Beans are seeds from the Fabaceae plant family and are a staple food in many countries, prized for their high nutrient and fiber content. There are a wide variety of beans and most are considered legumes, the fruits of a bean plant that grow in pods. Most beans need to be cooked to be safe for human consumption; they are usually boiled. However, boiling beans for long periods of time may leach all the nutrients out of the beans. Fortunately, there is a way to cook beans to preserve as many of the nutrients as possible.
Step 1
Sort through the beans and remove any stones or visible debris that may have been picked up during harvesting. Beans go from the farm to the consumer with little processing in between and may harbor some dirt.
Step 2
Put the beans in a pot and add three times the amount of water as beans -- 3 cups of water for 1 cup of beans. Let the beans soak overnight or for at least six hours.
Step 3
Cook the beans according to your recipe using the soaking water. The soaking water is usually dumped and the beans rinsed, but this water is full of nutrients from the beans. Using the soaking water for cooking the beans will reincorporate the nutrients into the beans. Remember that the beans are hydrated and require only minutes, not hours, to fully cook, a process which will also help retain nutrients.
Step 4
Use a pressure cooker to cook the beans. Boil a little water in the pressure cooker and seal the top tightly to prevent liquids from escaping. This raises the heat and pressure of the steam produced, which can cook foods in a fraction of the regular cooking time and preserve nutrients. Different brands of pressure cookers may have different operation methods, so read the instructions before using yours.
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