How to prepare white beans

A recipe from cooking-ez.com

For 500 g, you will need:

• 1 500 g white haricot beans
• 2 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 3 ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of (baking) soda (optional)
• Total weight: 530 grams

Times:

Preparation	Cooking	Start to finish
12 hours 2 min.	15 min.	12 hours 17 min.

Step by step recipe

1	Pour 500 g white haricot beans into a bowl, and cover with plenty of cold water. Leave overnight to soften.
2	The next day, drain and rinse under cold water.
3	Pour the beans into a large saucepan over medium heat, cover with plenty of cold water, add 2 tablespoons coarse salt and if possible ½ teaspoon Bicarbonate of (baking) soda and bring to the boil. At first, a foam may form on the surface - this is normal - skim off the foam and discard. Continue cooking, covered, until the beans are tender, then turn off the heat.
4	Drain the beans, they are ready to be used in your recipe.

Remarks

You'll notice that the beans take quite a long time to cook, but if you add a little baking soda in step 3, which tenderizes the bean skin, the cooking time is much reduced.

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