How to Prepare Pulses for Cooking?
Preparing pulses from scratch is an easy process;
here are some techniques and tips to learn how to prepare perfect tasty pulses.
Although the only way to test the quality of a pulse is to cook it, there are some signs that can help us detect a pulse’s quality:
- When selecting pulses, it is convenient to make sure they are clean, without foreign objects such as stones, sticks or dirt, and with few if any damaged, split, or skinned seeds.
- Homogeneity of size and shape is usually a sign of pulse quality.
- Beans and lentils should have smooth, shiny skin coats. Wrinkled bean and lentil skins tend to split open when the seed is hydrated.
- Look for pulses that are as fresh as possible – best if from the latest harvest.
- Check the country of origin. This will indicate whether the pulse comes from a country with dependable phytosanitary controls.
- Purchasing from a pulse specialist is one of the safest ways to find good quality pulses.
For these reasons, pulses from the United States are preferred by pulse specialists around the world and recognized as setting the world standard in pulse quality.
Wash your pulses in a strainer before soaking to eliminate particles and any floating pulses. Soaking is a crucial step because it reduces the cooking time. Much of the oligosaccharides, which can cause flatulence, are eliminated too. Pulses will double or triple in volume, so make sure they have is enough space and water to grow.
Ideally, soak them overnight before preparing them. They should be left in a cold place or in the fridge, to avoid fermentation. Adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the soaking water can help promote digestion. Ideally, soaking time should be a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 12 hours.
Here is the traditional and two alternative soaking methods to obtain clean, well hydrated pulses, ready to cook.
Traditional soaking method
- Put the pulses in a saucepan, covering them with 3 time their volume in water.
- Leave them to soak for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 12 hours, in a cool place.
- Drain the pulses and discard the water (Note: cold water starts the rehydration process, but does not finish it, the beans will appear wrinkled.) They will finish rehydrating during cooking.
- Rinse with fresh water.
- Ready to cook.
But there are two alternative ways of soaking beans, chickpeas, and dry peas (not recommended for lentils):
Hot soaking method
- Put the pulses in a large saucepan and add 4 parts of water for each part of beans.
- Heat the saucepan until the water boils, keep it boiling for 2 or 3 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover and let the beans soak for 1 hour.
- Drain the beans, discard the soaking water.
- Rinse with fresh water.
- Ready to cook.
Pressure Soaking
- Put the pulses in a pressure cooker and cover with 7 cm of water.
- Heat the pressure cooker until it is pressurized.
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the pressure drop naturally.
- Discard the soaking water, rinse the pulses, and prepare your recipe.
Soaking Chart for traditional & Express Cooking times
Pulses | Soaking Times | Traditional Cooking Minutes | Express pot Cooking Minutes |
---|---|---|---|
Milky White Chickpea | 12 hours | 90-120 | 30-45 |
Pedrosillano-Type Chickpea | 12 hours | 90-120 | 30-45 |
Eston Lentil | 0-4 hours | 20-40 | 5-15 |
Pardina Lentil | 0-4 hours | 25-45 | 10-20 |
Regular Lentil | 0-4 hours | 15-30 | 5-15 |
Yellow Pea | 12 hours | 45-60 | 20-40 |
Green Split Pea | 0-4 hours | 30-40 | 15-20 |
White Kidney Bean | 12 hours | 45-120 | 30-40 |
Cranberry Bean | 12 hours | 45-120 | 25-40 |
Blackeye Bean | 12 hours | 45-120 | 20-25 |
Pink Bean | 12 hours | 45-120 | 30-40 |
Navy Bean | 12 hours | 45-120 | 25-35 |
When cooking pulses it is advisable not to use aluminum or cast iron pans, as these materials tend to make cooking difficult and change the color of the product.
Pulses increases from 2 to 2.5 times in volume while cooking, so take this into account when preparing the portions. To cook pulses, it is best to start off with cold water – with the exception of chickpeas, which should always be added when the water is boiling – and after about 10-15 min, when they have started to boil, it is important to remove the foam that forms as it contains impurities and antinutrients.
It is important not to overcook pulses, as they will lose nutrients, texture, color, and flavor. Salt should only be added during the last 10 minutes of cooking, as salt lengthens the cooking process.If you are working with hard-to-cook pulses, adding bicarbonate to the soaking water or the cooking water will ensure that the pulses come out softer, however by doing so you will also destroy some of the thiamine making the assimilation of amino-acids harder. If you decide to use bicarbonate; it is best to use the following proportion:
1g. of bicarbonate x 1L of water x 200gr of dry legumes.
Legumechef recommends cooking pulses by themselves, as this will optimize the cooking times and makes the cooked batch more versatile as they can be used for different recipes (stews, burgers, salads…
It is difficult to give the exact cooking time since there are many variables such as the variety, the age, the hardness of the water used and the altitude of the area.
To decide the cooking time, it is necessary to consider the use that will be given to the pulses. For example: if we are going to add them to a salad, freeze them and use at a later time to be added to a soup or a stew, it is better that they are firm or slightly under-cooked.
Approximate traditional cooking times
- Black-eyed peas: 30min to 1h
- Kidney, pink or white beans: 1h to 1h30min
- Baby Lima beans: 1h
- Large Lima beans: 45min to 1h
- Chickpeas: 1h to 1h30min (Start with hot water)
- Whole Lentils: 20-40min
- Decorticated lentils: 15-30min
- Split peas: 45min to 1h
* See cooking table, pulses soaking.
With this method, the cooking time is greatly reduced. The initial process is the same as the traditional method: start with cold water (with the exception of chickpeas) and cook for 10-15min until they have started to froth, remove the foam and then cover to start pressure cooking. Is it important to respect the cooking times, as they are covered and being cooked with pressure, so we cannot test the pulses as they are cooking.
Concerning the salt, we will do the same as in the traditional method.
Approximate pressure cooking times:
- Black-eyed peas: 20-25min
- Kidney, pink or white beans: 30-40min
- Baby Lima beans: 30-35min
- Large Lima beans: 35-40min
- Chickpeas: 45 min (Start with hot water)
- Pardina lentils: 25-30min
- Decorticated lentils: 10-15min
- Split peas: 15-20min
If you have the necessary material; here are the steps to follow to cook pulses sous-vide:
- Hydrate pulses by soaking for 12 hours.
- Prepare a water bath between 80-90ºC.
- Strain and rinse the pulses and measure the cooking water, you will need 3 parts of water for 1 of pulses.
- Weigh the water, and for every 100g add 1g of salt. (i.e. 1% salt per weight).
- Put the pulses in a suitable cooking bag, cover them with the salted water and put the bag in the water bath, closing the edges with clips. Another option would be to use a mason jar.
- For the cooking time we estimate that we need at least 4 hours for most beans and up to 6 hours for chickpeas. We will check the texture of the pulses after 4 hours and see if they need more time.
- Once the cooking is finished, let the pulses cool in their cooking water, or use ice & water to cool them down as fast as possible.
As pulses germinate, the enzymatic action begins to break down the nutrients stored in the seed. Therefore, when consuming them, the assimilation of these nutrients requires less work for our digestive system. To begin, we should clean the elements we will use to germinate, as well as the seeds. A solution with hydrogen peroxide helps us clean the pulses and prepare them for germination.
Once clean, we can either semi-hydrate them or put them directly to germinate. Cover with a damp cloth and in a warm place. Over the next few days, the germ will sprout. After about 3 days, they will be at their optimum point. Now they can be semi-cooked, eaten directly or ground.
Download our PDFs for more information & ideas on how to cook your pulses:
Dry Pulses
Dry pulses are generally easy to store and preserve. And they are always at hand and as a dry product they are “non-perishable”. They should be stored in airtight containers and in a cool, dry place to avoid direct light, especially from the sun. This way they will not darken or change consistency. The portion per person is approximately 60-85g dry weight
Cooked Pulses
Pulses can be stored once cooked in a refrigerator for 3-5 days. The sooner the cooked pulses are cooled down and refrigerated, the better we ensure a proper conservation. They also withstand freezing. Freeze in an airtight container, with the cooking broth. Cooked pulses can be frozen for 3-5 months without losing characteristics. For defrosting, slow defrosting in the fridge is important. For storage in the freezer, pulses may be slightly undercooked because freezing tends to soften them
Download our PDFs for more information & ideas on how to store pulses:
Here is a summary of our Tips to answer any unresolved questions you may have.
Tips for cooking pulses
- After soaking, discard the water and rinse the pulses.
- Adding sodium bicarbonate (1g per liter) when soaking can improve the texture of pulses, although it limits the absorption of certain nutrients.
- Add enough water to cover the pulses, but do not overfill to avoid movement during cooking.
- Cook with cold water and without salt. Salt lengthens cooking time. In the case of chickpeas, the water must always be boiling.
- If water needs to be added during cooking, add hot/boiling water- the necessary amount to cover the pulses again.
- Allow the pulses to rest after cooking in the warm cooking water itself for additional hydration.
- Pulses should be cooked at a simmer or low boil to prevent the pulse from splitting open.
- Remove the foam from the surface during cooking to eliminate the majority of saponins and tanins, and to improve the texture.
- Some cooks prefer to cook pulses in broth to infuse the pulses more evenly with flavor and salt.
- A few drops of freshly squeezed lemon towards the end of cooking helps to reduce the earthy flavor of certain varieties of lentils.
Tips to make pulses more digestible for the human body
- Add kombu seaweed during cooking: it contains glutamic acid which imparts umami to foods, softens the fibers of pulses, reduces cooking time and makes pulses more digestible. Adding about ten centimeters of this seaweed when cooking legumes is enough. At the end of cooking remove the seaweed
- Consume pulses with carminative herbs (plants such as: coriander, fennel, ginger, rosemary, thyme, chamomile; or spices like: nutmeg, cumin, anise …) to improve the bioavailability of nutrients. A carminative is a medicine or substance that aids digestion. The effect refers to an antispasmodic effect on the smooth stomach muscles and a decreased fermentation effect in the intestinal flora.
- Finishing the dishes with cress/sprouts helps us digestion due to their physicochemical characteristics.
- Accompany pulses with ferments so that the body better assimilates certain nutrients.
- Do not mix pulses with saturated fats, as they hinder their digestion.
- Supplement pulses with whole grains/seeds to be able to synthesize methionine, an essential amino acid.
- Consuming pulses regularly generates more specific bacterial flora in the gut for better assimilation of legumes
- Pulses without skin have less fiber and are easier to digest.
- Incorporating tomato, lemon juice or other acidic ingredients can facilitate digestion. Add them when the pulses are already tender.