Cooking Directions for Bulk Beans

• To shorten cooking time, most beans benefit from pre-soaking. Smaller beans, including adzuki, mung, lentils, black-eyed peas and split peas, generally don't require pre-soaking but are more easily digested if soaked, drained and cooked in fresh water until very tender. Use longer times for unsoaked beans.
• Place soaked, drained beans in a pot with three to four cups of water or broth for each cup soaked beans (or add sufficient water or broth to cover beans by two inches). Bring to a boil, reduce to low heat, cover with lid slightly ajar and cook until tender (see chart for cooking times).
• To help tenderize beans and promote digestibility, use seasonings in bean dishes such as bay leaves, cilantro, coriander, cumin, epazote, fennel, garlic, ginger and peppers. Or add a six-inch piece of dried kombu to the cooking pot and remove after cooking.
  

Bean Cooking-Time Chart Beans

1 Cup dried	Pre-Soaking	Water (Pot )	Cooking Time (Pot )	Cooking Water (Pressure Cooker )	Cooking Time (Pressure Cooker )
Adzuki	not required	3 1/2 cups	90 min.	1 1/2 cups	45 mins.
Anasazi	6-8 hrs	4 cups	60-90 min.	2 1/2 cups	30 mins.
Black turtles	6-8 hrs	4 cups	90 min.	not recommended	N/A
Black-eyed peas	not required	4 cups	60 mins.	2 1/2 cups	45 mins.
Fava	overnight	3 cups	45-60 min	not recommended	N/A
Garbanzo	overnight	4 cups	3-4 hrs.	2 1/2 cups	60 mins.
Great northern	6-8 hrs	4 cups	2 hrs.	2 1/2 cups	45 mins.
Lentil (red)	not required	2 cups	20-30 mins.	not recommended	N/A
Lentil (brown/green)	not required	3 cups	30-45 mins.	2 cups	20 mins
Lima	6-8 hrs	2 1/2 cups	60-90 mins.	2 cups	30 mins
Lima, baby	6-8 hrs	2 1/2 cups	45-50 mins.	not recommended	N/A
Mung	not required	2 1/2 cups	45 mins.	2 cups	30 mins.
Navy	6-8 hrs	3 cups	90 min.	2 1/2 cups	30 mins.
Pinto	6-8 hrs	3 cups	2 hrs	2 1/2 cups	45-60 mins
Red Kidney	4-8 hrs	4 cups	90 min.	2 1/2 cups	45 mins.
Red Beans	4-8 hrs	4 cups	90 min.	2 1/2 cups	45 mins.
Soybeans	overnight	3 1/2 cups	4 hrs	not recommended	N/A
Split Peas	not recommended	3 cups	45 min	not recommended	N/A

• Cooking times are approximate. Slow cooked beans turn out a lot tastier.
• Always sort through the beans and remove stones or any damaged or discolored beans. Rinse the beans.
• Use three times the amount of water to beans and soak in a cool place. Do not use the bean soaking water to cook with. This reduces the effect of starches that promote intestinal gas.
• Drain off the soaking water, replace with fresh water, and bring to a boil, skimming any foam off as it forms.
• Cook with the lid off for the first 10 minutes. Keep the boil at medium.
• When able to mash a bean easily between your fingers, add salt or acids such as citrus juice, vinegar or tomatoes. Add a 1/8 of a teaspoon of sea salt, shoyu, or miso, only after the beans are tender, about 10 minutes before done.
• Add 1 bay leaf or 1/2 strip of kombu per cup of dried beans, if desired, to aid in digestibility.
• For flavor, beans can be cooked with garlic, onions, vegetables, spices, etc.

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