Niles H.

They don't need to soak, but it can help.

Mung beans (like lentils) cook faster than most others. They also sprout very easily -- perhaps more easily and more consistently than any other. They are good sprouted and cooked, and don't weigh that much once you drain off the water. If you soak them overnight (it can help to put them in a leakproof container inside your sleeping bag (at the foot, or wherever it seems best), because the germination is temperature sensitive -- on a cold night the germination will not be as good), you can drain them in the morning. Some say that multiple rinses will help digestibility.

Small baby lentils (French lentils and others can be found in larger and smaller sizes) cook faster than the larger versions.

Split peas can be good, too.

You can grind beans before cooking (this is easier to do at home than on tour). They cook faster this way.

I have heard that all legumes should be cooked for at least 20 minutes, to eliminate some mild toxins that otherwise remain.

Whether this applies to the ground ones, or to the flours (as well as to the whole beans), I don't know. I would guess, though, that the interior of unground beans would cook more slowly that the same part when ground.

You can also buy the pre-ground flours made from various types of beans.

Whole garbanzo and soy beans take a long, long time to cook. Some of them never really cook well -- even after twelve hours of boiling -- without a pressure cooker.

Pressure cookers are great for cooking legumes, but there are trade-offs -- there are some disadvantages as well, for touring especially.

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If you are interested in saving money and time and fuel, and are still wanting to cook legumes, the powdered forms are probably your best bet.

They also have the advantage of being more fully digestible, due in part to the particle sizes.

They can also be incorporated in other dishes, like oats and rice, and they can be used as thickeners in soups and stews. Hummus and other dishes, spreads and dips can be based on them.

There are some soymilk powders that are precooked and reasonably priced. I've seen them at some of the larger natural foods stores.

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Beano can be a very useful adjunct.

fantom1 

That is a great idea to grind them up. Thanks! As for the Beano, I'll be touring solo, and it can be my way of "keeping unwanted suitors away"

Takara

From the New York Times a couple of days ago:

"In fact it’s easy to save loads of time and energy and potential discomfort with grains, dry beans and lentils, and even pasta. But it requires a little thinking ahead. It turns out that the most time-consuming part of the process is not the movement of boiling heat to the center of each small bean or noodle, which takes only a few minutes, but the movement of moisture, which can take hours. Grains and dry legumes therefore cook much faster if they have been soaked. However heretical it may sound to soak dried pasta, doing so can cut its cooking time by two-thirds — and eliminates the problem of dry noodles getting stuck to each other as they slide into the pot."

StephenH

Regular dried beans take forever to cook, best avoided using a camping stove. Lentils aren't so bad, but still take a while.

The local Krogers stocks a Viga-brand Black Beans and Rice mix that is really good. The beans are actually cooked and dried, I think, at least they are done when the rice is. There are similar mixes for red beans and rice. If you're passing a grocery store, just pick up a can of beans.

wattly

This, I can understand. I've mostly switched to dried beans for cooking at home. Though, this has more to do with weight savings than cost, as the dried beans are easier to bring home from the store on the bike. Cost wise, it's not a huge difference. Canned beans, 15oz, will often go on sale for 50 cents or 5 for $2. 1lb of dried beans, about 3 cans worth, is usually around a dollar. So, it's cheaper, but not a huge amount so. For touring/camping, it might end up costing more. You'll need water for the soaking and cooking, and if you're using bottled water, it will be costly. You'll also need a lot more fuel to do the cooking, which costs money too. Canned beans can be eaten cold, but don't take long to heat up either.

Niles H.

Precooked soy flour has the advantage of needing very little cooking. It can even be used to make soy milk directly, without cooking.

Soy also has some unique qualities. It is much higher in protein (typically about 80-100% higher than most beans). It is also richer in calories (due to higher oil content), and is considered a higher-quality protein (with a better distribution of essential amino acids).

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(Some of these precooked soy powders are much better than others, and there is a wide price range. Some go for about 1.19/lb (or less if bought in bulk quantities). Others are up to six or seven dollars a pound. Different ones seem to be processed differently. The simplest, purest ones I have seen are just soy flour that has been cooked and dried. Some of those are among the most reasonably priced.)

(One other thing about soy flours -- if they have the full oil content, they can spoil. They have to be eaten fairly soon, or refrigerated or frozen to last in storage long-term. (Short-term they are fine.))

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There are also soy nuts.

Raw soybeans can be pressure-cooked in a large batch, then drained and spread out on cookie sheets, and dried in a warm oven.

They can be very good this way, and are ready to eat.

Most people like them best with some kind of seasoning -- they are easy to season before spreading them out to dry, and there are many options and varieties of seasonings, including some good exotic ones.

staehpj1

How long is short term?

Niles H.

I wondered if someone would ask that.

It would depend on conditions. Hot weather would be worse than cold. If the container were airtight and low on oxygen, and protected from light, and the temps cold or cool, it would help quite a bit.

Even in summer, though, I'm sure it would last a few days. A few weeks might be pushing it.

It would probably slowly lose freshness and go off as the oils oxidized. (It wouldn't kill anyone, but the flavor wouldn't be as good; it would be a gradual change, and different people would draw the line at different points....)

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Defatted flours are also available, and they last longer.

Niles H.

More detailed information on this could probably be found through one of these sites or organizations,

https://www.soyconnection.com/soyfood..._directory.php

and other soy experts that could be found through Google. Some of these people are glad to help with questions.

spencejm

I've only done this at home so take it for what it's worth. If you've got the time in the afternoon, say around 4:00 PM, put your beans in a pot and boil them for 10 minutes. Cover them and and turn off the heat. Let them sit for at least an hour. I ususally let them sit for 2 hours. If you can, drain and rinse then cover with clean water. That gets rid of all those enzymes that give you gas. You then bring them up to a simmer and cook until they're as tender as you like. I've had them cook up in about a half hour but I'd plan on an hour. It sounds like a long time but you're still eating by 7:00 PM and it gives you time to munch on some snacks and enjoy a cool adult beverage. Adjust your starting water level based on how soupy you want the final product. If you're going to be right there to keep an eye on them you can start with less. You really don't want to deal with cleaning the pot if you let it run dry. I'd rather toss it and buy a new one.

Joe

StephenH

"That gets rid of all those enzymes that give you gas."

Don't bet on it! I've heard that adding baking soda does this, and they sell Beano which is supposed to do this. If you don't want gas, just don't eat beans. It affects people differently, too, not all of us react the same.

Best solution I saw was a wooden souvenir spoon for cooking beans. It had little rungs installed up the handle so the farts could get out of the pot while you were cooking the beans.

Niles H.

Thanks for this thread. I just learned some interesting things about other ways of preparing soy nuts. You don't even need to use a pressure cooker (though you can do it that way also).

The beans can just be soaked overnight, then drained and rinsed. Then they can simply be baked.

They can also be left to germinate or sprout just a bit, before baking. The flavor, texture, and digestibility may be improved by the germination process.

Pressure cooking may or may not make them easier to digest. This may also depend to some extent on the individual.

(The more detailed instructions on soy nut preparation can be found via Google on various websites.)

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Garbanzo beans can also be made into 'nuts', and some of the other beans can also be eaten this way.

Niles H.

Here are a few ways of using them,

https://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=96543

(There is a whole raft of additional information on the web, on preparation and uses.)

Niles H.

Garbanzo nuts:

https://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin...e.cgi?r=110895

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[[A variety of other beans could also be cooked and then dried at home. This would save time and fuel on tour. They could be eaten as they are. Or they could be cooked quickly, if cooking is preferred.]]

Niles H.

In case it is of interest to someone, it seems that drying and then freezing the (presoaked) soybeans, before cooking, is optional but may improve the flavor and texture to some degree,

"EXAMPLE I

A selected cluster of soybeans is washed, placed in a container, and covered with water and allowed to soak overnight, covered. The remaining water is removed from the overnight soaked soybeans, and the soaked soybeans are allowed to still air dry on a clean white turkish towel for 6 to 10 hours. The dried soybeans are spooned into a ZIPLOC.RTM. plastic bag, sealed tightly, and placed in a freezing atmosphere to freeze. Approximately 1/2 gallon of soy oil is placed in a thermostatically controlled electric deep fryer having a basket, and the soy oil is heated to 375° F. The frozen dried soybeans are placed in the basket and immersed in the 375° F. soy oil bath. Immediately popping and cracking sounds are heard. The soybeans are allowed to remain immersed in the hot soy oil until the popping and cracking sounds can no longer be heard, which takes 20 to 22 minutes. The basket is lifted out of the hot soy oil and the fried soy beans are poured on a paper towel covered cookie sheet. Seasoned salt is liberally sprinkled over the fried soybeans while hot such that a palatable, tasty, crispy and crunchy edible soy nut is produced.

EXAMPLE II

Repeat Example I except that the freezing step is omitted, and discover that the produced soy nut edible has an oily taste and is generally not as tasty, crispy and crunchy as the edible soy nut of Example I.

EXAMPLE III

Repeat Example I except that the drying step is omitted, and discover that the produed soy nut edible is generally not as tasty, crispy, and crunchy as the edible soy nut of Example I."



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To cook them on tour, dry roasting on a skillet is one option. Frying is another.

RiotBoi

www.harmonyhousefoods.com

bulk dehydrated beans. Cook REAL fast. very tasty. reasonably priced when you consider the savings of time and fuel and whatnot. the veggies are bangin too

Richbiker

The bigger the bean, the longer it will take to cook. I like to make a good Indian dal on my bike camping trips. I use a Coleman stove, burning white gas. First time around, I tried yellow split peas. It took forever. I imagine standard brown lentils would take even longer. Now if you go with those little orange lentils in Vik's picture, those will cook in about 1/2 hour simmering on a white gas stove (stir often, especially toward the end when they've broken down, and the lentil mush likes to stick to the bottom). I think it would take longer on a pop can stove. Also, filed under the department of "learned the hard way": never add anything acidic to legumes while they are cooking, because the acid prevents them from breaking down, and you get an unpleasant grainy texture that will give you a case of gas that neither you nor the surrounding counties will forget soon. So add the tomatoes or lemon juice at the end. Also, tiny little lentils don't require any pre-soaking.

I don't know where you live, but any Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi grocery would have a variety of tiny lentils (which they call "dal"); many other ethnic groceries or health food stores will carry something similar. Your standard issue grocery store . . . not so much.

Rich