Cooking Beans: How Long Does It Take?

To properly cook beans, first choose the appropriate method for each variety. For green beans, bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan and add the vegetables when they are bubbling. 10 to 15 minutes later you can already serve. However, this cooking time is essential when cooking yellow and green beans. Both variants contain the substance phasin in the raw state. It is poisonous and only evaporates if you cook the beans for at least 10 minutes. Since the substance will remain in the water, be sure to throw it away. Our expert Reiner Ley knows why you shouldn’t eat other legumes raw besides beans. You can cook green beans without soaking them first. You only have to cut off the stems. By the way, you can also cook bush beans with a little water. To do this, steam them in oil or butter – if you like with a few onions too – add a little liquid, such as water or broth, and let everything simmer gently, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

How to properly cook dried beans

How long beans have to cook also depends on their texture. For example, soak dried white, black, or kidney beans overnight, but at least eight hours. Then cook them without salt for about an hour. Instead, add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the cooking water. In this way, the beans – and other legumes such as dried chickpeas – soften more quickly when they are cooked. You should also never eat dried legumes and beans completely raw. You’ll always be on the safe side with our recipe for kidney bean stew with bockwurst and cottage cheese. Of course, it’s easier if you use pre-cooked beans from a can or jar. You can either cook them a little softer, fry them or, thanks to the cooking process that has already taken place, enjoy them straight away cold, like for our bean salad. And of course, the question of how long the cooking process should last also arises with fresh broad beans. First, you need to remove the seeds from the pods. Then bring them to a boil in salted water, blanch them for two minutes and then shock them in ice water. With this procedure you can now remove the leathery skin of the beans with your fingers. Then you can process them further.