all of my cookbooks to a culinary program at the local state college, Adler's An Everlasting Meal was always in the "this one stays" stack. It's small and unassuming, with chapter titles like How to Teach an Egg to Fly, How to Light a Room, and How to Make Peace, and maybe my favorite, How to Have Your Day. Of course, you know this. It is wonderful, isn't it?
Try adding a little Sea Salt to your warm water and let them soak.
Canned beans are not bad if you use the low salt kind and rinse them 🫘 🙂
Lately I have failed miserably in my attempts. I’ve convinced myself these are a hybrid form unlike the ones I grew up soaking then simmering.
I stand by this like a soldier (kitchen version).
Soaking before simmering is important, in my experience.
Haha! We are soldiers.
Love the martini talk...bingo!
This won't be helpful, but I don't like beans and I know nothing about cooking them. So your cartoon by itself is not meaningful to me. But it could well be to other people with more adult tastes than I have. When you do a cartoon about Twinkies or Oreos, though, I'm all in.
Presenting the topic in the setting of this drawing is excellent.
Once (or a few times) we had as a guest a post-grad scholar from the Yucatán Peninsula visiting us. He showed us how he prepared black beans at "home." He claimed that the key was cooking them for a long time (hours) over low heat and stirring (when he pronounced it, it sounded like "steering") them frequently. Mayhaps the people in the cartoon should his follow his guidance.
Thank you!
You must try the brothy bean method by Alison Roman. She also is a big fan of a bean of the month club from Rancho Gordo that provides different dried beans to try as indicated. https://anewsletter.alisoneroman.com/p/brothy-beans-video ETA I have tried this method using some inexpensive pinto beans from Aldi and they were delicious.
I was going to give a shout out about the beans from rancho Gordo too, but you beat me to it! So many different beans and recipes and some are just so darn pretty!
Bean of the Month Club is sold out!
I saw! It isn't actually a monthly sub but a quarterly one and I hope you put your email on the wait list!
Some professional cookbook authors claim you don't need to quick soak, or soak overnight. Soaking reduces the cooking time, I don't think it adds to plumpiness. Old beans take longer to get tender, nothing to do with pumping up either. Whenever I cook beans, I pre soak either by boiling for two minutes, then putting the lid on w/ no heat for an hour, or soak over night. I've never combined both methods as you seem to have done. I think I've seen notes about not salting until the beans are tender. Of course none of this goes directly to non plump beans, which I've never heard of.
May I be presumptuous enough to to suggest adding a word? “My black beans never get even mildly plump.” Just a thought...
Soak before you boil
I’ve cooked beans in most of the ways described below (except instant pot and pressure cooker), but never even considered that they should be plumped up! I love to soak them in beer. Despite my ignorance about to plump or not to plump, they end up tasting fine to me. My best advice to you: Don’t try so hard.