Cooking white (cannellini) beans: What went wrong?
I cooked some white beans but they came out kind of crunchy and it seems like every bean had a shell that was loosely attached that made the texture unpleasant.
Here's what I did: Rinsed and drained the beans, then soaked over night for 9 hours. Rinsed and drained again. Filled a pot with water, added basil and onions and brought to a boil. Scooped away any foam and floating bits, such as loose shells. Simmered for 2 hours and stirred occasionally.
The end result was edible, but all the beans had shells that I had to spit out. It was like eating the shell of a shrimp, albeit not as tough.
What did I do wrong? How else am I supposed to cook white beans so that this doesn't happen?
Update: No salt was added at any point, only what was stated above. Also, I let it cool for about 20-30 minutes before I ate them.
Best Answer
I'm not sure if you did or not, but there's like an hour standing period with cannelinis afterward. That may have affected it if you ate them right away. You really should try doing your beans in a slow cooker as well. Try cooking normally, but then adding dry beans to slow cooked dishes is GREAT. Depending on the bean, and a nice sturdy bean like cannelini is great for that.
Enjoy!
Pictures about "Cooking white (cannellini) beans: What went wrong?"
Can you overcook cannellini beans?
Make sure not to rush them or overcook them, you don't want mushy beans, they should be slightly Al dente. The end result should have a slight bite with a soft creamy center.Why are my beans falling apart?
Beans split when cooking because the interior of the bean rehydrates more quickly than the slightly tough exterior, causing it to expand, and pop out of the skin. This can be avoided by soaking the beans, to soften the skins, and by thoroughly salting the beans' cooking water.You're Doing It All Wrong - How to Cook Beans
More answers regarding cooking white (cannellini) beans: What went wrong?
Answer 2
Dried ingredients still hold some moisture. They gradually lose more moisture as they sit on the shelf and would therefore need a longer soaking time. Ive heard some chefs talk about this principle when baking. E.g. Adding more water to a bread recipe if your flour is 'old', ofcourse this is a variable thats more easily observed when handeling flour. But if your beans had been sitting in the cupboard for a while or even on the shelf in the store. they would probably need to soak a while longer. Just speculating, but it could explain the crunchy beans.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Andrea Piacquadio, Ella Olsson, Pixabay