Boiling Beans

[Valiant]

So boiling beans, do you still have to do this if you buy tinned stuff in water/brine?


Or is it just for dried red/black beans? Why do we do this? I was just told never to do it as a kid.


Is there anything else we should be boiling? What about dried green beans or butter beans?

[ian]

Canned beans are precooked. Dried beans aren't (so need cooking). I can't eat either because they make me toot like a out-of-control locomotive. Which is a shame as I really like beans. They, alas, don't like me.

[SteveC]

The cans are fine as they will already have been boiled (as ian says).
Dried beans which originate in the Americas (so most of the kidney beans of whatever colour) do contain a poison which is destroyed by boiling.
I have very rarely made myself ill through bad cooking.
I once didn't cook some kidney beans properly. I will never never repeat that mistake again. Incredible pain in my stomach and 24 hours in bed. I believe I was lucky; it can be far worse.
I now always use a pressure cooker for that sort of beans.

[ian]

Beans contain two sorts of toxins: phytohaemagglutinins and cynogenic glycosides.

The former are allied with lectins (like ricin, which comes from castor beans, that said castor beans aren't actually beans but PHAs are the same class of chemicals). They mostly cause intense intestinal discomfort and an affinity for the toilet. These are present in most beans (especially kidney and lima – and also one of the reasons most soya is fermented).

The latter, as the name suggests, produce cyanide.

Boiling (for 10 minutes or so) gets rid of them (and you generally need to boil beans for far longer than this), and most bean cultivars have been bred for low glycoside and PHA levels. That said, it's a bad idea  to eat beans raw, and even broad beans should ideally be quickly cooked if you plan to consume in quantity.

I just, like many people, struggle to digest them in any format.

[sojournermike]

Practical advice - boil dried beans for 10 minutes hard and then finish cooking at a more gentle boil/simmer. They take a lot more than 10 minutes to cook. Don't forget to presoak overnight/24hours - or bring to boil and soak for 2 hours min.

Mike

[mrcharly-YHT]

Fast boiling and skimming off the foam can really really help.

[ian]

Oddly, I can eat baked beans with minimal trouble, but I eat cassoulet and you have 30 minutes to reach minimum safe distance. I've never understood that.

Dhal won't just kill me, but much of the population of the country I'm in.

My fundamental intolerance for beans was one of the reasons I threw in the towel after being a veggie for several years. There was a breath of relief from everyone who knows me. Either that or they'd been holding their breath for all that time.

[fuaran]

Practical advice - boil dried beans for 10 minutes hard and then finish cooking at a more gentle boil/simmer. They take a lot more than 10 minutes to cook. Don't forget to presoak overnight/24hours - or bring to boil and soak for 2 hours min.

Plus make sure you rinse them thoroughly before / after soaking. That can help to make them more easily digestable.

[hellymedic]

As others have said, dried beans are best soaked overnight, boiled fast for at least 10 minutes, then simmered to DETH.

It's almost impossible to boil beans for too long (but make sure the water is topped up).

Jewish cholent is kept hot simmering for up to 24 hours and the beans are still not mush.

I have never had a pressure cooker but I understand they can be useful for beans.

My beans are usually boiled for 3 hours and are still firm. I am only 60 metres above sea level so the water boils fairly hot...

[Gattopardo]

The cans are fine as they will already have been boiled (as ian says).
Dried beans which originate in the Americas (so most of the kidney beans of whatever colour) do contain a poison which is destroyed by boiling.
I have very rarely made myself ill through bad cooking.
I once didn't cook some kidney beans properly. I will never never repeat that mistake again. Incredible pain in my stomach and 24 hours in bed. I believe I was lucky; it can be far worse.
I now always use a pressure cooker for that sort of beans.

I ate some beans, whilst shelling them, and that was a biggggggg mistake.

[Valiant]

Why what happens?

[hellymedic]

Severe tummy pain, cramp, with or without vomiting and bowel disturbance.
ILL in the belly.

Boil beans FAST for at least 10 minutes or use a pressure cooker.

Don't use a slow cooker for beans until they've had a good, fierce BOIL.

[Mr Larrington]

Don't bother boiling broad beans, just chuck the foul things straight in the bin and buy something less nauseating next time, such as marmite-and-anchovy paste with extra capers, or an Audi Q7.  Broad beans are the turds of the Imps of Stan.  Trufax.

[Valiant]

I like broad beans.

[tiermat]

AS other have said, boil HARD for 10 mins.

If you forget to soak over night I find that doing the 10 minute boil, change the water then bring back to the boil then switch off the heat and leave for 2 hours nicely does the same thing.  They will, then, still need the boiling to cook them, but no need to not make the dish you are after just because you forgot to soak the beans last night.

Broad beans are lovely, take a big bag of them, shell them and remove the skin ( a bit fiddly, but made easier of you make a little slit in the skin then push the kernel out through the slit).  Fry some Chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil, until the red coloured fat starts running, then throw in the beans and cook.  If the beans look like they are going to burn before being cooked (10 mins or so), throw in a little bit of water.  When nearly done throw in a half sherry glass of Fino, allow it to bubble to burn off the alcohol and server with warm crusty toast.

[Gattopardo]

Why what happens?

Severe tummy pain, cramp, with or without vomiting and bowel disturbance.
ILL in the belly.

Dehydration too.

Helly gives the politest answer.

[Gattopardo]

Broad beans are lovely, take a big bag of them, shell them and remove the skin ( a bit fiddly, but made easier of you make a little slit in the skin then push the kernel out through the slit).  Fry some Chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil, until the red coloured fat starts running, then throw in the beans and cook.  If the beans look like they are going to burn before being cooked (10 mins or so), throw in a little bit of water.  When nearly done throw in a half sherry glass of Fino, allow it to bubble to burn off the alcohol and server with warm crusty toast.

Sounds lovely, can I have an invite next time you are making this...I'll shell the beans

[mrcharly-YHT]

Broad beans are lovely, take a big bag of them, shell them and remove the skin ( a bit fiddly, but made easier of you make a little slit in the skin then push the kernel out through the slit).  Fry some Chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil, until the red coloured fat starts running, then throw in the beans and cook.  If the beans look like they are going to burn before being cooked (10 mins or so), throw in a little bit of water.  When nearly done throw in a half sherry glass of Fino, allow it to bubble to burn off the alcohol and server with warm crusty toast.

Sounds lovely, can I have an invite next time you are making this...I'll shell the beans

A Tiermat BBQ is a glorious event, it must be said.

[rafletcher]

Broad beans are lovely, take a big bag of them, shell them and remove the skin ( a bit fiddly, but made easier of you make a little slit in the skin then push the kernel out through the slit).  Fry some Chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil, until the red coloured fat starts running, then throw in the beans and cook.  If the beans look like they are going to burn before being cooked (10 mins or so), throw in a little bit of water.  When nearly done throw in a half sherry glass of Fino, allow it to bubble to burn off the alcohol and server with warm crusty toast.

Or (as I had in Barcelona once) shell and skin the smaller-than-little-finger-nail-sized broad beans and cook very little, then add 3mm cubes of jamon, and mix with a very green olive oil. Bliss on a plate.

Personally I used bigger beans and substitute pancetta for the chorizo in Tiermats recipe. Plus a bit of finely chopped garlic.

[ian]

Broad beans fortunately don't generate the intestinal symphony that their brothers do inside me, and personally I'd rather wait for the promised jet-packs of the future rather than provide my own vertical propulsion. They're fiddlesome to prepare but worth the effort, especially when you've grown them yourself. Reminds me that I need to get some garden supplies.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Don't bother boiling broad beans, just chuck the foul things straight in the bin and buy something less nauseating next time, such as marmite-and-anchovy paste with extra capers, or an Audi Q7.  Broad beans are the turds of the Imps of Stan.  Trufax.

Quoted for truth.

[Rhys W]

The herb Epazote is used in cooking Pinto beans in Mexico, as it reduces the trouser-trumpets. I used it a few years ago, must try and find somewhere that sells it again.

[Gattopardo]

Broad beans are lovely, take a big bag of them, shell them and remove the skin ( a bit fiddly, but made easier of you make a little slit in the skin then push the kernel out through the slit).  Fry some Chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil, until the red coloured fat starts running, then throw in the beans and cook.  If the beans look like they are going to burn before being cooked (10 mins or so), throw in a little bit of water.  When nearly done throw in a half sherry glass of Fino, allow it to bubble to burn off the alcohol and server with warm crusty toast.

Or (as I had in Barcelona once) shell and skin the smaller-than-little-finger-nail-sized broad beans and cook very little, then add 3mm cubes of jamon, and mix with a very green olive oil. Bliss on a plate.

Personally I used bigger beans and substitute pancetta for the chorizo in Tiermats recipe. Plus a bit of finely chopped garlic.

To impartial, I will eat both and come to a decision which is best...so awaiting invite.