Flat beans or Lima beans |
- How to Select and Store :Fresh lima beans are generally not widely available, although they can sometimes be found at farmers' markets or specialty grocery stores. If you have the opportunity to purchase them, choose ones that are firm, dark green and glossy, and free of blemishes, wrinkling and yellowing. If they have been shelled, you should inspect them carefully since they are extremely perishable. Look for ones that have tender skins that are green or greenish-white in color and do not have any signs of mold or decay.
- Preparing and Cooking :
- Before washing dried Lima beans, spread them out on a light coloured plate or cooking surface to check for and remove small stones, debris or damaged beans. After this process, place the beans in a strainer, rinsing them thoroughly under cool running water.
- To shorten their cooking time and make them easier to digest, lima beans should be pre-soaked (pre soaking has been found to reduce the raffinose-type oligosaccharides, sugars associated with causing flatulence.) There are two basic methods for presoaking. For each you should start by placing the beans in a saucepan and adding two to three cups of water per cup of beans.
- The first method is to boil the beans for two minutes, take the pan off the heat, cover and allow to stand for two hours. The alternative method is to simply soak the beans in water for eight hours or overnight, placing the pan in the refrigerator so that the beans will not ferment. Before cooking the beans, regardless of method, drain the soaking liquid and rinse the beans with clean water.
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