I'd put them in a microwave dish and nuke until soft. More water if needed.

: )
lyra

Ok thanks.

What Linda said, or simmer them until soft. I use high heat on my crock pot for legumes. They really do need at least a simmer temperature.

I wouldn't do beans in the micro....they pop and burst and generally make a mess!
Put them on the stove top.
and in the future, judge doneness by taste not by the clock....ain't no 2 beans ever the same....nor bags of flour nor chickens....etc.

Ok, they're soft now. I did them on the stove. Yep next time I'll set the crock pot on HIGH. I knew that. Just wasnt thinking.

Thanks for the help! Your the best!

Mine went on at 12:00 noon on high for about an hour, then to low. It's now 9:30 and they're just about right. All ready for tomorrow!

And Happy New Year all. Beth

Oops! Sorry, Lyra, for the hasty reading of your name.

E

Too late to help, Shaun, but I'm glad they turned out all right. I usually cook beans on high in the crockpot, but split peas can get done on low...

Annie

Mine have been simmering for one hour and 45 minutes and are still a bit crunchy. It looks like it will take a total of 2-1/2 hours.

Lars

May or may not apply, but beans in any acedic solution won't soften or will take a very long time....and by acedic I mean even slightlyllllsometimes tap water can be acedic....and adding tomato and some vegetables may do it if your tap water is nearly litmus 7. BUT a generous pinch of baking soda should make them soften right up.

I frequently use a pinch of baking soda for beans that do not want to get done, especially garbanzo beans. I also use a pressure cooker for beans, and this reduces the cooking time significantly for ones that otherwise take too long.

what an old thread! But, when it comes to cooking dried beans, if you have any acid in the liquid, it will retard the cooking. Lars mentiones a pinch of baking soda and it is likely that this changes the acidity and that may be why it makes sense to add some. I add that pinch of baking soda to my tomato sauce and it sweetens the sauce so much! Old beans will often not cook properly. I had a partial package of small red beans that I found and put on to cook yesterday. After a very respectable cooking time , they were still rock hard. So, I put them out in the compost . I know that they have been in the pantry just too long

My MIL never did understand why her lima beans were always hard. It is because she was trying to cook them in a tomato based broth. If I am going to do something like that with dried beans, I will basically cook them first.

Actually, I buy and use canned beans of one particular brand and keep a well stocked pantry of all different varieties and we use them on a solid basis.

I know all you folks who will swear that your dried beans are better than canned ones. But these that I use are a basic bean from the can. If I were to cook them from dried it would probaby be in the context of making something specific like New Orleans Red Beans or pinto beans with ham hock and that is not a fair comparison to canned beans that are plain. I use them in so many ways! Butter beans are my favorite. They just need a good not sweet cornbread baked in an iron skillet.