topic Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking? in Kitchen

Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Sister Golden Hair — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:55:38 GMT

This may seem like a crazy question but my sister-in-law just washes them puts them in the water. She is 68.

My Mother taught me to pour the beans out on the counter and sort them to get rid of any bad beans and rocks. Yes, once in a while beans will have a small rock.

Just curious and I wondered if this was just a Missouri thing. Thanks

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Toppers — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:58:54 GMT

Yes. I do sort them when I am cooking with dry beans. I was taught to do the same thing as you were.

You are right, as sometimes there can be small rocks or pieces of gravel in with the beans, and that would be the last thing that you would want to bite down on when eating your beans.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

juperier — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:01:22 GMT

I wash them in a colander and stir them around a bit looking for rocks and remove any that float. But there's a good chance I could miss a rock. On the other hand, I've never found one.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

divine — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:02:11 GMT

Yes,I always sort dried beans and thoroughly wash them before cooking. I usually find little stones and even an occasionally small clump of dirt, etc. that I don't want to end up in my cooked beans. It would be too easy to chip a tooth on one of those little pebbles. My family was formerly from the South but I'm a native Californian, so it isn't just a Missouri thing.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Sister Golden Hair — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:04:58 GMT

Thanks, I knew that I wasn't the only one that sorted beans. My sister-in-law said that she had never heard of doing this with beans.

I cooked beans last night and I did find a small piece of gravel.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

skyblue — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:09:16 GMT

Yes! Sound advice!

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

kittymomNC — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:04:05 GMT

We also check the beans before cooking... I was born in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the women always called it "looking the beans". Even though I moved away as a child, my Mom said it and it always stuck with me. So I always "look my beans"... don't want to break a tooth on something that's not supposed to be in there!

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

sunshine45 — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:04:40 GMT

i wash them in a bowl and change the water a few times and in some instances let them soak. i do run my hands through the beans several times to find any stones, but i RARELY find any. i dont pour the beans onto a counter.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Mothertrucker — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 06:36:16 GMT

i always sort them by pouring them out on a rimmed cookie sheet, and culling out the bad ones, rocks etc..

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

adoreqvc — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 07:46:29 GMT

Dry beans yes I do sort them because you can find many unwanted items in them.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Anita Hug — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:00:20 GMT

Yes, I always sort them. It's a pain, but I've found many little stones or things that do not belong. Some brands tend to contain more unwanted stuff than others. It doesn't take as long if I dump them out on a large cookie sheet with rims as another poster mentioned. I sort the good ones into a colander and give them a good rinse before the first soak.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

debic — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 13:03:56 GMT

I generally sort them before I put them in mason jars to store, then when I cook them I just rinse and put them in water to soak.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

chickenbutt — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:20:20 GMT

I don't do them like that but, when I am rinsing them in a colander, I file through them looking for bad beans or dirt clods or rocks.

Whatever works is the best way. I can see why one would lay them out and go through them. For whatever reason I never thought of that. I had to start cooking when I was a small child and I never had anybody to teach me so there ya have it - I didn't know better.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Tigriss — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:35:40 GMT

Yes, do sort them. Your sister will realize this when she gets a bad bean or a rock!

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Perkup — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:38:30 GMT

Speaking of . . . . Ate with friends one day at a cafeteria, which should remain nameless I guess), and bit into a rock in the black eyed peas. Broke a bridge that I had paid over $7,000.00 for. They replaced it, but nothing could replace the pain and time spent getting it replaced. Yep, there are rocks in them peas!

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

chickenbutt — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:40:27 GMT

On 4/1/2015 Perkup said:
Speaking of . . . . Ate with friends one day at a cafeteria, which should remain nameless I guess), and bit into a rock in the black eyed peas. Broke a bridge that I had paid over $7,000.00 for. They replaced it, but nothing could replace the pain and time spent getting it replaced. Yep, there are rocks in them peas!

Oh dear! That's an awful experience to have to go through. Glad they did pay but, yeah, what a major inconvenience!

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

geezerette — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:49:05 GMT

On 4/1/2015 chickenbutt said:
I don't do them like that but, when I am rinsing them in a colander, I file through them looking for bad beans or dirt clods or rocks.

Whatever works is the best way. I can see why one would lay them out and go through them. For whatever reason I never thought of that. I had to start cooking when I was a small child and I never had anybody to teach me so there ya have it - I didn't know better.

That's what I do too. I usually find more clumps of dried soil than actual rocks. I buy dry beans and there's usually some sort of unwanted stuff that needs to come out. I also take out any beans that don't look normal. Then I rinse well before filling the pot with water. I let the beans and water sit in the frig overnight before cooking so before I put the pot on the stove I can catch anything else that doesn't look like I want to eat it that has floated to the top of the beans.

If I'm making beans or peas fresh from the garden, I sort them as I'm removing them from the pods.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

ChiliPepper — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:54:28 GMT

Yes, absolutely. Beans & peas - I have found tiny rocks (or something) in them.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

depglass — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 18:55:57 GMT

I think the big companies have electro scanning to pick out the rocks. But I do check them quickly when they are getting a shower in the colander. I just cull the ones that look really discolored.

Re: Do you sort your beans before cooking?

Madisson — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 19:41:48 GMT

I think we were all taught to sort beans and wash them before cooking. I saw a show on tv once that said with the way beans are processed before we receive them today, there probably are no rocks, twigs, etc. that get through. They are also washed and dried before they are bagged too, but I still put them in the colander and do a quick sort through...then rinse well. I've never found anything in them.