Chapter 11 | Potatoes and Grains Selecting and Storing Legumes Legumes’ packaging should be intact with no rips or holes. Canned legumes should be dent free. Beans and peas are also available fresh, canned, dried or frozen, ‘Store legumes in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area, away from light and excessive heat. Always discard any beans or peas that appear moldy, damp, or wrinkled, It is possible to keep dried beans for one to two years; however, they are best when they areused within six months of purchase, —— Essential Skills. Softening Dry Evans @ Dry beansare not ready to eat, of course. They need some attention first. © Rinse the dust off of them and sort out any pebbles or shriveled beans. ‘This is best done on a white plate or surface, so you can see what you've ot © Soaking dry beans softens them prior to cooking. Bolling dry beans in we- ter for 2 minutes, then allowing them to soak for 1 hour prio to cooking ‘wll sotenlbcans aswell as an overnight soaking in cold water. Some beans tnd peas will actualy soften better aftr this brief boiling. © salt is acded to the soaking water, or the tap water used is very hard (high minoral content, the beans might not soften. Hard chemical com- plexes and hydrophobic bonds can form between molecules, preventing, Softening, Remember: Soft water, soft beans. © Be sure todiscard the soaking water, rinse the beans again, and cover with clean water Then cook.» © arly in cooking, ada sat for seasoning and to improve the flavor of the beans. Add an avis like tomatoes, early in the cooking to lengthen the time requted to soften the beans. Add a small amount of soda (no more than ¥ teaspoon pet cup of dry beans) to shorten the cooking time. Add ing too mach soda makes the beans bitter, dark, and mushy. Cook them until theyare soft. Flavor the beans for recipes when they are filly cooked and softened -Remember"The longer dry beans are stored, the longer they take to soften. FheCChapter 11 | Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts Cooking Legumes 698 Rinse legumes before cooking In some cases, soak legumes before cooking. Check dried legumes for dey stones, and other debris prior to washing by placing the product on a sheet pan.Place § (——__~____________] Tegams ina, Floure 11.10: Before cooking legumes, ine or oak them large colander or sieve and rinse ‘well with cold running water to remove any dust or dirt particles. Then follow the precedure reviewed inthe Essential Skills: Softening Dry Beans, Figure 1.10 shows legumes being rinsed. Cook legumes before they are eaten to develop their flavor, to remove harmful substances, and to make them easy to chew and digest. Cook them so they are firm to the bite. Table 1.3 identifies the soaking and cooking times for various dried legumes. You can serve legumes in many ways—soups, stews, salads or as side or main dishes.Red beans, for instance, are often served as a vegetarian dish in red beans and tice. Black beans are popular in Mexican cooking. Kidney beans are ‘uswally served in chili, bean salad, and Cajun dishes. Chickpeas are the basis for ‘hummus. Soynuts are a popular snack and used a a garnish in saladsChapter 11 | Potatoes and Grains ‘Soaking Tims Cooking Time ‘Ada beans hows ‘howe | Bldek boone E Thus a ese l | Bloceayed beans le how [ioieipess! Aone is Faia hosts Fe baons ss Vahows Shows Great Novkerobemes Tene =o tie Kids boars A hows hove Ee ee z ae [tina bans ° A hous Vet howrs ura bars | Tae q Navy beans A hours aur Pass spl we a 30 minuies oe, wile = fe hours 40 minutes | Saieee Cone 7 |Taheoe 20 minutes =| {fine beans 4 aus Tishows | “Seymore op hows Bie hou Sprouts of Mung Beans, Chickpeas, and Alfalfa “Sprouse a cxtogoy for a legume or grain that has started to germinate and sprout inp a plant changing Ito another ype of food. Sprouts are reat on salads sandwich ts, and in Asian dishes, boosting the total nutitional content ofthe meal. Mung beans are used extensively in Asia and the Midcle East fora vary of uses {Wht sprouted in water under limited daylight, these sprouts are pale, watery, crunchy, td mill They er eormmonly refered to 35 "bean sprouts? and are readily avallabe in the United States, Chickpeas, slzoknown as garbanzo beans, ca also be sprouted, These sprouts have Sot ore ofthe original starchy seed intact ahd recognizable. They are great in salads fad are more filing than thelr ght flow sprouts. Unlike mung bean or chickpea sprout, alfali sprouts ae bight green ana good ouroe of vilarns, minerals, an colarful chlorophyll. Since alfalfa saeds are actualy fegumes, they ,rovde abit of protein in thei sprouts, just Ike the other beans. Tey are troy Tight and rity, adding a crispy, leafy freshness to sandwiches and salads Many other gains and legumes can be sprouted, In cel they ae all sed genetically Mead to sprout Some including Kdney beans, ae toxic when sprouted, s0 investigate before any experimentation with sprouts 699