Cooking your own beans lets you control everything from flavor to texture to sodium levels, but there are plenty of rules that should to be followed to ensure the tastiest end product. One of the biggest, but easiest mistakes to make involves acidic ingredients and salt, and when you should add them to a bean dish.

Even though rich beans pair great with acidic flavors, adding too much acid can prevent the pectin in the beans from dissolving, creating a tougher skin on the outside. Bon Appetit recommends adding ingredients such as tomatoes, lemons, wine, or vinegar near the end of cooking, not at the beginning or midway through.

Using too much salt can also produce drab results, as salt can reinforce the cell walls in the beans' starchy layer and interfere with the process of water penetrating the skins, a process that is necessary for the beans to become softer and cook faster. With timing and restraint in mind, your bean dishes will definitely turn out better.