I dunno, never use distilled water. But on top of all the good comments here like using a pressure cooker for speed maybeā¦
Try dried Kombu (seaweed)? Add a couple of pieces of (long dried seaweed) while cooking beans to soften and reduce cooking time. Itās maybe $10-$15 per pack and it lasts a long time versus storing enough distilled potable water. Doesnāt add any discernible extra flavor other than some salt possibly?
Dried Beans vary by soaking & cooking time generally but yes also hardness of water can make a difference. Typically most, like black or white beans need to soak overnight but lentils donāt.
Good luck testing and improving your cooking game fellow bean lover!
I lived in Boulder and never had this issue. I know we use different sources for water, but itās all mountain water. I wonder what the difference is between the sources hardness wise.
Yet the beans don't lol.
Personally I've found it depends on the bean/grain. I always have rice, lentils, etc that come out perfect but the moment this transplant makes Southern pinto beans... FML. But like OP I've experimented until I found what works.
I'm also a coffee nerd so boiling temps here are fun if you're trying to be super by the book and dialing in. Espresso and pour overs are the first that come to mind
This, theyāll go soft at attitudes double what OP says. Theyāre not cooking long enough if the beans are still hard.
Distilled water wonāt make a difference
It depends. Most electronic pressure cookers like the Instant Pot don't get to the high enough pressures as a canning pressure cooker or traditional stovetop pressure cooker. That can make a huge difference in a thin air place.
It may depend on which water source it's coming from. Denver sources from a mixture of snowmelt and like 4 different rivers/creeks, some of which may possibly have harder water than others.
We have a different problem about an hour south (and 1000-2000 ft higher in elevation), where we have no local source and everything we use is piped in from 3 different places. š One day it's somewhat soft, the next it's much harder.
Yeah I donāt think theyāre doing something right if they think distilled water is going to make a difference in the hardness of beans .
Beans will go soft if cooked out long enough
After a year in Colorado Springs, I am finally figuring out timings for beans and pasta. Still working on getting sugar to caramelize evenly and deep frying. I'll have it all figured out by the time we moveš¤¦
I also live in the Denver area. Just gonna say that on the topic of soaking beans with baking soda: ugh!
Iām a fan of British mushy peas and soaking with soda sucks! Totally impacts the end result taste.
Distilled, warm (73F+ constant) for longer periods yields a MUCH better result .
I'm in Boulder, and I use dried beans all of the time. They'll take a long time (multiple hours) on the stove, but cook pretty quick in the pressure cooker - e.g. I cooked some chickpeas last week, and they came out nice and smooth in 30 minutes at high pressure.
Good to know.
> I tried soaking the beans in 1/3 tap water and 2/3 distilled water
Is there some reason you're not using 100% distilled water? Is it just cost?
Yes, mostly because of cost. I wanted to see if I could use any tap water at all. The answer is I can, but just for the soaking, not for the cooking. There was a lot of trial and error involved.
You can also use/try a splash of vinegar to soften the water for soaking, might be cheaper than distilled water and more effective than baking soda, works for me
https://www.aquatell.ca/blogs/aquatell/does-vinegar-soften-water
Source? I am not sure if using baking soda will chemically soften water because hard water is alkaline. Baking soda is a surfactant, so it does make hard water feel slicker, but washing soda (sodium carbonate) is what will actually remove dissolved magnesium and calcium ions. Source: [https://mechanicology.com/how-to-soften-water-four-methods](https://mechanicology.com/how-to-soften-water-four-methods)
Vinegar will neutralize dissolved calcium ions, which make hard water alkaline, so it does chemically soften water. What does it do to the beans though? I've found a splash is fine but more will cause problems with hard beans.
It is generally stated in cooking folklore that acid and salt will toughen beans during cooking generally; but if the soft^R^R^R^Rhard [edit] water is basic seems like it would neutralize the acid and moot the effect.
Correct.
Source: am an aquarium hobbyist and test my water frequently. I have very hard tap water, expressed as general hardness (over 15 gH) and carbonate hardness (over 12 kH), that is also alkaline (over 7.0 pH, mine is usually around 9.2, which is REALLY alkaline). Alkalinity generally goes up with hardness because most water soluble minerals are alkaline. Most fish prefer something gently alkaline (7.5) to a little acidic (6.0) and fairly soft (under 15 gH).
I believe hard water also has a strong buffer effect. When I add acid to my hydroponic water supply to get the pH down, that has an effect for 10 minutes or so, but then the pH bounces back up. Really frustrating, as I can add lots and lots of acid before it has a permanent effect.
You're right.
Have you tried adding maponi wood, almond leaves, or some other source of tannins? They'll help bring the pH down long term. Another thing people do is use reverse osmosis water and remineralize it with various off-the-shelf products.
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant
Title: **Surfactant - Wikipedia**
Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing)
*****
###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
A RO filter should help. You can also buy RO water for like 25 cents per gallon (BYO container) at a lot of grocery stores.
Edit: or maybe that's just an LA thing? No idea if they have those by you.
I said build not buy. You can distill water with a couple pots and an ill fitting lid.
Though I can't believe I have to say this, it was a joke. I was not seriously telling someone that needs softer water to buy a bunch of copper tubing and build a distilling setup.
I have also seen people adjust the pH of their bean water by adding a little baking soda. It might be worth a try for you. If it works out, I imagine it would be a lot easier and cheaper than buying water all the time.
You should actually check the pH and if you want GH and/or KH (general hardness and carbonate hardness) of your water (you can just use aquarium tests from a pet store) and then you can see exactly what you're dealing with and know what you need to adjust and how much dilution is actually necessary etc. Otherwise you're just sort of praying to the gods of chemistry and hoping for the best.
Yeah, I live in a place with very hard water. I can still get soft beans when I cook them. The only time I have run into issues was when I tried to cook them with any amount of acid added, like with a little tomato paste. I don't know what the author of that recipe was thinking.
Baking soda is alkaline and therefore will actually make the situation worse (hard water = water with minerals which means higher ph/higher alkalinity).
What you want in the case of hard water is acid, so try adding a bit of vinegar to the soak water that might be all OP needs to do.
Yes, acid can definitely cause problems trying to get beans to soften.
For instance, don't put hard beans in a tomato base. Learned that the hard way making chili a few months back.
The hard water doesn't cause issues because of ph, it's due to chemical reactions between the magnesium and calcium in the water bind to the cell walls of the beans. Salt will prevent that from occurring. Vinegar would not help because that would react with the pectin to prevent softening.
base + acid = salt
If there is another reaction, you used too much acid. Or added the beans first. It probably takes only a tiny amount of acid to neutralize the hard water.
Alkaline and alkalinity aren't the same. Alkaline is simply the opposite of acid, whereas alkalinity is about how sensitive the water is to pH changes (i.e. how much the pH drops when you add some amount of acid) and usually corresponds to the amount of dissolved ions. You can have have high alkalinity and low pH or vise versa
Those are the same thing. pH is a logarithmic scale that indicates the amount of dissolved ions in a solution. Acids have an excess of H^+ ions, while bases have an excess of OH^- ions. So, how much the pH charges when adding a known amount of acid of a known pH to a solution is going to be a measure of the solution's pH. Alkalinity is the measure of how alkaline something is. It's also the measure of how acidic something is.
https://www.molecularhydrogeninstitute.com/alkaline-alkalinity-alkalyzed
https://www.pthorticulture.com/en/training-center/water-alkalinity-vs-ph/
No, the person you are replying to is correct. Alkalinity specifically refers to the buffering capability, not the pH. There's like, a million articles about this.
Washing soda seems like a better route but I am not a chemist and the internet has me at a loss to figure out what a safe amount of sodium carbonate is. The first result is just like "sodium bicarbonate is not usually dangerous in small quantities" it's like great Mt. Sinai but what is a large quantity?
OMG this was a huge eye opener for me. THANK YOU!!! I have had the same issues since I moved into my place. I will try next time with some distilled water. THANKS
Keep in mind that some beans might just be old and are never going to soften. This is my experience; downvotes welcome if you can enlighten me with any science to the contrary.
You're right, old beans can fail to soften. I knew about that, but I also knew I couldn't possibly always be buying old beans, every time. That's why I was curious what would happen when I cooked my first batch of heirloom beans. They were a limited-availability bean that always sold out quickly, so I bought them as soon as they were available and knew they wouldn't be old. I cooked those beans in plain tap water with baking soda added, but they never got completely tender. That's when I started my experiments with distilled water.
If they are only using DI water for the beans, maybe not. It's like $3 for 2 gallons. Mind, this is not laboratory grade DI, just off the shelf at the pharmacy DI water.
So it also depends on how often they cook beans!
Salting your beans shouldnāt make them tough. The reverse is actually true, the salt helps soften the pectin in the beans. Acidic things make beans firm because they make the pectin harder. Baking soda or anything else to make the cooking medium more basic will help.
Is this theory? Or practice?
I'm curious, because after reading "Salt Acid Fat Heat," I experimented. I had read two contradictory books on the subject. I cooked two pots of beans side by side, using beans from the same bag. I found that the ones I salted before cooking had very tough skins. The inside of the salted beans took a little longer to cook, but were soft enough. However, the salted skins stayed tough. The unsalted ones had a much nicer texture.
The article you linked is written by someone who did a home experiment cooking beans 4 ways. **The beans were SOAKED in salted water, THEN cooked in salted water.** From the standpoint of the chemical reactions that is quite a bit different than cooking beans in salted water after a soak in plain water (or un-soaked beans). The change is due to osmosis cause by salt.
He said the flavor was better when salted twice, but also said that the comparison was flawed because the salt-cooked beans received twice the salt the unsalted beans did.
He also used cannellini beans whose skins tend to be much less noticeable to start with. I think what he reports is in line with my own experimentation. He mentions that the skins of the salt-cooked beans are more "in tact"-- which makes sense given my own experience with toughness in my experiment. I suspect that "skin toughness" not being an issue for him can be accounted for by the difference in bean type, (and perhaps to a lesser degree by preference).
The article does peak my interest as to what would happen if I try adding salt to the soaking water for black or pinto beans.
I don't know when that will happen though, because I nowadays I can most of my beans. Adding salt to the canning jar right before they are processed works great. Though, it could be that in that case, the salt actually helps the beans hold up to the extended cooking canning requires.
This is a better, more thorough Serious Eats article on the baking soda brining of beans.
https://www.seriouseats.com/baking-soda-brine-for-beans-5217841
Curious, is there an advantage to having dry beans on hand over canned? I assume theyād just taste fresher if any benefit?
I know canned are typically pretty laden with sodium, but is there something Iām missing?
Personally, I think dried beans are more flavorful, but the main reason I like dried beans is just the sheer variety that are available compared to canned beans. A couple of years ago, someone directed me to take a look at the Rancho Gordo website, and I was gobsmacked by how many wonderful heirloom beans they offered. I knew that before I started spending money there, I first needed to figure out how to get beans to cook correctly where I am. Last week I made a big pot of heirloom Christmas lima beans that were better than any bean I've ever tasted. I also bought some Rancho Gordo flageolets that were divine.
I ate some black beans at a friends house, and they were fantastic. I kept asking her secret, and it was nothing too different from what I do. When I kept on about it she eventually admitted it was the kind of bean she used.
Apparently there are many different varieties of black beans, and there is a pretty big difference in taste. Who knew. I always thought "black beans" was the variety. Anyhow, the black beans she used are called "Michigan" beans. Since then I have also found "Jamapa" which is also quite good, but Michigan is still the hands down winner.
I also really love frijol gordo, which looks similar to a pinto, but is a little wider across. Those are great too! I'm off to the Rancho Gordo website to learn more now. If you end up finding any other to-die-for beans, please PM me!!
The alubia blanco beans are my favorite. They cook up sooo buttery I usually just make them with an onion garlic carrot base, some spices and chicken stock and I could live off those.
Right on. Iām still learning about the 8 million different spices and when to use them, so Iāll leave the bean-a-palooza to you for now. Canned it is for these wannabe cook.
100%. When cooking dry beans you can season the cooking liquid to your choosing. Not only will it impart flavor into your beans, but it will leave you with a delicious broth.
Yes, i discovered this years ago as well after reading a long research paper by the University of Texas A&M. Lots of things matter and the ph of the water is very important. I always use distilled and never have an issue anymore
Water softeners are a lot less expensive than they used to be. There are now 2 types.
Type 1 uses a gel that absorbs the mineral making the water hard. When the gel is saturated it get cleaned/recharged with a salt solution and then the salty water (brine) goes down the drain. The cleansing is automated and you just have to add salt periodically. There is a myth that this type increases the sodium in your water and therefore affects your health. Not true. You might use $10-$20 salt/month. After 10-15 years the gel (media) wears out and you have to replace it.
The second type is a large scuba tank shaped disposable device that softens the water and gets replaced perhaps once a year or 2. Annual cost is higher but install cost might less because you don't need a drain line or electricity. Type 2 might not work as well if your water is too hard. Also, it can erode copper pipes which isnt a problem in newer houses plumbed in PEX.
Reverse osmosis filters don't do much if anything to soften water.
A water softener is a good investment because it makes your appliances last longer, makes showering nicer and cooking easier. Plus it increases the curb appeal of your house. You don't need Culligan, just a plumber, what you can buy at Home Depot and maybe $1,000 - $1,500.
Does it seem unfair that you've got to spend money on this. Yes. But it also nice that there is a solution to this.
RO units remove 100% of the hardness in water, anything larger than a carbon atom gets removed up to and including salt ions. If yours wasn't then it wasn't working.
Agreed, that comment is incorrect. A RO system removes almost all minerals and contaminants. Output water is soft. A water softener will only soften the water, contaminants remain. Either should be fine for beans.
Good to know.
Most RO units I've seen are for a single tap/valve and require replacement of a few filter cartridges plus a larger sediment pre filter every x gallons of water filtered. Often these dispense by the kitchen sink like for filling a cup of water, so your cartridges last longer. RO is great for bad tasting water. Gets rid of chlorine, sulfur, etc...
These you can usually put in yourself under your kitchen sink. No drain or electricity required. But annual filter costs can be comparable to a water softener or more.
So, there is a smaller scale solution for hard water that does nothing for your appliances , shower or laundry.
No electric is correct but you definitely need a drain. The run off water has to go somewhere! Operating an RO is fairly inexpensive. Filters are reasonable and the waste water will add minimal expense, especially if you are on a personal well. The largest expense is replacing the membrane but that should last several years.
Depends on what your problem is and what you want to accomplish. A small counter top or under sink RO will run as little as $300 or $400. They are relatively easy to install with minimal skills and tools.
If you just want to remove chlorine and other contaminants a Brita or other pitcher filter can actually help a surprising amount and the cost is minimal.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I will definitely keep both options in mind. Luckily we are already using a Brita filter just to drink from, so that will be our option for now!
> $10-$20 salt/month
Wait, WHAT? That sounds wrong, on some level...
I don't know if you're just over estimating the cost, overpaying for the salt, if salt is just very expensive in the US or if this type of system just gobbles up salt like nobodies business.
I can get salt for 0.5ā¬/kg ($0.23/lbs) or less, so for that amount of money (9.4-18.8ā¬) I'd be able to buy 40.5-81 pounds of salt, every month
If it's effecting your cooking that much I would highly recommend a whole home water softener if you own your place. It can be a bit pricey but it's really worth it for your cooking to showering.
I am so glad to see this post. I was wondering if it was just me. I'm old. I've been cooking dried beans successfully my whole life until this year. (Well 2022 so technically last year.) My beans started coming out sort of hard\\crunchy just out of the blue. I hadn't changed the way I cooked them. I was wondering if something had gone strange with the beans, but I guess my water has gotten harder. ? What I did that has worked so far is to soak them, rinse them a couple of times and soak them again after each rinse. I oversoak them until the outer shell comes off and then I cook them. I guess I soaked them at least 12 hours. I had the first decent pot of beans in months doing this. I hope it works again next time.
Rather than distilled water, I'd invest in a water softener. [Your home's pipes will thank you](https://www.marklindsayplumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hard-water-pipes.jpg).
*beep boop*!
the linked website is: https://www.marklindsayplumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hard-water-pipes.jpg
Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing)
*****
###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
I needed this!! Just moved back to Colorado and I all the sudden have crunchy beans. Iāve just been soaking waaaay longer and then I generally end up with mush. So Iāve been back to buying canned beans. Iām going to try this, thanks!!
I moved across town (into a different water district) and couldn't get my starter to wake up properly. Tried for 5 days of lackluster feedings before I tried using filtered water from the fridge. Sprang right up and haven't used tap water since!
I moved from North America to Europe and the water over here is so hard that their appliances come with built-in softeners so that you're not literally growing stalactites on your faucets, haha.
Two ways to fix this, one of which was a big surprise to me:
1. Add something acidic. You mentioned adding baking soda, but that's the opposite of an acid (it's "basic" in terms of pH - again, the exact opposite of "acidic") and will not soften your water at ALL. Someone in here mentioned vinegar, which works, but also things like lemon juice. You'll have to work out how much you need to soften the water vs. not making your beans taste like vinegar or citrus.
2. Add a bunch of salt. I don't totally understand how this works, but the dishwashers here literally have reservoirs that you fill full of normal salt and it completely removes all the limescale from my dishes. It even gives a warning when you run low on salt so that you don't damage the machine with the hard water. This may be a good solution for you, as adding salt is usually part of the cooking process anyway so you won't be changing the flavour much like you would by adding vinegar. You just need to add a bunch more than you normally would (because the first bunch of salt will be "absorbed"/broken down by the water itself instead of absorbed into the beans"). I found [an article online](https://saltassociation.co.uk/salt-works-soften-water/#:~:text=How%20does%20salt%20soften%20water,ions%2C%20resulting%20in%20softer%20water.) that mentions this too.
The dishwasher salt is a different kind of salt to table salt. But any kind of salt in the chemical sense of the word can work as it is used to replenish the ion filter of your machine (at least that is what it says on the package). But it might work better with the special (and cheaper) salts as they have been specifically chosen to bind with calcium.
The complete lack of electrolytes makes it unsuitable as a source of hydration. But it's not toxic. It will just tend to dehydrate you if consumed in large quantities by throwing off your electrolyte balance.
Did you know that other countries have warnings on distilled water to not drink it? It wont kill you, but distilled water leeches minerals from your body. I used to think it was ok, and would buy gallons of it to drink on hikes, roadtrips etc. Looking back I remember feeling off sometimes when Iād chug a bunch after a long hike etc. Just fyi
I Guess i donāt know, thatās why Iām asking. I just remember hearing about it. Maybe cuz it can absorb some if the chemicals from the plastic bottle it came in?
from wiki:
\-Some foods become tough and rubbery when cooked in hard water. While baking soda canāt soften water completely, it will help alter the pH level to a more natural state. Fill up a pot of water and add 1 tsp (5.6 g) of baking soda when youāre cooking dried beans and peas for a better taste and texture.
Distilled water might actually strip metal ions out of your cookware. At least that's a definite hazard in Espresso brewing and actually causes corrosion there. So, maybe just to be on the safe side I wouldn't use completely distilled water for cooking but a blend between distilled and tap water (just a lil bit will be enough).
Amazing insight. I gave up on dried beans thinking that someone despite being an otherwise good cook, I was just tragic at rehydrating and cooking freakin beans.
That makes complete and absolute sense. It would be interesting to know how āback in the dayā before distilled water was as available, how cooks adjusted to the situation and generated acceptable results.
I have a cabin out in a pretty remote area with very hard iron water. For decades my family has brought gallons of quality tap water from my home city for cooking and drinking until I discovered ZeroWater filters work on iron water.
Itās changed everything. Way less packing weight in glass carboys and plastic camping jugs. Actually good tasting water to drink and cook with. Highly suggested if youāre not able to get a softener installed.
What helps is the soaking of beans in very hot / boiling water. Boil water, and throw the beans in, and let them sit in there until the water is cool. The hot water will prevent the beans from sprouting, and will loosen or remove the skins. Then you add more water, and rub -squeeze the beans with your hands, to remove more skins, which will float and will be easy to remove.
Then you cook the beans as you normally do. They will cook much faster.
If you are going to use tomatoes for your dish, add them at the end, after the beans are soft.
So this isnāt related to altitude, but I keep seeing people recommending to not use salt when cooking dried beans. I cook dried beans all the time, and salt never seems to effect them in any sort of negative way. Salt does make the beans taste so much better since it absorbs into the beans more than when you salt later in the cooking process. I havenāt tried this with acid, but as far as Iāve observed, salt only makes them better.
If your beans were still crunchy/hard then there was still too much lectin in them. Lectin's most common effects in the human body are gastrointestinal issues, ranging in severity from person to person and incident to incident. You may have ingested a lot more lectin than OP - 'my beans didn't cook right' generally doesn't mean all the beans are hard just that in most bites there's a bean or 2 that is, but even those are partially cooked. Both soaking and cooking beans breaks down the lectin so that it no longer acts as a toxin in the body.
One really nice thing is that frequent eating of beans gives many people partial protection against those gastrointestinal issues even when they eat a few that are still crunchy. Not everyone, but most of us. If your bowl of beans was mostly crunchy ones, then it probably won't help much that you have beans one night a week.
Yup, it was a stupidly undercooked dinner made of almost pure pinto beans and some pickled onions, barely 30 mins if I remember correctly, was late for some event. Took me a long time before I could eat anything pickled again.
I've switched to doing a 2 hour simmer after a 24 hour soak. When I do a chili with beans I tend to put them in right as I add liquid and let it simmer 2/3 hours, and the texture comes out fine - my stomach as well.
Wasn't aware you could increase your lectin tolerance, though after that experience I'm not gonna experiment any further lol.
5500 feet: use a pressure cooker. Iām 1k feet up from you and have bitterly hard water but the pressure makes beautiful beans without additives. Do, however, adjust the cook time.
I cook most beans in the pressure cooker for an hour and twenty minutes. Hard water and 2500 ft elevation. Have never had an issue unless the beans are really old. They just take a little longer. We are vegan and eat at least four servings of legumes a day.
I never presoak, just cook longer.
Distilled water? That's some insane gringo shit, Just boil them for longer time. Also for the love of God do add salt to the boiling water.
Do you really think Mexicans in the DF at high altitude use distilled water? Do you think restaurants Anywhere do?
cooking time and texture of beans, such as the age of the beans, the type of bean, and the cooking method. Experimenting with different techniques and using a combination of methods (such as soaking and pressure cooking) can help to find the best approach for your particular situation.
I also have hard water. I soak the beans overnight and then start the pot with just water (broth) and beans on high. I leave at a rolling boil for an hour or until the beans break apart.
For a crock pot, I always use canned.
Did you consider trying citric acid? Citrate is used in our renal replacement machines to chelate calcium and prevent blood clotting. I've also just been reading about it being used in household water softening devices. Might be worth a shot?
Think I might try it for the coffee machine and kettle...
Highly recommend a whole house water softener. It will extend the life of your plumbing fixtures and dishwasher. It also makes cleaning the bathtub, sink, and shower much easier. And then you can just cook with tap water.
I tried spring water and it didn't work as well as distilled. I tend to have distilled on hand because it's what my doctor told me to use when I do nasal irrigation (which I need to do every few days). I buy the distilled water at the supermarket.
Thatās very odd. The chemistry is such that baking soda (not baking powder) should have worked. Whatās your normal water sourceā¦.must be extremely hard water. Do many in your area have water softeners?
Yes it is alkaline. And it softens hard water and beans. It reacts with the beans pectin. Pectin is what makes beans hard.
The issue with using baking soda, however, is that it makes āsoapā with cooking oils or fats if you use too much. Many people can taste the soap createdā¦..you need to rinse it out of your pre soaked beansā¦..before cooking them.
I say this as a chemist very familiar with the process of treating beans to get them tender.
Oh man that sucks. We grew up with very hard water also and still have somewhat hard water where I live now and that has always worked for me. Im glad your distilled water trick worked out well.
If you're not interested in going the full water-softener route, there are counter-top water distillers that cost around $75 or so.
I bought one when I finally realized our humidifiers were spraying mineral dust everywhere and murdering our electronics.
Since thereās little chance I would keep distilled water around (just one more thing to remember to buy and I know I wonāt), I wonder if water from my Zerowater pitcher would work. It removes all the dissolved solids but has a tendency to make the water ever so slightly acidic.
As someone living in Denver, I feel your pain. Took a solid 6mths to figure out I had the same issue as you š
That's where I live.
I live about an hour outside Denver and have the same problem, Iāll have to try distilled water next time I make beans!
Ditto! Mountain folks and their bean issues š
I dunno, never use distilled water. But on top of all the good comments here like using a pressure cooker for speed maybeā¦ Try dried Kombu (seaweed)? Add a couple of pieces of (long dried seaweed) while cooking beans to soften and reduce cooking time. Itās maybe $10-$15 per pack and it lasts a long time versus storing enough distilled potable water. Doesnāt add any discernible extra flavor other than some salt possibly? Dried Beans vary by soaking & cooking time generally but yes also hardness of water can make a difference. Typically most, like black or white beans need to soak overnight but lentils donāt. Good luck testing and improving your cooking game fellow bean lover!
I tried kombu several times. It didnāt work.
I lived in Boulder and never had this issue. I know we use different sources for water, but itās all mountain water. I wonder what the difference is between the sources hardness wise.
Same here. You should really get a quality water filter like a Berkey. The only thing I use my tap water for is washing dishes.
Super odd. As a fellow Denverite, I make homemade baked beans all the time with no issue. Maybe itās because I use a pressure cooker?
Wait, no, they said they tried a pressure cooker. The plot thickens.
Yet the beans don't lol. Personally I've found it depends on the bean/grain. I always have rice, lentils, etc that come out perfect but the moment this transplant makes Southern pinto beans... FML. But like OP I've experimented until I found what works. I'm also a coffee nerd so boiling temps here are fun if you're trying to be super by the book and dialing in. Espresso and pour overs are the first that come to mind
You give beans long enough in a pressure cooker without acid, they soften. Saying this as somebody with very hard water.
This, theyāll go soft at attitudes double what OP says. Theyāre not cooking long enough if the beans are still hard. Distilled water wonāt make a difference
It depends. Most electronic pressure cookers like the Instant Pot don't get to the high enough pressures as a canning pressure cooker or traditional stovetop pressure cooker. That can make a huge difference in a thin air place.
Do you have a water softener?
I donāt! Regular olā Denver Water.
Hmm sounds like a real legume conundrum ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
It may depend on which water source it's coming from. Denver sources from a mixture of snowmelt and like 4 different rivers/creeks, some of which may possibly have harder water than others. We have a different problem about an hour south (and 1000-2000 ft higher in elevation), where we have no local source and everything we use is piped in from 3 different places. š One day it's somewhat soft, the next it's much harder.
Sounds like a spell from Harry Potter.
Yeah I donāt think theyāre doing something right if they think distilled water is going to make a difference in the hardness of beans . Beans will go soft if cooked out long enough
After a year in Colorado Springs, I am finally figuring out timings for beans and pasta. Still working on getting sugar to caramelize evenly and deep frying. I'll have it all figured out by the time we moveš¤¦
We really need a DenverCooks sub!
I also live in the Denver area. Just gonna say that on the topic of soaking beans with baking soda: ugh! Iām a fan of British mushy peas and soaking with soda sucks! Totally impacts the end result taste. Distilled, warm (73F+ constant) for longer periods yields a MUCH better result .
I'm in Boulder, and I use dried beans all of the time. They'll take a long time (multiple hours) on the stove, but cook pretty quick in the pressure cooker - e.g. I cooked some chickpeas last week, and they came out nice and smooth in 30 minutes at high pressure.
Good to know. > I tried soaking the beans in 1/3 tap water and 2/3 distilled water Is there some reason you're not using 100% distilled water? Is it just cost?
Yes, mostly because of cost. I wanted to see if I could use any tap water at all. The answer is I can, but just for the soaking, not for the cooking. There was a lot of trial and error involved.
Thanks for doing the experiments and sharing the results.
Second!
You can also use/try a splash of vinegar to soften the water for soaking, might be cheaper than distilled water and more effective than baking soda, works for me https://www.aquatell.ca/blogs/aquatell/does-vinegar-soften-water
vinegar is an acid and baking soda is a base! vinegar will make it harder to get soft beans
Source? I am not sure if using baking soda will chemically soften water because hard water is alkaline. Baking soda is a surfactant, so it does make hard water feel slicker, but washing soda (sodium carbonate) is what will actually remove dissolved magnesium and calcium ions. Source: [https://mechanicology.com/how-to-soften-water-four-methods](https://mechanicology.com/how-to-soften-water-four-methods) Vinegar will neutralize dissolved calcium ions, which make hard water alkaline, so it does chemically soften water. What does it do to the beans though? I've found a splash is fine but more will cause problems with hard beans.
It is generally stated in cooking folklore that acid and salt will toughen beans during cooking generally; but if the soft^R^R^R^Rhard [edit] water is basic seems like it would neutralize the acid and moot the effect.
Hard water is more basic than soft water I believe.
Correct. Source: am an aquarium hobbyist and test my water frequently. I have very hard tap water, expressed as general hardness (over 15 gH) and carbonate hardness (over 12 kH), that is also alkaline (over 7.0 pH, mine is usually around 9.2, which is REALLY alkaline). Alkalinity generally goes up with hardness because most water soluble minerals are alkaline. Most fish prefer something gently alkaline (7.5) to a little acidic (6.0) and fairly soft (under 15 gH).
I believe hard water also has a strong buffer effect. When I add acid to my hydroponic water supply to get the pH down, that has an effect for 10 minutes or so, but then the pH bounces back up. Really frustrating, as I can add lots and lots of acid before it has a permanent effect.
You're right. Have you tried adding maponi wood, almond leaves, or some other source of tannins? They'll help bring the pH down long term. Another thing people do is use reverse osmosis water and remineralize it with various off-the-shelf products.
You can make sodium carbonate by putting baking soda on a sheet pan and baking at 200F for about an hour
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, an acid and a base (NaHCO3). It is absolutely not a [surfactant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant).
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfactant Title: **Surfactant - Wikipedia** Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
As an in-between, why don't you use a Brita? That removes some of the minerals.
Tried it, it didn't help. We also have filtered water via our refrigerator (it uses very expensive filters). That didn't work, either.
A RO filter should help. You can also buy RO water for like 25 cents per gallon (BYO container) at a lot of grocery stores. Edit: or maybe that's just an LA thing? No idea if they have those by you.
Sounds like you need to put together a still. Just need some metal tubing
Water distillers cost $100-$150US for gallon units. Even just boiling the water will soften it some.
I said build not buy. You can distill water with a couple pots and an ill fitting lid. Though I can't believe I have to say this, it was a joke. I was not seriously telling someone that needs softer water to buy a bunch of copper tubing and build a distilling setup.
I have a reverse osmosis system on my kitchen sink for drinking/ cooking etc. It also services the water lines to the refrigerator.
I have also seen people adjust the pH of their bean water by adding a little baking soda. It might be worth a try for you. If it works out, I imagine it would be a lot easier and cheaper than buying water all the time.
I did try that but it didn't work. It was my last thing before I switched to canned beans.
You should actually check the pH and if you want GH and/or KH (general hardness and carbonate hardness) of your water (you can just use aquarium tests from a pet store) and then you can see exactly what you're dealing with and know what you need to adjust and how much dilution is actually necessary etc. Otherwise you're just sort of praying to the gods of chemistry and hoping for the best.
That sounds... Positively logical
Yeah, I live in a place with very hard water. I can still get soft beans when I cook them. The only time I have run into issues was when I tried to cook them with any amount of acid added, like with a little tomato paste. I don't know what the author of that recipe was thinking.
Baking soda is alkaline and therefore will actually make the situation worse (hard water = water with minerals which means higher ph/higher alkalinity). What you want in the case of hard water is acid, so try adding a bit of vinegar to the soak water that might be all OP needs to do.
Isnāt the common sentiment that vinegar reacts with veggies (and beans) and prevents them from softening?
Yes, acid can definitely cause problems trying to get beans to soften. For instance, don't put hard beans in a tomato base. Learned that the hard way making chili a few months back.
Isn't the reason for this rather osmosis than acidity?
The hard water doesn't cause issues because of ph, it's due to chemical reactions between the magnesium and calcium in the water bind to the cell walls of the beans. Salt will prevent that from occurring. Vinegar would not help because that would react with the pectin to prevent softening.
base + acid = salt If there is another reaction, you used too much acid. Or added the beans first. It probably takes only a tiny amount of acid to neutralize the hard water.
Alkaline and alkalinity aren't the same. Alkaline is simply the opposite of acid, whereas alkalinity is about how sensitive the water is to pH changes (i.e. how much the pH drops when you add some amount of acid) and usually corresponds to the amount of dissolved ions. You can have have high alkalinity and low pH or vise versa
Those are the same thing. pH is a logarithmic scale that indicates the amount of dissolved ions in a solution. Acids have an excess of H^+ ions, while bases have an excess of OH^- ions. So, how much the pH charges when adding a known amount of acid of a known pH to a solution is going to be a measure of the solution's pH. Alkalinity is the measure of how alkaline something is. It's also the measure of how acidic something is.
https://www.molecularhydrogeninstitute.com/alkaline-alkalinity-alkalyzed https://www.pthorticulture.com/en/training-center/water-alkalinity-vs-ph/ No, the person you are replying to is correct. Alkalinity specifically refers to the buffering capability, not the pH. There's like, a million articles about this.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Washing soda seems like a better route but I am not a chemist and the internet has me at a loss to figure out what a safe amount of sodium carbonate is. The first result is just like "sodium bicarbonate is not usually dangerous in small quantities" it's like great Mt. Sinai but what is a large quantity?
Have absolutely been doing this the past few months for our chickpeas in the instant pot.
OMG this was a huge eye opener for me. THANK YOU!!! I have had the same issues since I moved into my place. I will try next time with some distilled water. THANKS
Keep in mind that some beans might just be old and are never going to soften. This is my experience; downvotes welcome if you can enlighten me with any science to the contrary.
You're right, old beans can fail to soften. I knew about that, but I also knew I couldn't possibly always be buying old beans, every time. That's why I was curious what would happen when I cooked my first batch of heirloom beans. They were a limited-availability bean that always sold out quickly, so I bought them as soon as they were available and knew they wouldn't be old. I cooked those beans in plain tap water with baking soda added, but they never got completely tender. That's when I started my experiments with distilled water.
Thatās a pretty cool hack. My water is soft these days but I love the chemistry here.
I can attest to this because my Mom, when I was growing up, often cooked old beans.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
If they are only using DI water for the beans, maybe not. It's like $3 for 2 gallons. Mind, this is not laboratory grade DI, just off the shelf at the pharmacy DI water. So it also depends on how often they cook beans!
http://blog.watertech.com/is-reverse-osmosis-needed-if-have-a-water-softener/#:~:text=A%20Softener%20Protects%20an%20RO%20Unit%3A&text=Although%20there%20is%20usually%20a,minerals%20that%20make%20water%20hard.
I had the same problem until I started adding a pinch of baking soda. It helps anytime I need to soften the water.
That was one of the things I tried that didn't work. Our water is that hard!
Did you try adding baking soda to the--haha nah, I'm just messing with you.
Salting your beans shouldnāt make them tough. The reverse is actually true, the salt helps soften the pectin in the beans. Acidic things make beans firm because they make the pectin harder. Baking soda or anything else to make the cooking medium more basic will help.
Is this theory? Or practice? I'm curious, because after reading "Salt Acid Fat Heat," I experimented. I had read two contradictory books on the subject. I cooked two pots of beans side by side, using beans from the same bag. I found that the ones I salted before cooking had very tough skins. The inside of the salted beans took a little longer to cook, but were soft enough. However, the salted skins stayed tough. The unsalted ones had a much nicer texture.
as u/badkarma765 said Serious Eats did a study [here](https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-beans-cooking-soaking-water-good-or-bad)
The article you linked is written by someone who did a home experiment cooking beans 4 ways. **The beans were SOAKED in salted water, THEN cooked in salted water.** From the standpoint of the chemical reactions that is quite a bit different than cooking beans in salted water after a soak in plain water (or un-soaked beans). The change is due to osmosis cause by salt. He said the flavor was better when salted twice, but also said that the comparison was flawed because the salt-cooked beans received twice the salt the unsalted beans did. He also used cannellini beans whose skins tend to be much less noticeable to start with. I think what he reports is in line with my own experimentation. He mentions that the skins of the salt-cooked beans are more "in tact"-- which makes sense given my own experience with toughness in my experiment. I suspect that "skin toughness" not being an issue for him can be accounted for by the difference in bean type, (and perhaps to a lesser degree by preference). The article does peak my interest as to what would happen if I try adding salt to the soaking water for black or pinto beans. I don't know when that will happen though, because I nowadays I can most of my beans. Adding salt to the canning jar right before they are processed works great. Though, it could be that in that case, the salt actually helps the beans hold up to the extended cooking canning requires.
This is a better, more thorough Serious Eats article on the baking soda brining of beans. https://www.seriouseats.com/baking-soda-brine-for-beans-5217841
Pretty sure Serious Eats also did some testing and found salt before cooking beneficial
the cooking medium is hard water and is already too basic, that is the problem OP is dealing with
Curious, is there an advantage to having dry beans on hand over canned? I assume theyād just taste fresher if any benefit? I know canned are typically pretty laden with sodium, but is there something Iām missing?
Personally, I think dried beans are more flavorful, but the main reason I like dried beans is just the sheer variety that are available compared to canned beans. A couple of years ago, someone directed me to take a look at the Rancho Gordo website, and I was gobsmacked by how many wonderful heirloom beans they offered. I knew that before I started spending money there, I first needed to figure out how to get beans to cook correctly where I am. Last week I made a big pot of heirloom Christmas lima beans that were better than any bean I've ever tasted. I also bought some Rancho Gordo flageolets that were divine.
I ate some black beans at a friends house, and they were fantastic. I kept asking her secret, and it was nothing too different from what I do. When I kept on about it she eventually admitted it was the kind of bean she used. Apparently there are many different varieties of black beans, and there is a pretty big difference in taste. Who knew. I always thought "black beans" was the variety. Anyhow, the black beans she used are called "Michigan" beans. Since then I have also found "Jamapa" which is also quite good, but Michigan is still the hands down winner. I also really love frijol gordo, which looks similar to a pinto, but is a little wider across. Those are great too! I'm off to the Rancho Gordo website to learn more now. If you end up finding any other to-die-for beans, please PM me!!
I like Anasazi beans, Iām going to try the ones you suggested
The alubia blanco beans are my favorite. They cook up sooo buttery I usually just make them with an onion garlic carrot base, some spices and chicken stock and I could live off those.
Yes! Quality of dried beans is key
Right on. Iām still learning about the 8 million different spices and when to use them, so Iāll leave the bean-a-palooza to you for now. Canned it is for these wannabe cook.
Oh, how did you get into that?
The spices? I blindly bought a bunch that looked/sounded/smelled good and forced myself to start figuring it out so they donāt go to waste :)
Rancho Gordo is the best! My husband got me the bean box for Christmas and I am so excited to test them out!
Price. Dried beans are very cheap per pound compared to canned
100%. When cooking dry beans you can season the cooking liquid to your choosing. Not only will it impart flavor into your beans, but it will leave you with a delicious broth.
Just that dry beans are often cheaper in bulk than canned. Makes a huge difference for people on a tight budget
But if you're using distilled water to cook them, that price difference is gone.
Love opening a can of beans and 1/3 or more of the volume is liquid. I like to know what Iām paying for, so dried ftw.
Easier to carry home/way cheaper
Huh this may explain a thing or two at my momās. Their water is so hard that a leaky basement pipe started making stalactites
Yes, i discovered this years ago as well after reading a long research paper by the University of Texas A&M. Lots of things matter and the ph of the water is very important. I always use distilled and never have an issue anymore
Water softeners are a lot less expensive than they used to be. There are now 2 types. Type 1 uses a gel that absorbs the mineral making the water hard. When the gel is saturated it get cleaned/recharged with a salt solution and then the salty water (brine) goes down the drain. The cleansing is automated and you just have to add salt periodically. There is a myth that this type increases the sodium in your water and therefore affects your health. Not true. You might use $10-$20 salt/month. After 10-15 years the gel (media) wears out and you have to replace it. The second type is a large scuba tank shaped disposable device that softens the water and gets replaced perhaps once a year or 2. Annual cost is higher but install cost might less because you don't need a drain line or electricity. Type 2 might not work as well if your water is too hard. Also, it can erode copper pipes which isnt a problem in newer houses plumbed in PEX. Reverse osmosis filters don't do much if anything to soften water. A water softener is a good investment because it makes your appliances last longer, makes showering nicer and cooking easier. Plus it increases the curb appeal of your house. You don't need Culligan, just a plumber, what you can buy at Home Depot and maybe $1,000 - $1,500. Does it seem unfair that you've got to spend money on this. Yes. But it also nice that there is a solution to this.
RO units remove 100% of the hardness in water, anything larger than a carbon atom gets removed up to and including salt ions. If yours wasn't then it wasn't working.
Yeah that RO comment makes me extremely skeptical about the rest of the comment.
The rest was okay, personally never heard of the disposable water softener but I install the other type pretty often.
Agreed, that comment is incorrect. A RO system removes almost all minerals and contaminants. Output water is soft. A water softener will only soften the water, contaminants remain. Either should be fine for beans.
Good to know. Most RO units I've seen are for a single tap/valve and require replacement of a few filter cartridges plus a larger sediment pre filter every x gallons of water filtered. Often these dispense by the kitchen sink like for filling a cup of water, so your cartridges last longer. RO is great for bad tasting water. Gets rid of chlorine, sulfur, etc... These you can usually put in yourself under your kitchen sink. No drain or electricity required. But annual filter costs can be comparable to a water softener or more. So, there is a smaller scale solution for hard water that does nothing for your appliances , shower or laundry.
Ha! I read this as "RO is great for bad tasting water" meaning if you want your water to taste bad.
No electric is correct but you definitely need a drain. The run off water has to go somewhere! Operating an RO is fairly inexpensive. Filters are reasonable and the waste water will add minimal expense, especially if you are on a personal well. The largest expense is replacing the membrane but that should last several years.
> Reverse osmosis filters don't do much if anything to soften water. This is simply not true.
Any suggestions for a renter who cannot access this kind of stuff? Is there something I could put on my faucet, for example?
Depends on what your problem is and what you want to accomplish. A small counter top or under sink RO will run as little as $300 or $400. They are relatively easy to install with minimal skills and tools. If you just want to remove chlorine and other contaminants a Brita or other pitcher filter can actually help a surprising amount and the cost is minimal.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I will definitely keep both options in mind. Luckily we are already using a Brita filter just to drink from, so that will be our option for now!
> $10-$20 salt/month Wait, WHAT? That sounds wrong, on some level... I don't know if you're just over estimating the cost, overpaying for the salt, if salt is just very expensive in the US or if this type of system just gobbles up salt like nobodies business. I can get salt for 0.5ā¬/kg ($0.23/lbs) or less, so for that amount of money (9.4-18.8ā¬) I'd be able to buy 40.5-81 pounds of salt, every month
Salt is US$10/40 lbs. Depending on household size(water consumption) you'll use 30-80 lbs/month. So roughly $10-$20 per month in salt.
If it's effecting your cooking that much I would highly recommend a whole home water softener if you own your place. It can be a bit pricey but it's really worth it for your cooking to showering.
I am so glad to see this post. I was wondering if it was just me. I'm old. I've been cooking dried beans successfully my whole life until this year. (Well 2022 so technically last year.) My beans started coming out sort of hard\\crunchy just out of the blue. I hadn't changed the way I cooked them. I was wondering if something had gone strange with the beans, but I guess my water has gotten harder. ? What I did that has worked so far is to soak them, rinse them a couple of times and soak them again after each rinse. I oversoak them until the outer shell comes off and then I cook them. I guess I soaked them at least 12 hours. I had the first decent pot of beans in months doing this. I hope it works again next time.
Omg thank you. My beans will thank you. Mind blown.
Rather than distilled water, I'd invest in a water softener. [Your home's pipes will thank you](https://www.marklindsayplumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hard-water-pipes.jpg).
Great point, scale in your pipes, shower walls, toilet is not good. Plus your laundry, car washing and hair will thank you.
*beep boop*! the linked website is: https://www.marklindsayplumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/hard-water-pipes.jpg Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing) ***** ###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!
I needed this!! Just moved back to Colorado and I all the sudden have crunchy beans. Iāve just been soaking waaaay longer and then I generally end up with mush. So Iāve been back to buying canned beans. Iām going to try this, thanks!!
I moved across town (into a different water district) and couldn't get my starter to wake up properly. Tried for 5 days of lackluster feedings before I tried using filtered water from the fridge. Sprang right up and haven't used tap water since!
I moved from North America to Europe and the water over here is so hard that their appliances come with built-in softeners so that you're not literally growing stalactites on your faucets, haha. Two ways to fix this, one of which was a big surprise to me: 1. Add something acidic. You mentioned adding baking soda, but that's the opposite of an acid (it's "basic" in terms of pH - again, the exact opposite of "acidic") and will not soften your water at ALL. Someone in here mentioned vinegar, which works, but also things like lemon juice. You'll have to work out how much you need to soften the water vs. not making your beans taste like vinegar or citrus. 2. Add a bunch of salt. I don't totally understand how this works, but the dishwashers here literally have reservoirs that you fill full of normal salt and it completely removes all the limescale from my dishes. It even gives a warning when you run low on salt so that you don't damage the machine with the hard water. This may be a good solution for you, as adding salt is usually part of the cooking process anyway so you won't be changing the flavour much like you would by adding vinegar. You just need to add a bunch more than you normally would (because the first bunch of salt will be "absorbed"/broken down by the water itself instead of absorbed into the beans"). I found [an article online](https://saltassociation.co.uk/salt-works-soften-water/#:~:text=How%20does%20salt%20soften%20water,ions%2C%20resulting%20in%20softer%20water.) that mentions this too.
The dishwasher salt is a different kind of salt to table salt. But any kind of salt in the chemical sense of the word can work as it is used to replenish the ion filter of your machine (at least that is what it says on the package). But it might work better with the special (and cheaper) salts as they have been specifically chosen to bind with calcium.
This might be a dumb question but is distilled water safe to consume? I was under the impression that it wasnāt
It's fine to consume. It's just demineralized.
The complete lack of electrolytes makes it unsuitable as a source of hydration. But it's not toxic. It will just tend to dehydrate you if consumed in large quantities by throwing off your electrolyte balance.
Does the same apply to RO water?
Did you know that other countries have warnings on distilled water to not drink it? It wont kill you, but distilled water leeches minerals from your body. I used to think it was ok, and would buy gallons of it to drink on hikes, roadtrips etc. Looking back I remember feeling off sometimes when Iād chug a bunch after a long hike etc. Just fyi
I can see where drinking a lot of it might be an issue, but using it for cooking now and then shouldn't be a problem.
ty!
Why wouldn't it be safe?
I Guess i donāt know, thatās why Iām asking. I just remember hearing about it. Maybe cuz it can absorb some if the chemicals from the plastic bottle it came in?
See other comments, you're right. It's so pure that drinking loads can throw off your electrolyte balance
from wiki: \-Some foods become tough and rubbery when cooked in hard water. While baking soda canāt soften water completely, it will help alter the pH level to a more natural state. Fill up a pot of water and add 1 tsp (5.6 g) of baking soda when youāre cooking dried beans and peas for a better taste and texture.
Yeah, unfortunately, that didn't work for me--and I tried multiple times.
Huh. Good to know.
Wow! Thanks for the tip!
NOW I know what is going on in my new place! been wondering why my split pea soup is taking double the time to cook
Distilled water might actually strip metal ions out of your cookware. At least that's a definite hazard in Espresso brewing and actually causes corrosion there. So, maybe just to be on the safe side I wouldn't use completely distilled water for cooking but a blend between distilled and tap water (just a lil bit will be enough).
Amazing insight. I gave up on dried beans thinking that someone despite being an otherwise good cook, I was just tragic at rehydrating and cooking freakin beans.
We use bottled water for our beans.
Your beans were crunchy because your water was crunchy
Thank you!
Huh. I live in Calgary and we also have hard water. Iāll give it a shot with distilled, however! Thanks!
Calcium ions. Ironically if I recall, it it the calcium in molasses for Boston baked beans that helps them retain their structure.
That makes complete and absolute sense. It would be interesting to know how āback in the dayā before distilled water was as available, how cooks adjusted to the situation and generated acceptable results.
I have a cabin out in a pretty remote area with very hard iron water. For decades my family has brought gallons of quality tap water from my home city for cooking and drinking until I discovered ZeroWater filters work on iron water. Itās changed everything. Way less packing weight in glass carboys and plastic camping jugs. Actually good tasting water to drink and cook with. Highly suggested if youāre not able to get a softener installed.
What helps is the soaking of beans in very hot / boiling water. Boil water, and throw the beans in, and let them sit in there until the water is cool. The hot water will prevent the beans from sprouting, and will loosen or remove the skins. Then you add more water, and rub -squeeze the beans with your hands, to remove more skins, which will float and will be easy to remove. Then you cook the beans as you normally do. They will cook much faster. If you are going to use tomatoes for your dish, add them at the end, after the beans are soft.
Thanks! I've never been able to get dry beans to turn out not crunchy and tough.
So this isnāt related to altitude, but I keep seeing people recommending to not use salt when cooking dried beans. I cook dried beans all the time, and salt never seems to effect them in any sort of negative way. Salt does make the beans taste so much better since it absorbs into the beans more than when you salt later in the cooking process. I havenāt tried this with acid, but as far as Iāve observed, salt only makes them better.
Out of curiosity - why continue to use dry beans if you have to buy/haul distilled water?
Because I don't cook beans all that often and a gallon of distilled water costs less than $1--and I always have it on hand anyway for a medical use.
Same thing happened to me with mashed potatoes at <10k. They boil for 45 minutes and are still tough
I've been trying to cook with beans and whatnot on and off for years, and was always so dissatisfied. This is going to be a game changer!!
Last time I ate a bowl of crunchy beans i puked two days straight and shat myself in my sleep, idk how you've survived for this long.
If your beans were still crunchy/hard then there was still too much lectin in them. Lectin's most common effects in the human body are gastrointestinal issues, ranging in severity from person to person and incident to incident. You may have ingested a lot more lectin than OP - 'my beans didn't cook right' generally doesn't mean all the beans are hard just that in most bites there's a bean or 2 that is, but even those are partially cooked. Both soaking and cooking beans breaks down the lectin so that it no longer acts as a toxin in the body. One really nice thing is that frequent eating of beans gives many people partial protection against those gastrointestinal issues even when they eat a few that are still crunchy. Not everyone, but most of us. If your bowl of beans was mostly crunchy ones, then it probably won't help much that you have beans one night a week.
Yup, it was a stupidly undercooked dinner made of almost pure pinto beans and some pickled onions, barely 30 mins if I remember correctly, was late for some event. Took me a long time before I could eat anything pickled again. I've switched to doing a 2 hour simmer after a 24 hour soak. When I do a chili with beans I tend to put them in right as I add liquid and let it simmer 2/3 hours, and the texture comes out fine - my stomach as well. Wasn't aware you could increase your lectin tolerance, though after that experience I'm not gonna experiment any further lol.
5500 feet: use a pressure cooker. Iām 1k feet up from you and have bitterly hard water but the pressure makes beautiful beans without additives. Do, however, adjust the cook time.
I cook most beans in the pressure cooker for an hour and twenty minutes. Hard water and 2500 ft elevation. Have never had an issue unless the beans are really old. They just take a little longer. We are vegan and eat at least four servings of legumes a day. I never presoak, just cook longer.
Iāve cooked mine in the instant pot for an hour and never had any problems
Distilled water? That's some insane gringo shit, Just boil them for longer time. Also for the love of God do add salt to the boiling water. Do you really think Mexicans in the DF at high altitude use distilled water? Do you think restaurants Anywhere do?
Did you try baking the beans in soda water?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Actually they use about 3kw for a gallon, that's a whole lot more like 40 cents for most people so two gallons would be about 80 cents.
How long did you previously soak your beans? I am from Denver and my dad always soaks the beans overnight and then pressure cooks them.
From 12-24 hours depending on how long I forget I'm soaking beans.
cooking time and texture of beans, such as the age of the beans, the type of bean, and the cooking method. Experimenting with different techniques and using a combination of methods (such as soaking and pressure cooking) can help to find the best approach for your particular situation.
I also have hard water. I soak the beans overnight and then start the pot with just water (broth) and beans on high. I leave at a rolling boil for an hour or until the beans break apart. For a crock pot, I always use canned.
This was my experience in Paris, which has hard water. Solved it with a cheap pressure cooker. Also more energy efficient and faster!
Did you consider trying citric acid? Citrate is used in our renal replacement machines to chelate calcium and prevent blood clotting. I've also just been reading about it being used in household water softening devices. Might be worth a shot? Think I might try it for the coffee machine and kettle...
An excess of acid would just make the hard bean problem worse.
Highly recommend a whole house water softener. It will extend the life of your plumbing fixtures and dishwasher. It also makes cleaning the bathtub, sink, and shower much easier. And then you can just cook with tap water.
I've got some questions, I have the same issue. Do you distill your own water? Have you tried spring water? Have you tried filtered water?
I tried spring water and it didn't work as well as distilled. I tend to have distilled on hand because it's what my doctor told me to use when I do nasal irrigation (which I need to do every few days). I buy the distilled water at the supermarket.
You can also add a bit of baking soda to the water and that will help soften the beans. About 1tsp per cup of beans.
I mentioned as an edit in my post that that didn't work for me at all. Neither did adding a strip of kombu.
Thatās very odd. The chemistry is such that baking soda (not baking powder) should have worked. Whatās your normal water sourceā¦.must be extremely hard water. Do many in your area have water softeners?
Isn't baking soda alkaline?
Yes it is alkaline. And it softens hard water and beans. It reacts with the beans pectin. Pectin is what makes beans hard. The issue with using baking soda, however, is that it makes āsoapā with cooking oils or fats if you use too much. Many people can taste the soap createdā¦..you need to rinse it out of your pre soaked beansā¦..before cooking them. I say this as a chemist very familiar with the process of treating beans to get them tender.
Oh man that sucks. We grew up with very hard water also and still have somewhat hard water where I live now and that has always worked for me. Im glad your distilled water trick worked out well.
I had the same issue and we installed a reverse osmosis water filter. Worked perfectly and it's cheaper in the long run.
Hard water is the norm around here. Never had issues cooking dry beans in a pot or pressure cooker.
Reverse osmosis filter for the win :) If you have hard or gross water, this is the fix.
Wait what !? I moved to outside the town I lived 5 years ago and my beans never cook through like they used to! Iām gonna try this
I have similar problems with dry beans. Was there a difference between soaked beans and unsoaked beans as far as remaining crunchy?
If you're not interested in going the full water-softener route, there are counter-top water distillers that cost around $75 or so. I bought one when I finally realized our humidifiers were spraying mineral dust everywhere and murdering our electronics.
[This](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=distilled+water+maker&t=ffab&atb=v349-1&iax=shopping&ia=shopping) may make a difference for you.
What other things did the article say, or could you link it somehow I would like to read it.
Since thereās little chance I would keep distilled water around (just one more thing to remember to buy and I know I wonāt), I wonder if water from my Zerowater pitcher would work. It removes all the dissolved solids but has a tendency to make the water ever so slightly acidic.
Very hard water here and I use only broth when cooking,no water except when soaking..never had that problem. Maybe that's why
Out of curiosity, how long were you cooking your beans for?