[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Diana; something that also helps to soften beans lentils and chickpeas is to add perhaps a teaspoon of baking soda per cup of dried beans. The alkalinity helps, along with several changes of soak water, to reduce the gassiness. ( A 1990s NYT Cooking editor who had problems with chickpeas and this was someone's suggestion to her to help with the gas.)

Also, avoid acids in the initial cooking of the beans or lentils. It makes them tough. Beans have a small pinhole opening in the skin that allows water in which closes in the presence of acid and delays the time required to absorb water and cook!

[Pollard]

Definitely works. I pressure cooked 10+ year old black beans and they were crunchy. Did it the same with added baking soda and they were soft.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I PINGED Paul to your post. :)

[Paul R.]

Ah, good info. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I was already through the soaking process before I read it. What I ended up trying was a 5 minute boil followed by an overnight soak, but I just let ‘em cool down by themselves and then only changed out the soak water once during the night, then again before beginning cooking them in earnest.

The beans then got cooked ~9 hours and are still(!) only somewhat softened. I’d say the consistency is not too far off that of pecan meat.

Maybe I could try the pressure cooker? Would the baking soda still help? (It seems unlikely, as the beans are mostly slightly splitting anyway, but still not soft. But, I might try it with a cup of them separately.)

If, next time, I try several soak water changes,

A) Should I not do the “quick boil” at the start?

B) Should I add baking soda at each change, to counteract the acidity of the water?

Note that the beans seem pretty consistent. Unlike this person’s experience, they are all a little “unpleasantly crunchy”.

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-dried-beans