Soaking pulses overnight: safety vs refrigeration
When soaking pulses for long periods, is refrigeration required?
Specifically: I have a large volume of dried red kidney beans I will be cooking with tomorrow. The refrigerator is already filled with other ingredients (mostly meat). Is it safe to leave the beans out on the side to soak (ambient temperature +19C) or should I be looking more refrigerator space?
Best Answer
I eat a lot of beans. I typically boil them for a minute and just let them sit on the stove. That way they soak more evenly and don't sprout. Ideal breeding conditions. I've noticed that in rare cases, when it is really hot (25 C), they start to ferment a bit after half a day or so and the water gets foamy. From my empirical evidence this happens about 1 out of 30 times and I just change the water and boil them again.
One point to keep in mind is that sprouts are a very common vector for food borne pathogens and have caused many deaths. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10511518 These cases were always caused by external contamination, and not by the product itself going bad. Either the seeds got contaminated by nearby agriculture, or the water used in the sprouting process wasn't clean.
So you should not be concerned by your pulses going bad, they would sprout or ferment, but by bacteria from the nearby CAFO sticking to them. One more reason to boil them first.
Pictures about "Soaking pulses overnight: safety vs refrigeration"
Do you need to refrigerate beans when soaking overnight?
If you're soaking them overnight out of convenience, cover the container and put it in the refrigerator. While it is not necessary to put the beans in the refrigerator for shorter soaks, the refrigeration prevents the beans from fermenting or growing sprouts overnight.Is it OK to soak beans longer than overnight?
Beans should soak for 8 to 10 hours overnight. If they are soaked for longer than 12 hours, they can lose their familiar flavor and become overly mushy. For the best result, refrain from soaking them for too long.How long can you soak beans before they spoil?
Do Soaked Beans Go Bad? If your beans are left soaking for too long they begin to ferment. This starts happening around 48 hours at room temperature. If you soak your beans in the refrigerator, it will take three or four days before fermentation begins.Can you refrigerate beans after soaking?
I, frequently, end up with more soaked beans than I want to cook right away, so after an 8-12 hour soak, I keep them covered with water in a sealed container (e.g. Tupperware) for up to a week in the refrigerator.Why Lentils Must Be Soaked Before Cooking
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Laura James, cottonbro, cottonbro, cottonbro