How long do soaked beans keep for?
I've always used canned beans in the past, but for several reasons I now want to start using the dried kind but have never used them before.
Now I know with dried beans you need to soak them overnight before use, but once soaked how long do they keep? As in could I soak some overnight, drain them and use them a few days later or do they need to be used that day.
The problem with me is that I often won't decide what to make for dinner until I get home and rummage in the cupboards - therefore if I can have some presoaked beans in the fridge then I can still decide on meals more or less on the spur of the moment.
Also, what's the equivalent dried quantity to soaked? Is it something like 1/2 cup dried = 2 cups soaked or have I just completely made that up!?
Thanks in advance, oh knowledgable vegwebbers!! :)
Based on strictly experience soaked beans have kept for at least a week. I soak a whole bag of beans at once then refridgerate what I don't use. Whenever I need some just get them out of the refridgerator take what I need and cook them. I do strain them before putting them in the refridgerator. So, they should keep for a while if you refridgerate them.
On the weekends I usually cook enough beans for the week. That way, when I decide I want beans for dinner, I don't even have to wait for them to cook...just reheat! Or make a cold bean salad! Yum!
thank you :)>>> that's pretty much what I was hoping for!
But now let me get this straight - I have to soak them and then cook them for a couple of hours first before they're edible?
So I can soak and cook them and store them in the fridge like that? Oh I think I've just confused myself! :o
Yes, that's usually how it goes. Soak them and then cook them. Whether you store them cooked or just soaked depends on what you're schedule is for the week, really. If I wanted to have beans ready to cook at different points during the week, I would store the soaked ones (now that I know that it seems OK to do that.) But it might be easier to cook a big batch at once and use them as you please throughout the week. But yes, you can definitely store the cooked ones in the fridge! I've got some in mine right now. ;)b
as for storing soaked beans, i would rinse them well and keep them in the fridge. i would also change the soak water daily to keep it from going funk. however, you might run into issues with the beans sprouting if they are wet too long. i don't know if they sprout in the fridge but the one time i tried this i think they sprouted. or maybe i left them on the counter 8-)
Sometimes when I've not been watchful enough, my soaked beans left at room temperature have 'gone funk' after awhile, as BP says. The motto ought to be "You can tell by the smell!" After experiences with soaked / cooked / canned / drained / undrained beans ... at various temps... they can go off if they're in a bad mood, at any stage, after hours or days, refrigerated or unrefrigerated. Just sniff them and see if you wanna eat them. When dealing with soaked beans, try rinsing and smelling again, and then decide if you want to cook them or toss them. It's a momentary, personal judgement call. ;)
What I typically do to my dry beans is this: Rinse, soak 8-18 hours, rinse, pressure cook, drain, bag, freeze.
This way I can break off a chunk and use it in recipes but I dont have to try to consume the entire pound of beans (dry weight!) in a week. So think about freezing you soaked, cooked and drained beans. Its almost as convenient to use during the week as canned.
Plus you can have a variety of beans frozen to mix and match as you like. Maybe you want black beans on Monday in your tacos but on Wednesday you want chickpea mushroom noodle casserole. If its in the freezer thats a very doable menu.
Also remember, NO SALT in the soaking or cooking water. But you can soak with things like a whole bulb of garlic, a quartered onion, kombu seaweed. Just remember to remove and discard those before cooking! No one like sticky lumpy seaweed beans, trust me!
Thanks for all your replies ;)b
It's all been very helpful & I'll definitely be buying dried beans in my next shop instead of my normal canned. I think I'll go down the soaking, cooking and freezing route - less likely for wasting the beans....sometimes I can eats beans like 5 days in a row and sometimes I'll go weeks without eating them.
I really like the idea of soaking with a garlic bulb - anything with garlic in is good for me!!
I don't have a pressure cooker, but cooking a bag of beans overnight in a crockpot works well, too. If you just soak them and try to use them in a recipe for dinner, for example, they may not get soft enough. Even after soaking, it takes beans a while to cook to the consistency of canned beans (if that's what you're used to). Oh, and I don't soak them and pour off the soaking water. I just put them in the crockpot and pour water over them until it's several inches above the beans. Supposedly you pour off the soaking water to remove whatever substance causes flatulence (don't remember the name of it). I've never had that problem with beans cooked this way but perhaps I'm just lucky.