ALL THINGS BEANS

Dried Beans, Peas and Lentils – also called Legumes
Useful Information
Eva Seegmiller, Troy Ward 2023

Good Reasons to Store and Use Legumes
Legumes are a valuable food source for several reasons. They are high quality protein.
When eaten alone legumes are not a complete protein, but easily become a complete protein
when combined with other foods that supply the essential amino acids that legumes lack. “All
legumes, when served with a grain, (think corn, rice, wheat etc.) contain all the essential amino
acids and are recommended as protein choices, especially for vegetarians or vegans.” nih.gov.
The addition of dairy or meat to legumes does the same thing, making legumes a complete
protein. Think refried beans with cheese or chili with ground beef.
Legumes are high in nutritional value. They provide fiber, protein, carbohydrate, B
vitamins, iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and phosphorous and folic acid. This is not
a complete list. They are, without a doubt, valuable as far as nutrition is concerned. Legumes are
naturally low in fat. While legumes are a staple in many countries in the world, consumption in
the US remains low. For better general health, including heart health and diabetic prevention or
management etc., eating legumes more often is an excellent suggestion.
Another plus for legumes is they last a long time when stored in good conditions. The
Home Storage Center states they will last 30 years. Good storage conditions include airtight
containers, such as #10 cans from the Home Storage Center or plastic buckets meant for food
storage that have lids with gaskets, making them airtight when closed. Good conditions also
include storing them in as cool a place as possible. A cool basement is good. If that is not
available, storing foods in the northeast corner of a building is recommended since it avoids the
heat of the southern and western afternoon sunshine. Temperatures at which foods are stored
make a very big difference in how long they last – the cooler the better.
For decades, members of the church have been encouraged to work on preparedness, both
spiritually and temporally, so that in times of need and stress they can continue on with minimal
difficulty. Seeing the trouble and distress people were in following the Great Depression in the
1930’s, the church began encouraging members to become more self-reliant and better prepared
to face reverses in the future. Having members store basic foods in their own homes was part of
that plan. The recent pandemic was a reminder of the need to think and plan ahead. That was the
first time in my life of 70 years that I saw empty food shelves in the grocery store – something to
remember and think about. The counsel from the leaders of the church to become more selfreliant remains in full force today.

Cooking Legumes
Dried legumes take longer to cook than many foods. Presoaking legumes helps shorten
cooking times. Lentils are the exception since they cook in about 25 minutes with no soaking.
Presoaking legumes before cooking is not mandatory, but it is a good idea and does shorten
cooking times. Before soaking, clean the beans well and wash and rinse several times in clean
water. There are two common methods for soaking beans.
The first method is to soak the beans overnight in water that covers them by several
inches. They will slowly hydrate as they soak. They will be somewhat plumped after soaking for
roughly 8-12 hours. Discard soak water, add clean water and slowly simmer until beans are soft.
The second method is a shorter soak or quick soak method. After cleaning the beans, put
them into a pan with plenty of water and bring the water to a boil and boil for two minutes. After
boiling for two minutes, turn the heat off and let the beans sit in the hot water for an hour. After
that hour turn the heat back on and simmer the beans slowly until soft. (Other methods are
mentioned on pages 4 and 6.)

Other Cooking Tips
Simmer slowly while cooking legumes. Boiling rapidly boil causes the legume to come
apart and lose skins etc. They retain a better shape when simmered.
For decades most sources said to add salt only at the end of the cooking time when the
beans are already soft. The theory was adding salt at the beginning of cooking time prolonged
the softening of beans. In light of new research, this appears untrue. (See page 6)
Add tomato products and other acids such as vinegar, fruit juices etc. after the beans are
soft because acids do prolong cooking time.
Depending on the type of bean and age of the bean, it can take up to a couple of hours of
simmering after soaking to fully cook. Older beans take longer.
Beans can be cooked in a pressure cooker to speed up cooking time. Follow the directions
that came with the pressure cooker for cooking beans.
Be sure to use plenty of water. Dried beans soak up a lot of water while cooking. Check
occasionally while beans cook and add water as needed. Beans should be covered with several
inches of water. (Ever smelled burnt beans? Really bad)
If desired, add a little butter or oil to keep the beans from foaming too much.

Legumes freeze well.

Since cooking beans is a rather slow process, I like to cook
a larger batch and then freeze some for later. One of my favorite things to do is cook a large
batch of pinto beans and freeze them in quart size freeze bags to use later to make refried beans
to eat with Mexican foods. I also like to add some of the rich bean juice to the bag that the beans
cooked in for the liquid when frying the beans. It seems to be a little nicer than plain water.
When I want to make refried beans, I place the bag of frozen beans in a sink of warm water.
They thaw out quickly. This same method works well for other soups and beans.
Beans alone are somewhat bland tasting. The addition of vegetables, the basics being
onions, celery and carrots, add a lot of good flavor. While I prefer to use fresh vegetables, I also
like to keep dried onions and dried carrots on hand if I don’t have fresh ones. These are both
available at the Home Storage Center. For a celery substitute, I keep celery seed on hand. This
can be found in spice sections of grocery stores. Fresh garlic is also good as well as other forms
of garlic such as dried, granules, salt or powder. Various spices are also flavor boosters. In
addition, meats add good flavor, such as bacon, ham or even a little bacon grease. A small
amount of smoke flavoring is good in some soups.

Digestive Issues
With all the plusses associated with legumes, there are some negatives. Digestive issues
can be a problem. Individual tolerance to digestive issues varies greatly from person to person.
Also know that different kinds of legumes can affect people differently. Learn to avoid
ones that are problematic for you.
Simply put, the problem comes with the complex carbohydrates involved. Some of these
sugars are slow to break down and are digested lower in the digestive tract and cause gas.
Following are some suggestions that may help:
Eat smaller amounts of beans more often. Studies show that people who do this over time
become more able to eat beans with less digestive problems. It’s a fact that people who eat beans
the most have the least problem with them. This seems to be a true help.

Some suggest that cooking beans in a pressure cooker also helps. Whether this is true, I
do not know but it might be worth a try. Many think it does help.
A number of sources recommend soaking beans overnight and discarding the rinse water.
Those who promote this idea say some of the complex sugars are dissolved in the soak water.
Some even suggest changing the water a time or two, then discarding it. My pressure cooker
cookbook says NEVER cook beans in the soak water for that reason. Always discard it, then
continue cooking with fresh water. And that idea is in agreement with the recommendations of
the USDA. An article on line at unl.edu Unversity of Nebraska – Lincoln) among others,
suggests a third method of soaking beans before cooking. It states:

“Hot Soak, In a large pot, add 10 cups water for each pound (2 ½ cups) of dry beans.
Heat to boiling:boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and soak for up to 4 hours.
Hot soaking is the preferred method since it reduces cooking time, helps dissolve some
of the gas-causing substances in beans and most consistently produces tender beans.” It
concludes the rinse water needs to be discarded. Add clean, fresh water to continue
cooking.
Most sources seem to agree, the soak water needs to be discarded to get rid of the
dissolved sugars. Although is some cases, cooking in the soak water seems to get better results.
Experiment to discover which you prefer.

A helpful hint for sure is simply, don’t overeat. That alone helps with any possible
digestive difficulties.
Giving New Life to Old Beans
“Giving New Life to Old Beans” was a title that caught my eye on the church website
several years ago. In the past, I had not saved old beans that wouldn’t become tender after
several hours of soaking then cooking. Was there really a way to use them? I was skeptical but
decided to try it. It worked! In fact, when I tried it the first time, it worked way too well,
reducing my split peas, and pinto beans (cooked separately) into piles of nothing but mush in not
much time. I quickly concluded that I didn’t need that much baking soda for my age of beans.
Following is the quote:
“From the Relief Society General Board on the church website, 2020
Should you throw out those dry beans that have hardened over the years in storage? No!
To salvage old beans, wash and sort them, removing any discolored beans or foreign
material. To each cup of dry beans, add two and one-half cups of hot tap water and two
teaspoons of baking soda. Soak the beans overnight. The next day drain them and rinse
twice. Put them in a large pot, cover them with water, and cook them until they become
tender – about 2 hours. Add water as needed.”
Depending on the variety of bean and age of the bean, the amount of baking soda needs
to be varied. Two teaspoons was far too much for mine.
Dr. Guy Crosby, editor for America’s Test Kitchen, and professor in the Department of
Nutrition in the Harvard School of Public Health, recommends adding salt to the soak water. He
explains brining the beans in salt water, does a few things. While soaking, the sodium (salt)
reacts with calcium and magnesium ions that are part of the pectin molecule which is the
covering on beans. The skins become more flexible as the sodium reacts with the calcium and
magnesium, weakening the pectin, so the beans retain their shape better without bursting while
cooking. The beans are also better able to absorb water and cook faster.

Another suggestion from Dr. Crosby is to cook the beans, after brining, with the addition
of baking soda. It doesn’t take much, some say a pinch and others a bit more. I don’t find exact
amounts listed. He says this will shorten cooking time by one half. This varies somewhat from
the church suggestion as they use baking soda to the soak water and he suggests brining in salt
water and cooking in baking soda water. Either method should help.
Clearly there are many opinions dealing with using and cooking beans. There are enough
factors involved that each person needs to experiment and see what works best for them. People
are different, bean varieties vary, ages of beans vary, theories vary so it becomes a case of seeing
what works best for you. Some time and effort are required – but worth it!
Last of all – here’s a delicious recipe!
Navy Bean Soup
This is a recipe comes from a Taste of Home magazine 2003
It was a recipe requested from a restaurant; it’s very good.
1 lb. navy beans (2 1/3 cups) OR great northern beans (2 ½ cups)
Boil for 2 minutes in plenty of water. Turn off heat and let sit one hour. Drain off and discard water.
In large saucepan, combine the following and simmer covered for one hour.
2 quarts chicken broth
Beans
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (or less dried)
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon pepper
Add the following and simmer covered for ½ hour or until all is tender.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
Stir in:
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.
Discard bay leaves and serve.
See the update on the following page

Update
While studying about legumes I purchased a book from “America’s Test Kitchen.” It just
arrived! It clears up nicely some of the things we discussed in our RS meeting.
The first is about soaking beans before cooking to shorten cooking time. The chapter that
discusses this issue is titled “Don’t Soak Beans – Brine ‘em” meaning soak beans in salt water
not plain water. The sodium (salt) ions replace calcium and magnesium ions, weakening the
pectin which is the bean covering. The skin becomes more flexible so the skins don’t burst when
cooking. It also helps produce creamy beans when cooked rather than starchy ones. Another plus
to brining beans is it takes care of the hard water problem. Hard water prolongs the cooking time
of beans but the sodium works to break down the calcium and magnesium so there is no need to
use distilled water.
The brine solution recommend is as follows for one pound of beans (2 ½ cups)
4 quarts cold water with 3 tablespoons table salt
It is recommended to soak beans in this brine for 8-24 hours at room temperature.
Discard brine and rinse beans. Add 10 cups of fresh water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Simmer gently
until beans are soft. Add water as needed. The addition of salt to the cooking water continues the
above process for good results.
The baking soda issue is discussed in the next chapter. It is titled “Baking Soda makes
Bean and Grains Soft.”
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. The advantage to cooking beans with some baking
soda is that it creates an alkaline environment which speeds up the whole process of breaking
down the pectin allowing water to be absorbed at a much faster rate. Incidentally, it also helps
set the color in black beans. Use baking soda sparingly. Too much causes beans to taste bitter
and soapy. The recommendation for cooking one pound of beans is “just a pinch.”
There is some flexibility in how to use baking soda. There are recipes in America’s Test
Kitchen book that use it for a 20 minute simmering precook soak, then rinse and drain. Other
recipes say add it only to the cooking water. (just a pinch) Clearly this calls for experimentation
as there are no hard and fast rules.
Possibly a good method would be to brine the beans, then drain and rinse the beans and
add a pinch of baking soda to the fresh cooking water. If adding baking soda to the cooking
water, don’t add salt as well; it’s two different methods. Good luck!