How to Soak Butter Beans
Consuming butter beans, otherwise known as lima beans, is a nutritious and delicious way to add fiber and variety to your diet. Butter beans come dried, frozen, or canned. Dried butter beans are the least expensive option, however the preparation and cooking time is considerably longer for them than for frozen or canned butter beans. Dried beans need to be soaked before cooking to re-absorb some moisture. Cooking soaked beans takes considerably less time than for dried beans that haven't been soaked. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Clean and remove any stones from your butter beans. Almost all beans that come from the grocery store have small stones or gravel hiding amongst them. Spread your beans on a clean, dry towel and pick through them. Throw any stones or pebbles in the garbage.
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2
Rinse your butter beans. Carefully pour your picked-over beans into a strainer and run them under cold water. This step eliminates any residual dust or debris on the butter beans.
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3
Pour the cleaned beans into a large pot filled with water. The beans need to be submerged with at least 3 to 4 inches of water above them.
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4
Cover the pot or bowl and place the soaking beans in the refrigerator for four to six hours or overnight.
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5
Drain or cook soaked beans. Once the soaked beans have doubled in size they have been adequately soaked. The soaking water can be used for cooking, or the beans can be drained and boiled in fresh water.
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Tips & Warnings
Using the soaking water to cook the butter beans provides more nutrients than using fresh water.
Using the soaking water to cook the butter beans can result in more flatulence after consumption.
Do not over soak the beans. Bacteria can grow and cause mold or other undesirable results.
Soaking in warm or humid environments can cause the beans to sprout or ferment.
References
- Photo Credit Bean in pot image by rlat from Fotolia.com
