chick pea troubles

Mwestport said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

Don't bother to soak them. Not necessary. Put a cup of beans
into a saucepan with 3 or 4 cups of water. Add a pinch of
salt and bring it to a boil. Turn it down to a slow simmer
(the surface of the water should be trembling), cover and
cook for somewhere around 2 1/2 hours. Different batches of
beans will cook for different times to tenderness. Their age
will also be a factor in duration of cooking time. To test
for doneness, pick up one or two on a spoon, and blow on
them. If the skin bursts open, they're done. Drain.

The beans will have a different texture than the canned
ones which are pressure cooked. You can also pressure cook
them (and it's a perfectly valid method of cooking beans),
but I don't know how long that would take as I don't do
them that way.

Another alternative is to buy bigger cans. The ones
restaurants use are called Number 10 cans, hold 96 fluid
ounces and come 6 to the case. I guarantee you that they're
going to be considerably less expensive than the small cans
per unit weight. But it's a lot of beans. Figure around $20
for the whole case, but it's going to be maybe 40 times as
much as one supermarket can, so the price falls to about
half what you're paying now. A #10 can holds (depending on
what's in it) from 6 1/2 to something a little short of 7
1/2 pounds of food.

Compare can sizes:
<http://southernfood.about.com/library/info/blcansize.htm>

And you can use the beans in hummus, too. Soups. Pasta
dishes. Mashed in stuffing.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

My salad, by the way.....

mixed greens, snow peas, radish diced roast chicken CANNED
Chick peas Croutons Fresh salsa for dressing with a grate
of parmesan

I eat it constantly.....yummm

Mwestport Longtime lurker who loves this group.

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My guess is that the problem is the crockpot. If I
remember correctly, it never actually boils but holds the
food just below the simmer. Perhaps the peas need boiling
to cook properly.

--
Peter Aitken

Remove the [censored] from my email address before using.

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My salad, by the way.....

mixed greens, snow peas, radish diced roast chicken CANNED
Chick peas Croutons Fresh salsa for dressing with a grate
of parmesan

I eat it constantly.....yummm

Mwestport Longtime lurker who loves this group.

take a look at: mycustompak.comFoodOpen ↗
_Guide/Chickpeas.htm

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on
nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas
in very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are
soft but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those
nasty skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not
at all like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My guess is that the problem is the crockpot. If I
remember correctly, it never actually boils but holds the
food just below the simmer. Perhaps the peas need boiling
to cook properly.

The chickpeas should be cooked in just plain water...no
salt. The salt gets added at the end of the cooking time.

Another site you can check is:

fatfree.commsg00362.htmlOpen ↗

Myself? I think if you eat chickpeas everyday, you should go
nuts and get a pressure cooker.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on
nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.

"hahabogus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am
sick of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after
several unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I
come to you all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in
fresh water in a crock pot with salt start on high
moving to low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they
seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas
in very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They
are soft but very mealy, not at all plump, and have
those nasty skins; some coming off and some staying on
all. Not at all like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My guess is that the problem is the crockpot. If I
remember correctly, it never actually boils but holds
the food just below the simmer. Perhaps the peas need
boiling to cook properly.

The chickpeas should be cooked in just plain water...no
salt. The salt

gets

Quoted message said:

added at the end of the cooking time.

Yet another kitchen myth. Please see
pgacon.comKitchenMyths.htmOpen ↗

Peter Aitken

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mwestport said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick of
paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to low.
I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

I make chickpeas once a week for hummus or indian recipes
and I use a pressure cooker. Soak them for 8 hours, rinse,
throw into the cooker and bring to pressure on high heat.
Take heat down to med-low and let them cook for 12-13
minutes. Remove from heat, run cold water over the cooker to
release the pressure and you have fresh cooked beans.

FYI, before you use a pressure cooker, do some googling on
how to do so properly. They can be a bit intimidating at
first, but I have been using mine two-three times a week for
the last two years and I love it.

~Deepak

--
Deepak Saxena - dsaxena at plexity dot net -
plexity.netplexity.netOpen ↗

"Unlike me, many of you have accepted the situation of
your imprisonment and will die here like rotten cabbages."
- Number 6

hahabogus said:

"Peter Aitken" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas
in very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are
soft but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those
nasty skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not
at all like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My guess is that the problem is the crockpot. If I
remember correctly, it never actually boils but holds the
food just below the simmer. Perhaps the peas need boiling
to cook properly.

The chickpeas should be cooked in just plain water...no
salt. The salt gets added at the end of the cooking time.

Sorry. Not true. One of the false bits that "everyone knows"
that isn't so. Season beans as you will and cook. I have
some beans cooking even as we speak and I put my own blend
of a seasoning salt I make in the water. The beans are
cooking just fine, as they always do.

Beans cooked in plain water are bland.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Another site you can check is:

fatfree.commsg00362.htmlOpen ↗

Myself? I think if you eat chickpeas everyday, you should
go nuts and get a pressure cooker.

My method is to soak dried chickpeas for a couple of days,
changing the water about 3 times. Then I just cook them in a
regular pot for about 1/2 hour or so until tender.

Washing Beans and Legumes

Before using beans and legumes, rinse them thoroughly under
cool water, then sort through them for any stones or other
debris. If using lentils, mung beans, or split peas, skip
the soaking section and go right to the cooking
instructions. If using anything other kind of beans,
continue to the next step: soaking.

Soaking Beans and Legumes

All dry beans and legumes except lentils, mung beans, and
split peas should be soaked before cooking. Soaking shortens
the cooking time and makes the beans more digestible. To
soak, cover the washed beans with four times their volume of
water, then choose one of these soaking techniques.

1.. Normal soak: Leave the beans to soak for 4-8 hours.
This is the traditional and healthier method of
soaking beans.
2.. Quick soak: Bring the beans to a boil for one minute,
cover, and let sit for one hour. The beans are soaked
once they are uniformly soft.

After soaking, you have the choice of 1. draining the
soaking water, rinsing the beans, and cooking with fresh
water, or 2. cooking with the soaking water. The former
reduces flatulence, while the latter provides more
nutrients.

Cooking Beans and Legumes

Whether reusing soaking water or adding fresh, there should
be twice as much water as beans. Boil furiously, uncovered,
for ten minutes. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 1-2
hours, until tender.

Tips

1 c dry beans yields 2½-3 c cooked. Unless otherwise stated,
the amounts given in my recipes refer to the cooked volume.

a.. Salt can disrupt the cooking, so should not be added
while soaking or during the first hour of cooking.
b.. Excessive heat can make soaking beans ferment, so when
it's hot out, put soaking beans in the fridge. Enjoy:
Chef R. W. Miller Marriott Resorts & Hotels

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My salad, by the way.....

mixed greens, snow peas, radish diced roast chicken CANNED
Chick peas Croutons Fresh salsa for dressing with a grate
of parmesan

I eat it constantly.....yummm

Mwestport Longtime lurker who loves this group.

Thanks for all the great info. This group is the Bee's
Knee's.

Ya know.....I use a pressure cooker all the time for potato,
carrots and the like and it NEVER OCCURED TO ME to use it
for the beans. Not too brite: not too good looking.

I like the idea that the crock pot is not hot enough and
not the tool for the job. I will try it after I get
through Easter.

mwestport

Chef R. W. Miller said:

Washing Beans and Legumes

Chef Pastorio here. Much of this is good, but a few things
to disagree=20 about.

Quoted message said:

Before using beans and legumes, rinse them thoroughly
under cool water,=

then

Quoted message said:

sort through them for any stones or other debris. If using
lentils, mun=

g

Quoted message said:

beans, or split peas, skip the soaking section and go
right to the cook=

ing

Quoted message said:

instructions. If using anything other kind of beans,
continue to the ne=

xt

Quoted message said:

step: soaking.
=20
Soaking Beans and Legumes
=20
All dry beans and legumes except lentils, mung beans, and
split peas sh=

ould

Quoted message said:

be soaked before cooking. Soaking shortens the cooking
time and makes t=

he

Quoted message said:

beans more digestible.

Soaking shortens cooking time. Doesn't have any significant
effect on=20 digestibility.

Quoted message said:

To soak, cover the washed beans with four times their
volume of water, then choose one of these soaking
techniques.
=20
1.. Normal soak: Leave the beans to soak for 4-8 hours.
This is the traditional and healthier method of
soaking beans.
2.. Quick soak: Bring the beans to a boil for one
minute, cover, and =

let

Quoted message said:

sit for one hour. The beans are soaked once they are
uniformly soft.

Beans don't get "soft" when soaked. They got somewhat softer
than the=20 bullet-hard state they're in when dehydrated.
They do, however absorb=20 enough water to increase their
weight up to 2 1/2 times.

I tested this just today. A cup of soybeans weighed right at
6 ounces.=20 I soaked a cup overnight and cooked another cup
from dry to see the=20 differences. The soaked beans weighed
14.25 ounces before cooking and=20
16.75 ounces after cooking. The beans cooked directly from
dry weighed=20
17.75 ounces when cooked. The soaked ones took 1 hour 55
minutes. The=20 dry ones took 2 hours 25 minutes. A half
hour difference in cooking=20 time. Different beans will
give different but reasonably proportional=20 results.

Quoted message said:

After soaking, you have the choice of 1. draining the
soaking water, ri=

nsing

Quoted message said:

the beans, and cooking with fresh water, or 2. cooking
with the soaking=

Quoted message said:

water. The former reduces flatulence, while the latter
provides more nutrients.

Sorta true. Soaking and changing water will *very
slightly* reduce=20 flatulence. Nutrients won't much be
leached in soaking and rinsing. If=20 you look at the USDA
database at raw beans and the same beans cooked,=20 the
nutrient profile will hold to that approximately 2.4
multiple. So=20 100 grams of raw beans will closely
approximate 240 grams cooked.=20 Nutrient quantity is the
same if you subtract water.

Quoted message said:

Cooking Beans and Legumes
=20
Whether reusing soaking water or adding fresh, there
should be twice as=

much

Quoted message said:

water as beans. Boil furiously, uncovered, for ten
minutes. Cover, lowe=

r

Quoted message said:

heat, and simmer for 1-2 hours, until tender.

Different beans take different times. The golden lentils I
did this=20 week took 45 minutes. Today's soybeans took 2
1/2 hours. Both from=20 dry. Test for doneness: pick up a
few on a spoon and drain the liquid.=20 Blow on them. If the
skin splits, they're done.

Quoted message said:

Tips
=20
1 c dry beans yields 2=BD-3 c cooked. Unless otherwise
stated, the amou=

nts

Quoted message said:

given in my recipes refer to the cooked volume.
=20
a.. Salt can disrupt the cooking, so should not be added
while soakin=

g or

Quoted message said:

during the first hour of cooking.

Not so. There was a cooking myths web site posted about this
within=20 the past couple days. Russ Parsons of the LATimes
has pretty much=20 disproved this one with his tests. I did
the some of the same ones and=20 found that salt didn't
affect the beans. What did was hard water,=20 particularly
if alkaline.

Harold McGee has some good information about beans in his
books.=20 Likewise Shirley Corriher.

Quoted message said:

b.. Excessive heat can make soaking beans ferment, so
when it's hot o=

ut,

Quoted message said:

put soaking beans in the fridge.

Except soaking beans is unnecessary. They can be cooked from
dry very=20 effectively. It also means that they only need
to be handled once.

And, in any event, for the amount of time they're soaking,
any=20 fermentation that might occur wouldn't materially
affect the nutrient=20 profile or the flavor. It's less than
24 hours, after all. Any=20 products of fermentation would
be cooked out.

Actually, pressure cooking beans is one of the better ways
to do it.=20 Fast (like less than 15 minutes at pressure),
no soaking needed, put=20 all seasonings in right up front.

Pastorio

Quoted message said:

Enjoy: Chef R. W. Miller Marriott Resorts & Hotels
=20
"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
=20

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to
low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My salad, by the way.....

mixed greens, snow peas, radish diced roast chicken CANNED
Chick peas Croutons Fresh salsa for dressing with a grate
of parmesan

I eat it constantly.....yummm

Mwestport Longtime lurker who loves this group.

Bob (this one) said:

Chef R. W. Miller said:

Washing Beans and Legumes

Chef Pastorio here. Much of this is good, but a few things
to disagree about.

(snip great info, despite the fact that I've never had
problems with beans/legumes)

Quoted message said:

Pastorio

Oooh! Professional Chef Wars! Gotta love it! 🙂 Where's Barb
and her trusty popcorn when you need it?

Now this is making me want to prepare some lentil soup. I
definitely don't soak lentils. For the record, I also don't
soak chick peas (dried garbanzos). But I definitely add
seasonings right from the start. I cook them in a large pot
on the stove; don't own a pressure cooker but one of these
days just might get one 🙂

Jill

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Enjoy: Chef R. W. Miller Marriott Resorts & Hotels

"Mwestport" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick
of paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to
you all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in
fresh water in a crock pot with salt start on high
moving to low. I cook them, it takes ages, until they
seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas
in very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are
soft but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those
nasty skins; some coming off and some staying on all.
Not at all like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

My salad, by the way.....

mixed greens, snow peas, radish diced roast chicken
CANNED Chick peas Croutons Fresh salsa for dressing with
a grate of parmesan

I eat it constantly.....yummm

Mwestport Longtime lurker who loves this group.

"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Chef R. W. Miller said:

Washing Beans and Legumes

Chef Pastorio here. Much of this is good, but a few things
to disagree about.

Quoted message said:

Before using beans and legumes, rinse them thoroughly
under cool water,

then

Quoted message said:

sort through them for any stones or other debris. If using
lentils, mung beans, or split peas, skip the soaking
section and go right to the cooking instructions. If using
anything other kind of beans, continue to the next step:
soaking.

Soaking Beans and Legumes

All dry beans and legumes except lentils, mung beans, and
split peas

should

Quoted message said:

be soaked before cooking. Soaking shortens the cooking
time and makes the beans more digestible.

Soaking shortens cooking time. Doesn't have any significant
effect on digestibility.

It does if you use the boil then soak method (if reduced gas
is considered an improvement in digestibility). When you
boil, soak, and discard the soaking water, some of the
compounds that cause gas - polysaccharides I believe - are
leached out of the beans and discarded, hence less gas.

Peter Aitken

On Fri, 9 Apr 2004 02:23:02 -0400, "Mwestport" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I practically live on chick peas in salads and I am sick of
paying about a buck a can for 'em. Well after several
unsuccessful attempts at cooking dried ones I come to you
all for help.

I soak the beans usually overnight then put them in fresh
water in a crock pot with salt start on high moving to low.
I cook them, it takes ages, until they seem soft.

What I get are dark nasty sort of "burned" tasting peas in
very dark, smelly, dingy water that I drain. They are soft
but very mealy, not at all plump, and have those nasty
skins; some coming off and some staying on all. Not at all
like the canned jobs (Goya mostly).

Ewwww...

Quoted message said:

I would have thought this would be easy. What can I do?

It sounds like you're cooking them too long. The crockpot
does a good job for long, slow cooking but (soaked)
chickpeas don't need anywhere near that long.

What I do is soak them overnight, change the water in the
AM, then simmer for about an hour - if that- in a saucepan
on the range until tender. They come out perfect. I don't
use salt, never thought they needed it.

You might also consider a different brand of dried chickpeas
if you still have trouble.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Peter Aitken said:

"Bob (this one)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... Chef R. W.

Miller said:

Washing Beans and Legumes

Chef Pastorio here. Much of this is good, but a few things
to disagree about.

Quoted message said:

Before using beans and legumes, rinse them thoroughly
under cool water,

then

Quoted message said:

sort through them for any stones or other debris. If using
lentils, mung beans, or split peas, skip the soaking
section and go right to the cooking instructions. If using
anything other kind of beans, continue to the next step:
soaking.

Soaking Beans and Legumes

All dry beans and legumes except lentils, mung beans, and
split peas

should

Quoted message said:

be soaked before cooking. Soaking shortens the cooking
time and makes the beans more digestible.

Soaking shortens cooking time. Doesn't have any
significant effect on digestibility.

It does if you use the boil then soak method (if reduced
gas is considered an improvement in digestibility). When
you boil, soak, and discard the soaking water, some of the
compounds that cause gas - polysaccharides I believe - are
leached out of the beans and discarded, hence less gas.

Oligosaccharides. The amounts leached are very small, so,
technically, it will improve digestibility by removing some
of the indigestible fractions. But the actual amounts
removed are small.

Soaking and changing the water three or four times will also
reduce the oligosaccharides. But, again, not all that much.
If gas is a source of distress, just make sure that
everybody in the house has some of the beans. Sing
harmonies.

Pastorio

Chef R. W. Miller said:

Washing Beans and Legumes

Still not properly attributing your articles, eh?

Let me help you -

This article courtesy of: <veggietable.allinfo-veggietable.allinfo-Open ↗
about.com/techniques/soakbeans.html>

-sw