"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:42:46 +0000 (UTC),
> (Steve Pope) wrote:
>
>>
>> (1) The boil-briefy--drain--cook method, although popular, is
>> not a reliable way to cook beans. It might work, but you'll
>> have much more consistent results if you soak overnight, drain,
>> then cook the beans in fresh water.
>
> Which doesn't work if you decide you want beans for dinner and it's
> 2PM on the day you want them.
That and... I have read/heard a lot recently that if you soak the beans for
too long they will ferment and that will make the flavor off! When I used
to soak them overnight, it was literally overnight. I would put them to
soak before I went to bed and then I might not start cooking them until 2:00
or 3:00 the next afternoon. I have heard/read that the ideal soaking time
is 5 hours. That time frame doesn't necessarily always work for me. Can
sometimes but not always.
>>
>> (2) First checking beans after 45 minutes is too long. (If you're
>> at sea level.) Many common beans (ie. kidneys, pintos) cook within about
>> 35 to 45 minutes; some can cook in as little as 20 minutes
>> (garbanzos, lentils).
>
> *Now* you tell me. 
>
> It really does matter how fresh they are. I've cooked beans for hours
> before they were tender.
I know that lentils don't take long to cook. I don't think I have ever
cooked garbanzos from scratch but I do have some now so I will remember to
check them early.
What I really should have done was trusted my nose! But I didn't. At one
point, they smelled done to me. And I believe they were. But I was busy
doing something else and put it off. I can also tell with potatoes,
cookies, bread and often with cake simply by the way it smells. I screwed
up on that chicken too. I actually had a thought in my mind that it smelled
right to me but again I was busy and by the time I got into the kitchen, it
was slightly burned.