Why beans are tough / not boiled

Beans take a long time to cook – an hour or two, especially old ones, and even after several hours of cooking they can be tough. The reason for the hardness is in the shelf life and storage conditions, very old beans will not become soft even after 3 hours of cooking.

Any beans for softness should be prepared for boiling. The grains should be doused with boiling water in order to destroy the layer of natural wax that prevents them from getting wet. Then you need to rinse the beans with cold water and pour over to soak. It is important to remember that proteins released into the water contribute to the development of bacteria that secrete organic acids. The acidic environment is not conducive to boiling the beans Therefore, it is recommended to take boiled water, which, if possible, needs to be changed several times. To make the water a neutral and even alkaline reaction, it is advised to add baking soda to it (from a quarter to a half teaspoon). To boil the beans, you need to take fresh cold water, after boiling, change it again to cold water – this will speed up the cooking.

/ /