Comments on: Rinsing Canned Beans and Peas {The Mountain Kitchen Tips

By: K. Quesenberry

K. Quesenberry — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 17:04:29 +0000

Well, I guess that explains it. However, I never have. And when I eat them, I use plenty of salt, but no sodium. Don’t add any pork, though, but I do throw in sliced onions (about halfway through the cooking) and some chili seasoning.

By: debbeedoodles

debbeedoodles — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 16:18:13 +0000

I have always heard to discard the soaked water from beans that have been soaking. I have always done this. I did a some quick research and this is why your discard the water after soaking:

Soaking makes the beans more digestible. It cleans them more thoroughly (since beans cannot be washed before being sold or they can turn moldy). Soaking beans helps them to cook up in about half the time.

So after the beans have soaked for a while, the soaking water now contains these elements that you are trying to eliminate by soaking the beans in the first place.

And this is why the bean water is discarded. So it is best to drain the water and rinse the beans thoroughly before cooking.

Hope this helps!

By: K. Quesenberry

K. Quesenberry — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:46:48 +0000

I’ve never heard that suggestion before. But that leads to another question. I fix a batch of pinto beans now and then, which of course begins with soaking them overnight. If you ever fix beans like that, would you change the water before cooking them?