Benefits of Soaking Your Legumes & Beans

Thinking about whether to soak your legumes and beans or not? Well, soaking your beans helps them cook faster and more evenly, and it can also make them easier to digest. Here are a few benefits of soaking your legumes:

• Reduces phytic acids
• Reduces tannins and polyphenols
• Promotes production of beneficial enzymes (serves to further reduce phytic acids and polyphenols)
• Improves the body's ability to absorb minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium
• Makes proteins more available for absorption
• Reduces anti-nutritional enzyme inhibitors
• Removes gas-causing compounds
• Decreases cooking time and improves food texture

TWO WAYS TO SOAK

To soak, cover the washed beans with four times their volume of water (no salt yet), then choose one of these soaking techniques.

Overnight soaking

Put the legumes in a pot, cover them with water by two inches and let them soak for eight hours or overnight.

Quick soaking

Put the legumes in a pot on the stove, cover with water, and boil them for two minutes. Turn off the heat and let the legumes soak for at least an hour.

HELPFUL TIP

Cover the beans with water at room temperature. Soak them overnight or for 8 to 10 hours. Beans soaked longer than 12 hours can absorb too much water and lose their characteristic texture and flavor.