Normally I do pretty well in the kitchen, but yesterday I made a little oops with my beans.
I bought a package of dry lima beans the other day in hopes of cooking them myself and enjoying lima beans for much less than it costs to buy by the can. I read the directions, and left my beans to soak for 8 hours.
Somewhere around 24 hours later I decide to cook them. For some reason most of them had split open and the shell had come off of them, which they don't look like in the can, but I decided they'd probably be okay anyway. So I throw them in a pot and bring it to a boil. You are then supposed to turn it to low and let them simmer for 1.5-2 hours. And in the last 30 minutes add salt if you'd like.
Well I figured since I was already there, I may as well add the salt now and then let them cook for the next 2 hours. Boy, was that a mistake. :( 2 hours of boiling in salt water turned them into an inedible batch of beans. They came out totally infused with salt, it was like pouring salt straight into your mouth with each bite.
So, lesson learned. Add the salt near the end (or at the table) and avoid spoiling your beans.
Though now I understand how salt pork works. :D And I'm excited to make some one of these days.
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1 comment:
A better way to soften beans for cooking [so you don't forget about them - 24 hours? :D] is to cover them in water, bring to a boil, boil for two minutes, turn off heat, cover and let sit for TWO HOURS [not 24! or even 8!]drain, cover with fresh water and cook for 1.5 hours.
You learned your lesson with salt...lol...but we usually make our beans with a piece of salted pork or fatback [I can't remember if you are vegetarian or not]
This works for all beans I have found - just be gentle [unless you are making bean soup] as they will be really soft. :)
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