FOOD NEWS
The Reason You Should Never Let Beans Reach A Strong Boil
BY SYLVIA TOMCZAK
Dried beans need to be handled with care. If you let them cook at a rolling boil, you can end up with burst bean skins and uneven cooking, leaving some mushy and some hard.
To avoid this, select the freshest beans possible. Since they continue to dry over time, this ensures that they will behave exactly how you'd expect when they're cooking.
It’s also almost always a good idea to soak beans in water, which gives hard beans a chance to rehydrate. Adding some salt will help the water better enter the beans’ centers.
After soaking, beans can be cooked in plain water, stock, or with aromatics, herbs, and spices. The most important thing is that you simmer the beans, so they can slowly soften.