All dried beans need to be soaked overnight before cooking. Ideally, pour off the soak water to get rid of the enzymes that cause wind. It's best to buy beans grown in the same year; then the cook time for all beans of this size should be around 30 minutes, depending on whether you like them mushy or firm. The older the beans are, the longer they take to cook. A pressure cooker can halve the time. The modern ones have automatic release valves which remove the risk of exploding, but do release the pressure at the end of cooking before removing the lid. The cook water is very nutritious and works well in soups and stews.
I did the soaking. I actually soaked them overnight and into the late afternoon. And, I rinsed them all after and got rid of the soak water, but I had no idea about wind, so I'm filing that little gem away for later, so I never skip it.
I don't know how old mine were. I bought them at the store yesterday, but that doesn't mean they were fresh. They must have been older then... otherwise they should have cooked in the time I gave them. :/
Pressure cookers scare me. :s lol I'll stick with my crock pot and stove.
:/ What a drag! Some shops have a low turnover, and then some sources may have warehoused the bulk stock for ages. Do you have "use by" dates on food in the US?
We do have use/best/sell by dates here. I checked the package after I saw your response and it said December 2018, but no idea what criteria they're using. It's possible they gave them three years or something.
LMAO Perhaps my favorite knight is rubbing off on me. ;)
"I could live eating only it." I suspect you'd also live alone, unless you use Hartfire's trick about getting rid of the water/ enzymes that cause wind. :p
I have never cooked black beans. We do great northern beans and pinto beans. I use the crock pot and let them cook all day long (8 hrs). Just a few hours will not do it. Gotta have cornbread with them.
This post was edited by my2cents at January 21, 2018 3:16 PM MST
OMG! I loved Hartfire's idea! Before I go any further, I'd like to say, I am a terrible cook. This little tidbit of the job I volunteered to help for wasn't really identified. It has become a HUGE part of it and sense have learned by trial and error. Please take this advice with a grain of salt. Phew, with that off my chest, here's what I do.
I use a rice cooker but it seems similar to a cock pot. I treat them just like rice. If the recipe calls for 3 cups beans, I use 6 cups water or fill it so the amount of water sitting on top of the uncooked beans is the same depth as the beans themselves. Does that make sense? Then, I set it to cook brown rice. I think that might be equivalent to a crock pot high. Leave them alone for at least 3 1/2 to 4 hours. They spit and make a mess in the rice cooker but hopefully your cock pot is deeper. Maybe it is an hour per cup of beans? I haven't thought of that until now, but it might work! Then, if there is any water left, drain. Taa-Daa. I hope it works. Good Luck!!
This post was edited by Merlin at January 21, 2018 7:23 AM MST
If you added tomatoes or salt that is the problem. Beans in general, but black beans in particular, will not get tender if salted and or the addition of anything acidic like tomatoes. You might get them to soften up in a pressure cooker. For best results when cooking on the stove or crock cook the beans until tender then add any seasonings that are salty or acidic. I quit trying to cook black beans years ago because they would not cook. People laughed at that claim. But, alas, I finally read about the salt. Another thing I learned at the same time was NOT to cook your beans in the water in which they were soaked. Otherwise, the beans will give the consumers gas. :)
:fill(FFCC00,1)/GettyImages-106491357-58b888ba3df78c353cbfa236.jpg)
Randy D 