How to properly soak beans before cooking and why is this necessary?

The wrong cooking method can ruin any product. We suggest you learn how to soak beans correctly in order to extract the maximum benefit from them for the body.

Why soak beans before cooking?

Many housewives soak beans to make them cook faster. So, red must be cooked for at least 4 hours. And if you prepare it in advance, the time will be reduced by 3 times. But there are other reasons why soaking legumes is beneficial.

• Improved taste

If the seeds are not pre-soaked, the shell will not cook completely and will be slightly bitter. The density will be uneven: some grains will remain solid, while others will turn into puree. But after cooking, soaked beans become soft, tender and aromatic.

• Prevention of gas formation

Many people didn't like pea or bean soup as children because of the known side effects. The reason is that legumes contain oligosaccharides. The human body is not able to completely break down and absorb them. As a result, undigested oligosaccharides enter the intestines, where they begin to ferment.

Legumes are soaked to break down these substances. Then after eating bean soup you will feel lightness and not rumbling in your stomach.

• Preservation of vitamins

Beans are rich in vitamins B1, B4, B5, B6, PP, and folic acid. However, with prolonged heat treatment, the beneficial substances decompose.Since the soaked seeds are cooked for less than an hour, some of the vitamins can be preserved.

• Neutralization of harmful substances

They are also called antinutrients. Beans contain phytic acid. This substance protects the beans from sprouting. But when it enters the body, phytic acid binds molecules of zinc, iron, copper, silicon and other trace elements. It turns out that when eating unprepared beans, minerals pass through the stomach and intestines in transit. In essence, you are eating an “empty” product.

Beans also contain lectin, which damages the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and provokes inflammatory processes. The risk of colitis, Crohn's disease, leaky gut syndrome and other digestive problems increases. Soaking partially deactivates the lectin.

• Increased digestibility

Legume seeds contain digestive enzyme inhibitors. They prevent the body from properly digesting proteins, so the pancreas works twice as hard. If you soak the beans before cooking, nothing will interfere with the digestive enzymes, which means the dish will be better digested.

How to properly soak beans?

What water should I soak the seeds in? Clean, boiled, filtered, room temperature.

There are two methods: cold and hot. The first allows you to preserve maximum vitamins in the dish, and the second saves time.

Cold way

To properly soak beans, you need to follow these steps:

1. Sort out the seeds. Throw away dry and wrinkled beans, as even after cooking they will not taste good.
2. Rinse under running water.
3. Place into a large saucepan. Please note that after soaking, beans increase in volume by 1.5–2 times.
4. Pour cold or hot water over the beans (in the second case, the soaking time will be slightly reduced). For 1 cup of seeds, a minimum of 3 cups of liquid is required.

The optimal soaking time is 8-10 hours. You can leave the beans overnight. If you soak them during the day, change the water every 3 hours.

If you add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the pan, the soaking time will be reduced to 6-7 hours.

Before cooking, the liquid must be drained to get rid of harmful substances. Then rinse the seeds again under running water.

Do not leave the beans to soak for longer than 12 hours. The seeds may ferment and become unfit for consumption. If your apartment is hot, put the soaked beans in the refrigerator.

Hot way

This soaking improves the taste and allows you to cook the beans quickly. The procedure is as follows:

1. Pour hot water over the seeds until it completely covers them.
2. Place the container on the fire and bring the liquid to a boil.
3. Boil for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, cover and leave for 1 hour.

The beans are now ready for cooking. However, antinutrients and digestive enzyme inhibitors remain in the seeds.

How long should you soak beans for soup?

To prepare bean soup, the standard soaking time is enough - 8-10 hours. It is better to use the cold method. You can reduce the time to 6 hours, then the beans will be denser after cooking.

First, the beans are cooked separately for 30–40 minutes. Then add to the soup and cook for another 15–20 minutes.

Rules and optimal cooking time for soaked beans

How long to cook soaked beans? It depends on the variety, the size of the seeds and the dish you want to cook.

If you plan to use medium-sized white beans as a side dish or add them to a vegetable salad, cook them for 45–50 minutes. And the red one needs to be kept on the stove for 60–90 minutes. To prepare the soup, the time can be reduced slightly.

Observe the following rules:

• Immediately before cooking, rinse the beans twice under running water.
• The ratio of seeds and water is 1:3 or 1:4.
• After boiling, drain the liquid, add new liquid and reduce the heat.
• Do not stir the beans while cooking and do not cover the pan with a lid.
• To reduce foaming, add 1 tablespoon of sunflower oil to the water.
• Make sure that the water does not boil away. The liquid should always cover the seeds. Add hot boiled water as needed.
• Salt the dish, add lemon juice and spices only at the end of cooking. Otherwise the beans will turn out tough.

How to check if the seeds still need to be cooked? Remove 3 beans from the pan and taste. If any of them are hard, wait another 5-7 minutes and check again.

Vegetable soup with beans recipe

One of the healthiest legume dishes is bean soup. To prepare it you will need the following products:

• soaked beans – 500 grams;
• potatoes – 3 pieces;
• rice - 0.25 cups;
• carrot – 1 piece;
• flour – 1 tablespoon;
• vegetable oil - for frying;
• salt and spices;
• greenery.

Soak the rice for 3-4 hours, then rinse. Boil the prepared beans for 40 minutes. Cut the potatoes into cubes and grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Fill all ingredients, except carrots, with one and a half liters of water and place on the stove. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat.

Sprinkle the carrots with flour and lightly fry in vegetable oil.Add roast, spices and salt to the soup. Turn the heat to low and wait another 10 minutes. Finely chop the greens, place in the pan and cook the soup for another 3 minutes.

Video below - learn about the two ways to soak beans and how they differ from each other.

Soaking beans is a simple procedure that will require minimal effort from you, but will make the dish as nutritious and easy to digest as possible. Use the cold method whenever possible. Cook the beans following the rules described in the article. Then the finished dish will delight you with its softness and rich taste.