Buying
Fresh beans should feel solid. The pods of the beans should break when bent, and the point of fracture should be juicy and green. Beans should have a uniform colour without any marks.
Preparation for cooking
If the beans are young and tender there is hardly any waste when they are prepared for cooking. It is sufficient to cut off the ends with a sharp kitchen knife. If the beans have been harvested late, they might have tough strings; these should be removed before cooking.
Soaking and cooking
Dried beans should be allowed to soak overnight in cold water before they are eaten. If they are placed in freshly boiled water, they only need to soak for about an hour before cooking. Depending on the variety, pre-soaked dried beans should be boiled in water for between 10 minutes and one hour.
Always cook!
Beans should never be eaten raw! Fresh beans should be cooked for at least 10 minutes prior to eating. Only thus is the toxic protein phasine destroyed. Throw away the water in which the beans have been boiled!
Seasoning
Beans are seasoned with salt after cooking as otherwise they often remain hard.
Storage
Fresh beans should be stored in a cool place and for not longer than two days. Dried pulses may be stored for at least a year. Their appearance should not be dull, but shiny, and they should have a spicy aroma. Even if preserved in cans they are healthy and rich in nutrients.
Preparation for ease of digestion
Who at some point has not been plagued by flatulence after eating beans? By using herbs such as marjoram, thyme, summer savory, coriander and rosemary, and taking care with the preparation, pulses can be made more easily digestible. Rinse the beans well, place in freshly boiled and allow to soak for four hours. Then boil them in fresh water, preferably for too long rather than too short a period.
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