The Bean Chronicles: Black Beans

Continuing on with my bean experiments...

The aroma from these beans as they were cooking was just divine. I'd heard rumors such a thing would happen and didn't believe it until now.


The bean: Black beans
Amount: Half a 1-pound bag
Method: No soak, on stove with water to cover, salted part way through; some difficulty simmering, water added occasionally
Cooking time: About 2 hours
Storing? Half used for black bean soup; the other half in fridge, used within a few days for black bean salads
Result: Pretty good, although I found the beans uneven (some softer than others, none were disintegrating though, so that's a plus). Gorgeous, inky black cooking liquid.

Yet another variable in the bean cooking arena, I think, is your own stove. You have to know how your stove works - how big of a flame do you need for barely a simmer, or a rolling simmer? I'm still getting used to my stove in my new place, and I struggled with getting the right simmer. When I put it all the way to low, it didn't look like anything was happening so I would raise it a little... and suddenly it was boiling. The water absorbed too quickly and I had to add more. In the end, I just left it at the lowest possible.


Because I didn't soak the beans, I thought they would take at least 3 hours, but to my surprise, they were done in 2 (although, as I later discovered while eating the black bean salad I made with these beans, some were less done than others - ouch).

So, I need to work on getting the beans to cook more evenly. Let's see if a pre-soak will help...