Cooking dry beans in an Aroma cooker, skipping the soak?

[Thomas Martinez]

Saw a few peoples mention throwing dry beans into their rice cooker. How do people finds the texture when they cook them this way?
The method is to rinse the beans, throw them in with 3 cups of water to 1 cup beans, then put it on the white rice cycle. It take 90 minutes for the rice cooker to cycle through the rice process. However, are there different texture between different types of beans when using this method? For example, would black beans turn out different than pintos or chickpeas?
Would the rice cooker reach the necessary heat to fully cook the beans so they are not chalky in the middle? 90 minutes should do the trick for black beans but not for chickpeas. I’d also be concerned about the lectin levels in kidney beans, since undercooked versions of those beans can cause vomiting and diarrhea in high amounts.
Would people who use this method for beans find the texture to be satisfactory?

 

[Topsy-Turvy C]

black beans yes, chickpeas no. Tried chickpeas on white rice cycle once and they were basic gravel in the middle. Had to run a second cycle and added another cup of water.

 

[Star]

Please do not throw raw kidney beans in a rice cooker and call it a day. The phytohaemagglutinin in undercooked red kidney beans will wreck you. It has to be boiled for at least 10 minute to denature. A rice cooker is not going to reach that for a raw bean recipe. However, black beans and pintos is lower in this compound so it’s okay to cook them in a rice cooker.

 

[Victoriou]

does the aroma actually hit boil temp the whole time or does it cycle? mine sounds like it pulse

 

[Motionless Mantis]

i do black beans this way like once a week. 1 cup beans, 3 cups water, pinch of salt, smashed garlic clove, hit white rice, done. Perfect for tacos

 

[Topsy-Turvy C]

salt at the start is fine btw, the whole 'salt makes beans tough' thing has been debunked a bunch. Kenji did a writeup on it. If anything brined beans cook MORE even for beans

 

[Future Rabbit Orches]

why would salt keep them firmer? i thought it was the opposite. Doesnt salt help break down the skins or something

 

[Star]

why would salt keep them firmer? i thought it was the opposite. Doesnt salt help break down the skins or something

It's the opposite of what you read. Salt helps beans skins to stay intact so they cook evenly on the inside and outside. Brining beans the night before cooking is the best way to prep them. The myth that salt makes beans tough comes from people not understanding that the skins just werent cooked proper.

 

[M.C. Escher's]

lmao at people using a rice cooker for beans when an instant pot exists and does it in 35 min no soak. Why are we doing this

 

[We Love Mounta]

Did this for probably two years before I got a pressure cooker. Beans were fine but I had issues with the chickpeas. Rice takes 75-90 minutes and it simmers, not simmers to a true boil. Chickpeas need to be boiled for 2+ hours or pressure. Also no, I never did kidneys in the rice cooker. My coworker once made his kidneys raw in a slow cooker and he was puking into his napkin for a couple hours the next morning. I may not cook beans but I sure as hell know how to cook kidney beans and not give them to peoples in this state. If you’re looking for a cooker that can cook all beans and do it in a no soak fashion I’d get a cheap pressure cooker instead of an aroma.

 

[Future Rabbit Orches]

It's the opposite of what you read. Salt helps beans skins to stay intact so they cook evenly on the inside and outside. Brining beans the night before cooking is the best way to prep them. The myth that salt makes beans tough comes from people not understanding that the skins ju…

ohhh ok that makes sense. So its like the skin acts as a barrier and the inside cooks through without bursting? interesting. Does it matter how much salt or is it just like a normal pinch

 

[Victoriou]

so if it doesnt actually boil the whole time how is it cooking beans at all? is simmer enough to cook the beans?

 

[Fut]

i just dump the beans and go. Black beans every time its solid.

 

[Topsy-Turvy C]

so if it doesnt actually boil the whole time how is it cooking beans at all? is simmer enough to cook the beans?

around 1 tsp of salt per cup of beans works well for me.

 

[M.C. Escher's]

instant pot will do everything the aroma does and more. Its actually 80 bucks and easily worth it for the beans.

 

[Forbidden Plunger Babi]

chickpeas need to be soaked before they are boiled. No matter what cooker you use. Ive tried everything else and nothing works half bad as soaking chickpeas overnight in salty water.

 

[Victoriou]

has anyone tried using the brown rice setting instead of the regular setting? its for longer right? could it cook chickpeas for long enough?

 

[We Love Mounta]

has anyone tried using the brown rice setting instead of the regular setting? its for longer right? could it cook chickpeas for long enough?

i tried the brown rice setting on the same pot of chickpeas and it boiled for around 2 hrs instead of the 45 minutes it would have for white rice. I used it in place of the regular setting but my chickpeas were still firm in the middle. I guess it works for some but I found that pressure cooking chickpeas is really the answer to properly cook them.

 

[Planet of the]

1:3 is way to low for unsoaked beans. Try 1:4 or even 1:4.5 instead. The reason why beans are chalky in the center is because of the insufficient amount of water that was used in the recipe. Unsoaked beans need to absorb their own weight in water before they can be cooked.