Cooking basics: Black beans

Black beans are a great food to to have in the house. Not only do they keep for a long time dry they last for a while even after they have been cooked. Not only are they durable they are healthy too. Black beans have the highest source of phytonutrients out on any plant, they help the digestive track stay healthy, and are low GI. The boyfriend and I use black beans regularity in our food to bulk it out and enjoy the health benifits. 

How to select good Black beans? 

Try to find a place that has a regular turnover of black beans. This will ensure that the beans are fresh and help with long term storage. Fresh beans will store up to 12 months in a dark cool area but the longer you leave the beans the longer they will take to cook. Another idea is to buy canned beans. Because black beans require a long time to cook they don't lose nutiurents in the canning process. As an added advantage canned beans don't need soaking or cooking. 

Fast Vs slow soaking 

It's best to soak the beans before you cook them as it lowers flatulence-related substances like raffinose and stachyose. However, there are two ways to soak beans, one fast way and one slow way. 

For the slow way.

1. Remove any twigs or small rocks from the beans as sometimes the manufacturing process misses these things 

2. Put the beans into a metal pot or bowl

3. Fill with water till an inch above the beans. 

4. Cover and leave overnight 

For the fast way. 

1. Again, remove any twigs or small rocks from the beans.

2. Cover with an inch of water and bring to the boil. Add extra water if need. 

3. Boil for about 2-3 mins. 

4. Remove from heat and leave for two hours. 

What method you use is based in how well organized you are and how much time you have. 

The cooking. 

With the soaking done the hardest part is finished. Cooking is really easy. 

1. Place in to metal pot and bring to the boil

2. Once it's reached boiling point lower the heat to simmer. Add water as needed. 

3. Cook for around 20 min. Note that older beans will need longer. 

For storage.

Place in plastic contaner or ziplock bags. Black beans will last 3-4 in the fridge and around 2 months in the freezer. This includes opened black beans cans.   

And that's it. An easy and healthy food that can be stored up too 2 months.