How to Prepare Dried Beans
with
Gretchen Siegchrist
Dried beans come in many more varieties than the canned ones, and they also taste a lot fresher. Learn how to prepare dried beans at home.
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Transcript: How to Prepare Dried Beans
Hi, I'm Gretchen Siegchrist for About.com Food, and today I am going to show you how to prepare dried beans. Dried beans come in many more varieties than the canned ones, and they taste a lot fresher.Prepare the Dried Beans
Begin by emptying the beans into a bowl. Sort through them to make sure there are no stones, debris, dirt or anything like that.Soak the Dried Beans Overnight
Next, we will rinse the beans and soak them. Soaking can take anywhere from one hour to over night. The long way, if you have a lot of time, is to place the beans in a pot and add at least 4 times as much water as the volume of beans. Set the beans aside for at least four hours or up to overnight, then they should be ready for cooking.Quicker Soaking Methods
There is also a quicker way to soak the beans if you have less time. Again, put the beans in a pot with at least four times as much water as the volume of beans. Put the pot on the stove, and bring the water to a boil.After the water boils, remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the beans stand for at least one hour. Now they are ready for cooking.
Cook the Beans
Once the beans have finished soaking, drain the water. To cook the beans, fill up the pot with plenty of fresh cold water. Put the pot on the stove, and let it boil over high heat for about ten minutes. Some kind of scummy stuff may appear on the surface of the water. This is nothing to worry about, and you can just skim that off.Prepare the Cooked Beans
After 10 minutes add whatever kind of flavoring you want to the beans: garlic, salt, pepper, herbs, spices, whatever you would like. Lower the heat to a simmer, and let the beans cook like that for about one hour.After the beans are done, they are ready to serve and enjoy. Thanks for watching, and to learn more visit up on the Web at food.about.com.