I bought a pressure cooker! I admit I am a lazy individual that lives in a microwave world and I want my beans now!
Of course, you can buy Thrive's par boiled beans. They cook in about the time it takes to make rice with no pre-soaking needed. Just ready to go! However, I have TONS of dry beans!
So I determined to cook my dry beans. And as long as my life runs on schedule this works great. I even freeze extra beans so I can pull them out and use them whenever needed. Yet, there is nothing more delicious than warm freshly cooked beans. It's like eating homemade bread straight from the oven! So, bought a pressure cooker! And I love it!
I am a happy camper! I get fresh beans in minutes. My pressure cooker does all the thinking for me. I just tell it high pressure and for 10 minutes and TA DA....Beans!
Here's a chart to help you pressure cook your beans:
A pressure cooker provides one of the easiest and energy efficient ways to cook healthy beans. This tutorial take away the mystery.
Pressure cooking beans is fast and easy, but you MUST use oil when doing so. It keeps the beans from foaming up as well as keeping the skins from popping off and clogging up the vent tube. Remember not to fill cooker over 2/3 full.
Here is the basic recipe:
1 cup beans
4 cups water
1 tablespoon oil (unless otherwise noted)
Cook according to the chart below. Soaking for 8 hours will greatly reduce the cooking time. You can also "presoak" beans by putting them in the cooker with the amount of water above and bringing the cooker up to pressure. Turn off the cooker and let it sit for 1 hour. Then proceed by cooking the beans for the "presoak" time below.
I don't presoak beans, but you may need to. It depends on your tolerance for the after effects (musical fruit) afterwards.
Unsoaked beans take the longest. When the cooking time is up, quick-release the pressure cooker under cold water to avoid foaming or sputtering at the vent. If you do hear a sputtering sound, place the cooker in the sink and run cold water over the entire cooker to bring the pressure down quickly. Remove and clean the lid, vent, and rubber gasket. Lock the lid back in place and proceed with cooking.
Important: ALWAYS clean the lid and vent thoroughly after cooking beans! Be sure to check the vent tube to make sure no bean skins are stuck in it.
Note: Black Eyed Peas, Split Peas and Lentils do not need to be soaked or even presoaked. You can use them unsoaked and they cook very quickly.
| Beans (1 cup dry) | Soaked (12 hrs) | Presoak | Unsoaked | Yield |
| Adzuki | 5-9 min | 9-13 min | 12-14 min | 2 cups |
| Anasazi | 4-7 min | 7-10 min | 20-22 min | 2 1/4 cups |
| Black (turtle) | 9-11 min | 14-18 min | 20-25 min | 2 cups |
| Black-eyed (cow) peas | ----- | ----- | 9-11 min | 2 1/4 cups |
| Cannellini | 9-12 min | 14-17 min | 22-25 min | 2 cups |
| Chickpeas (garbanzo) | 10-12 min | 21-25 min | 30-40 min | 2 1/2 cups |
| Christmas | 8-10 min | 10-12 min | 16-18 min | 1 1/4 cups |
| Cranberry | 9-12 min | 20-25 min | 30-35 min | 2 1/4 cups |
| Fava* | 12-18 min | 16-22 min | 22-28 min | 2 cups |
| Flageolets | 10-14 min | 10-14 min | 17-22 min | 2 cups |
| Great Northern | 8-12 min | 14-18 min | 25-30 min | 2 1/4 cups |
| Lentils | ------ | ------ | 7-10 min | 2 cups |
| Lima (large)*** | 4-7**min | 8-12 min** | 12-16 min | 2 1/2 cups |
| Lima (baby) | 5-7 min | 8-12 min | 12-15 min | 2 1/2 cups |
| Peas (split, green) | ------ | ------ | 8-10 min | 2 cups |
| Peas (whole, green) | ------ | ------ | 16-18 min | 2 cups |
| Pigeon peas (granules) | 6-9 min | 15-18 min | 20-25 min | 3 cups |
| Pinto | 4-6 min | 7-10 min | 22-25 min | 2 1/4 cups |
| Navy (pea) | 6-8 min | 10-13 min | 16-25 min | 2 cups |
| Red kidney | 10-12 min | 12-15 min | 20-25 min | 2 cups |
| Scarlet runner | 12-14 min | 12-16 min | 17-20 min | 1 1/4 cups |
| Soy beans | 9-12 min | 15-20 min | 28-35 min | 2 1/4 cups |
*Skins remain leathery after cooking and must be removed before serving unless the beans are pureed.
**Be sure to remove loose skins before cooking
***Requires 2 tablespoons of oil for each cup of dried beans
_____________________________________________________________________________________
And from another source:
* Exported from MasterCook *
Basic Guidelines for Pressure Cooking Dry Beans
Recipe By : Cooking Under Pressure, copyright 1989
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Basic Cooking Times Dry Beans
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
***none***
Pick over beans, rinse and drain.
Cook 1 cup of beans (presoaked or unsoaked) with 4 cups of water plus 1 tablesp
oon of oil. Add 3 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of oil for each additional cu
p of beans.
Beans with the same cooking times may be cooked together, but be prepared for
their colors and flavors to mingle.
Do not fill the cooker above the halfway mark.
For firm-cooked beans, check for doneness after minimum time indicated.
For soft-cooked (mushy) beans, add 2 extra minutes under high pressure.
When cooking time is up, use a quick release method to reduce pressure.
Drain immediately.
Author’s notes:
Optional Presoak: Some people avoid eating beans because their feast is followed by an uncomfortable
bout of flatulence. This discomfort is caused by th complex sugars in beans
that are not digestible resulting in the production of intenstinal gas.
Since the troublesome sugars are water soluble, the flatulence problem can be reduced
or eliminated by presoaking the beans and discarding the soaking water.
Presoaking also dramatically cuts down cooking time.
To produce evenly cooked beans with smooth skins, I prefer to presoak the beans
overnight in enough cold water to cover. If you've forgotten to presoak the b
eans, you can cook them under high pressure for 1 minute, using 4 cups of water
per cup of dried beans. Quick-release the pressure, drain, and rinse the beans.
Then cook as directed in the chart. This technique can be rough on the bean skins,
which tend to wrinkle or get yanked off during the rapid depressurization.
Always discard any looes or free-floating bean skins before futher cooking.
Cooking Beans: For enhanced flavor, cook beans with a smoked ham hock, a few bay leaves, or pe
eled, crushed garlic cloves. Adding a cinnamon stick or 1/2 teaspoon of whole
cloves to the cooking liquid is also fun.
Never add salt or acidic ingredients (such as tomatoes or molasses) to beans before
they are almost entirely cooked. Salt and acids cause the beans' skins to
harden, and they won't beocme tender no matter how long you cook them. (An
exception to this general rule can be made when pressure cooking soups: Adding a
small amount of tomatoes or using a lightly salted stock may lengthen cooking
time slightly, but does not prevent the beans from softening.)
Beans are considered “forbidden foods” by some cooker manufacturers since foaming
action can push a bean or loose skin into the vent and clog it. use 4 cups
of water and 1 tablespoon of oil (which controls the foaming) for each cup of dried
beans and you won't experience any difficulty. When the cooking time is up,
quick-release the pressure cooker under cold water to avoid foaming or sputtering
at the vent.
In the unlikely event that you hear loud sputtering while cooking beans, place
the cooker under cold running water to bring down the pressure. Remove and clean
the lid, vent, and rubber gasket. Lock the lid back in place and proceed with cooking.
Always clean the lid and vent thoroughly after cooking beans.
Cooking Time:
Beans are like snowflakes: No two are alike, and it’s impossible to give precise cooking times. It’s just a fact of life (and beans) that even within a single batch, some will be perfectly cooked while others remain a bit crunchy. This is because of the variations in age and dryness within any given handful.
The good news is that cooking times for most beans are not quite as critical as
they are with fresh vegetables. An extra minute is unlikely to turn them to mush. For firm-cooked beans to be used in salads or to cooked more in soups or
stews, check for doneness after the minimum time indicated in the chart. For soft beans that will be pureed or used in refried beans, the longer cooking time works best.
It is wonderful! You will love it!
