Need help. I tried to reconstitute dried beans. I covered them with water and boiled for 3 min.

[rhett o rick]

Then put them in the refrigerator for overnight. They came out hard. I have been boiling them now for a couple of hours and they still havent softened up. What am I doing wrong, or do they get old?

[hlthe2b]

1. Most beans have to be pre-soaked--usually overnight. Kidney beans are actually toxic if you don't..

Then you have to cook for a pretty long time unless you use a pressure cooker. I fix pinto beans with ham soup in the crock pot and it takes 10 hours. If I used a pressure cooker (which I don't happen to own currently), I still think it would take 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

What kind of beans?

[rhett o rick]

3. They are navy beans. I did pre-soak overnight. How long is "pretty long"? Roughly? nm

[hlthe2b]

7. well, 8-10 hours in a crock pot on low... or...

probably 4-5 hours on the stove (but boy, you;d have to keep an eye on them) on medium-high long enough to bring to rousing boil and then turn down to medium, keeping an eye they don't boil over.

[digonswine]

6. I think they are only toxic if they are not cooked at all--

I did not think pre-soaking has much to with it.

[hlthe2b]

8. yes... uncooked or undercooked.

Phytohaemagglutinin, also called kidney bean lectin, kidney beans contain the highest toxin levels. Cooked beans also contain the toxin, but in much lower and harmless levels. Soaking and cooking the beans destroys enough of the toxin so that symptoms do not occur.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/409651-danger-of-raw-red-kidney-beans/#ixzz1nifrGCjH

(canned kidney beans are ok without further cooking).

[NEOhiodemocrat]

2. I have used some pretty old beans

What I do is put the dry beans in bowl on the counter overnight with a lot of water. In the morning the beans have soaked up much of the water and softened up. Then I cook them. Don't know if putting them in the frig would change the dynamics of the soaking. I have heard of the pre boil step, but I never used it. Hope you figure out the problem.

[rhett o rick]

4. How long did you cook them? nm

[NEOhiodemocrat]

16. I cook them from 4-6 hours at least after their overnight soak

I am genererally cooking dried Lima beans though

[Nay]

5. If you salted the water either time, they won't soften. NT

[maddezmom]

13. I've never salted them before hand but had no idea that would happen

Wonder why?

[yellerpup]

17. Beans that wouldn't cook

only happened to me once and that was because the beans were old. I knew they'd been in the back of the cabinet for a few years and didn't think it would make a difference. It does. Sorry you had to go to all that trouble an end up with inedible.

[surrealAmerican]

9. Why the refrigerator?

Refrigeration should not be necessary: your subsequent cooking will kill any germs.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. I do an overnight soak, then drain, more water and a 1 hour boil/simmer.

[Warpy]

12. That happens to me, but I live slightly over a mile up

and have found that putting unsoaked beans into the crock pot for 12-15 hours is the only way they ever get done unless I pressure cook them.

Some people say that salting them before cooking them makes them come out hard. I say fooey on that, not cooking them long enough makes them hard.

Just hang in there. They do get done eventually.

[noamnety]

14. I've had old beans not cook properly

They were admittedly several years old. I'm fine with cooking dried beans in general, it's not like I'm new to it. But I had one batch that I cooked for several days in a crockpot in an effort to soften them, then froze them because I heard that can help break the cells down, then recooked, and nope - still hard. Not hard like pebbles, but they weren't ever going to get soft.

[rhett o rick]

15. i think that was my problem. I cooked them for 4 hours and they arent bad. Still not the best

but it's time to eat. I made a soup with kale and beans. I am also serving a Greek Salad for the first time. Hard to find great Feta.

[HopeHoops]

18. 2 ways: 1) soak overnight (at least 15 hours); 2) quick soak (below)

Quick soak: Put in cold water. Bring to a boil, boil at full for about 5 minutes, cover, turn off the heat and leave at LEAST an hour. More is better.

Either way, you can still expect at least an hour of cooking time. Split peas and lentils don't require soaking.

[Retrograde]

19. How old are the beans? And what kind are they?

Even ones I know are fresh - like the ones I grew - take about an hour to cook after soaking for at least 8 hours. When I make a bean dish I usually start at least a day in advance. I haven't noticed salt making much of a difference: I don't generally salt them, but last week I made some using a stock that included leftovers from meat that had been brined and they took about an hour to cook after soaking, as usual. The only time I've had problems were with some scarlet runner beans of unknown vintage I found lurking in the back of a cupboard.

The good news: cooked beans freeze well, so you can make a big batch, go through the time-consuming parts once, and then defrost as needed.

[rhett o rick]

20. Thanks everyone for the help. The beans were edible but not the best. I believe the problem

was age of the beans and/or me.

[kestrel91316]

21. I soak at room temp. They aren't going to spoil (yes, I do have a degree in microbiology).

Soaking in a cold environment like the fridge is going to slow down the whole process.

And if the beans are really old it makes them nearly impossible to soften up. I have some pinto beans that are about 10 years old and they need many hours in the crockpot.

[rhett o rick]

22. Thanks for the tip. Will old dry beans ever soften? Even in a crock pot?

I boiled these beans (a couple of years old) for about 4 hours and they still werent soft.