To soak or not to soak is a major question when it comes to cooking beans.
After several tests in the Tribune test kitchen, we found that soaking dried beans makes for faster and more even cooking. Bean experts also advise soaking to allow some of the gas-causing substances to dissolve in the soaking water, making the beans easier to digest. Always discard the soaking water and cook the beans in fresh water.
If time is a problem, you also can use a quicker softening method. But in general, the shorter the soaking time, the longer the cooking time.
Before soaking, pick over beans to remove any stones, grit or bad beans.
– Overnight soaking: Rinse beans; place in a large bowl. Use about 10 cups of fresh, tepid water for every pound of beans. Let beans soak at room temperature 8 hours or overnight. Drain before cooking.
– Hot soak: Put rinsed beans into large saucepan; add 10 cups of water for every pound of beans. Heat to boil; boil 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let soak at least 4 hours. Some experts recommend adding up to 2 teaspoons salt during the hot-soaking method to help beans absorb water evenly.
– Quick soak: Same method as hot soak, but soaking time is only 1 hour.
