Recipes
Quick Soak For each cup of sorted, rinsed
beans, place 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt
into the pressure cooker. Add the beans and
bring to the boil. Lock the lid in place and bring
pressure to the second red ring over high heat.
Reduce heat to maintain pressure at the second
red ring and cook 2 minutes. Release pressure
with the cold-water method and remove the lid.
Drain beans and cook as directed in the recipe.
After soaking the dried beans by one of the
methods mentioned above, drain and rinse them
thoroughly under cold running water to remove
any of the indigestible sugars.
Start cooking with fresh water. The beans
should always be covered with water, (3 cups for
each cup of dried beans that have been soaked)
and the pan should not be more than half full,
including the addition of liquid.
Vegetable oil can be added to the cooking liq-
uid to help prevent foaming while the beans are
being cooked under pressure. Always shake the
pressure cooker slightly before opening the lid.
Another way to prevent foaming and tender-
ize the beans is to add a strip of kombu, a sea
vegetable, to the beans to be cooked. Kombu is
usually sold in dehydrated strips at the health
food stores and should be re-hydrated by rinsing
quickly before adding to the pressure cooker.
Place the kombu on the top of the beans in the
cooking liquid. After cooking with it, it should be
discarded. Kombu may also help with digestion
and adds valuable nutrients.
Pressure cookers produce dramatic time
savings when cooking beans. Most beans can
be cooked in 1/3 to 1/2 the time of conventional
cooking methods, and flavor is never sacrificed.
Exact times are impossible to give because of
variables such as the age and dryness of beans,
and how they have been stored. The time chart
on page 42 is a good reference for many of the
more common beans and some of the rediscov-
ered “heirloom” beans; beans which have been
forgotten for some time, and are now being rein-
troduced to the market.
How To Pressure
Cook Beans
Cooked beans taste
better if cooked a day
ahead. They keep well
in the refrigerator for
3 or 4 days and can
be stored in the freezer
for up to 6 months.
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