Touring - Cooking Lentils and Beans While on the Road?

Hey! I'm going to be taking copious amounts of dried lentils and beans with me on my next tour, but I'm pretty unsure of how to cook them. I have a stove that can simmer (or simmer as best a white gas stove can), but everything I've read from cooking sites online says to soak the beans/lentils for a while before they cook.

So...how do you cook them on the road without time to let them soak? Do they need to soak?

Thanks!

PS- I'm planning on making a lot of dal type dishes since they're easy, hearty, and delicous.

Hey! I'm going to be taking copious amounts of dried lentils and beans with me on my next tour, but I'm pretty unsure of how to cook them. I have a stove that can simmer (or simmer as best a white gas stove can), but everything I've read from cooking sites online says to soak the beans/lentils for a while before they cook.

So...how do you cook them on the road without time to let them soak? Do they need to soak?

Thanks!

PS- I'm planning on making a lot of dal type dishes since they're easy, hearty, and delicous.

http://bp0.blogger.com/_vUEhS0lU3eU/R3cfszqYexI/AAAAAAAAECo/J6RfeRGxQP0/s400/lentils.JPG

Depending on the specific beans or lentils IME you need between 30mins [some lentils] to 120mins to cook them on a stove when starting from a dry state. That's a lot of fuel so it is worth soaking them when possible.

If you soak them all day you can reduce that time considerably (http://www.centralbean.com/storeandsoak.html).

I have a small camping pressure cooker made by GSI that will also reduce the time to cook soaked or dry beans even further. It is heavy enough I probably wouldn't take it cycle touring, but I'm a bit of weight weenie. It probably would save enough fuel on a long tour to justify its weight if you plan to cook lots of beans/lentils.

Another option is to use an insulated pot cozy [they sell them for backpacking oven kits] over your pot. You can heat the pot with less fuel and then turn the stove off and the pot will stay warm for a long time cooking your beans without using as much fuel.

Depending where you are going touring you might be able to gather fire wood and cook on that. In that case fuel isn't too big a concern and you can let them simmer longer on a fire.

I'd try out some recipes at home on your kitchen stove or using your camp stove to get some idea how much time different beans need when soaked or not soaked. They are pretty easy to cook with and make some delicious meals.

I do it similar to Vik. At breakfast I bring the beans or lentils or rice and water to a boil , I let it cool for 10 mins and then put it in a plastic jar . At dinner usually 15-25 mins of boiling will finish them off. If you are also a carnivore , try putting some beef jerky in the soaking jar for flavoring

You are carrying the legumes and you carry water. Why not not carry some sort of secure Zip-lock or TupperWare container and let them soak while you ride along?

Use French lentils. They cook in about 30-40 minutes, even without soaking or pre-cooking.

Depending on the specific beans or lentils IME you need between 30mins [some lentils] to 120mins to cook them on a stove when starting from a dry state. That's a lot of fuel so it is worth soaking them when possible.

If you soak them all day you can reduce that time considerably (http://www.centralbean.com/storeandsoak.html).

I have a small camping pressure cooker made by GSI that will also reduce the time to cook soaked or dry beans even further. It is heavy enough I probably wouldn't take it cycle touring, but I'm a bit of weight weenie. It probably would save enough fuel on a long tour to justify its weight if you plan to cook lots of beans/lentils.

Another option is to use an insulated pot cozy [they sell them for backpacking oven kits] over your pot. You can heat the pot with less fuel and then turn the stove off and the pot will stay warm for a long time cooking your beans without using as much fuel.

Depending where you are going touring you might be able to gather fire wood and cook on that. In that case fuel isn't too big a concern and you can let them simmer longer on a fire.

I'd try out some recipes at home on your kitchen stove or using your camp stove to get some idea how much time different beans need when soaked or not soaked. They are pretty easy to cook with and make some delicious meals.

The suggestions that Central Beans makes about bring the beans to a boil and letting them soak for about an hour greatly reduces the time I need to cook beans (I discovered it myself long ago;))

Since you will be touring, fantom1, and you may be changing altitude you'll want to take that into account. Beans are easy at sealevel or even up to a couple of thousand feet. But if you happen to be going somewhere higher, expect much more time than 2 hours to cook beans. I live at 5000 feet and it generally takes 3 to 4 hours...even with the Central Bean method...to cook a pound of beans. Even at 2 hours, that's a lot of fuel to use.

For improved heat transfer look at one of these from MSR (http://www.msrcorp.com/cookware/heat_exchanger.asp).


http://www.msrcorp.com/cookware/images/heat_exchanger.jpg

What about sprouting some. Not sure about lentils, but there are options. 40 minute of cooking on the road is a lot of fuel. A good book worth at least borrowing on the subject is Sailing the Farm

I soak mine in a small Rubbermaid/Tupperware container. I also have the small pressure cooker, but have yet to take it on tour.

Aaron:)

Hey! I'm going to be taking copious amounts of dried lentils and beans with me on my next tour, but I'm pretty unsure of how to cook them.
Where do you plan to tour and for how long? Will you be at high altitude?

The following may be slightly off topic from your question, but...

We found that dried refried beans and instant rice worked well for us. They took way less time to cook than regular dried beans. That said at high altitude they still took longer to cook than I would have liked.

FWIW we also found that dried hummus reconstituted instantly and was great for lunch with tortillas or bread. It was even better if supplemented with some fresh veggies. We found that cabbage traveled particularly well and that shredded cabbage added a nice crunch to lunch sandwiches.

We tried to buy stuff for each day as we went when possible to avoid carrying too much, and to allow us to have fresh veggies. If that is an option where you will be I suggest you consider it rather than trying to take a lot along. We did find that it made sense to have at least a day's worth of "emergency food" in reserve when traveling in rural areas with only small or no towns. In more remote areas we carried more in reserve, but still tried to limit it.

At one point we were given a lot of food, mostly dried. It must have weighed 20 pounds! We broke it down into five lots and carried one while mailing the remaining four ahead to ourselves at various post offices via general delivery. When we got to a post office too soon, or on a Sunday when they were closed, we just asked that they send it ahead to another one farther down the road. We were never charged for the forwarding and we could make the arrangements from another post office without having to visit the one we had shipped to. We found that for heavy, but not bulky stuff like food that USPS flat rate boxes were a good deal.

I won't be at any elevations higher than about 3,500 feet. I'm going to head out to the Anza-Borrego desert from San Diego, then depending on how much time I have left maybe make a big loop.

It sounds like if I have a fairly flat day then soaking the beans in a ziploc bag is the way to go; I just don't want to be carrying around the extra weight in the hills. I mainly was thinking that carrying a bunch of dried legumes would save a lot of weight, but after hearing from everyone it seems like that's not the case. hmmm

I won't be at any elevations higher than about 3,500 feet. I'm going to head out to the Anza-Borrego desert from San Diego, then depending on how much time I have left maybe make a big loop.

It sounds like if I have a fairly flat day then soaking the beans in a ziploc bag is the way to go; I just don't want to be carrying around the extra weight in the hills. I mainly was thinking that carrying a bunch of dried legumes would save a lot of weight, but after hearing from everyone it seems like that's not the case. hmmm

My state starts at around that altitude so we have lots of experience in cooking at high altitude. Just be aware that it takes longer to cook stuff because the boiling point of water is lower. At 3500 feet, it's around 205 F. That's enough to increase cooking time significantly especially for tough stuff like beans. Pressure cookers work but you ain't gonna save any weight;)

If you want to have fun, take a guy who has cooked his entire life where pasta, rice, beans, etc takes much longer to cook and transplant him to 700 ft (Vermont). His pasta will be soup...Ick!

The longer you soak the beans the lesser intestinal distress they cause. Soaking encourages the germination to begin which releases enzymes that help with digestion.

We found that soaking beans overnight then cooking them first thing in the morning works well. Then, when you are starving at lunchtime all you need to do is reheat (if you can wait that long) and eat.

The seal top MSR Stowaway pot (http://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/CycleCuisineCookingEquipment.html) works well to keep the cooked beans and rice from spilling all over the place while cycling.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSYW9SVHL.jpg

The seal top MSR Stowaway pot (http://www.vwvagabonds.com/Bike/CycleCuisineCookingEquipment.html) works well to keep the cooked beans and rice from spilling all over the place while cycling.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41JSYW9SVHL.jpg
Is the seal liquid tight?

Is the seal liquid tight?

It's a metal to metal seal, and if you turn the pot upside down with the lid clamped on liquid will seep out (I just tried it with mine). It is about as snug a seal as you're going to get with metal to metal contact, though. If you can find a way to keep the pot upright and wrap it with a plastic bag you might be all right, though.

I used to use lentils and rice as part of my backpacking menu, I would put the lentils and/or rice and water in a zip-lock bag and hang it in the sun in a spot where animals wouldn't reach it. After a full day of that treatment the lentils and rice would cook up pretty quickly. This only worked on days where I was leaving the tent and gear in one spot, like when i was going off to do a peak or having a rest day.

My experience cooking rice, beans and legumes is a lot like cyccocommute said. I live at 9000 feet and the only way I can cook that stuff is with a pressure cooker, or with the "soak in the sun" method I just outlined.

my lentils always cook in about 20 minutes or less. i set the stove on high and don't use a lot of water.

Man, after much camping on the desert (I lived down there), I avoid carrying food that requires water to reconstitute. Heck, might as well carry the weight in ready to heat up and eat food and leave the precious water to drink.

I soaked some bens and lentils in a water bottle(holder under the downtube) on my trip this summer, worked well enough, just threw them in when I made breakfast and come dinnertime they cooked pretty quick.

Was still easier to buy small packages of ready to serve beans and such.

If you're going to have to carry the water anyway, why not just go with canned beans? Would probably weigh less than dry + water, and they would cook much quicker.

Usually, you want to discard the soak water too, which just adds more weight (need both cooking and soak water).

my lentils always cook in about 20 minutes or less. i set the stove on high and don't use a lot of water.

Everybody in this thread say differently, so its not enough just to say 20 minutes. Please explain how you do it, and why it's just 20 minutes. Is your lentils small, medium, large.. ? What type do you use?

Kfir

If you're going to have to carry the water anyway, why not just go with canned beans? Would probably weigh less than dry + water, and they would cook much quicker.

Usually, you want to discard the soak water too, which just adds more weight (need both cooking and soak water).

I think but I'm not sure, that canned beans are more expensive, which on a week tour its absolutely nonsense, but on a long tour it can save you money and let you have more variety cooking your meals.

Yup, the main point is to tour as cheaply as possible.

A can of pintos or black beans is usually around 50 cents (sometimes cheaper), and they can keep you on your feet for a long time. They are also incredibly versatile. Given the logistics of cooking a larger dry bean on the road, it seems like a minor expense for a can.

Red lentils cook a bit faster, in my experience. They tend to break down quickly into a dal.

Red lentils will cook in a matter of minutes, in my experience, and they don't require pre-soaking. Just boil in salted water until they are tender and then drain. Green or brown lentils also don't require pre-soaking and they also cook quite fast, but not quite as quickly as red lentils.

With other dry beans, soaking is essential (or bypass the process by cooking them a long time, but that takes a lot more fuel.) Also, once the beans are cooked, drain them and then rinse them thoroughly. That way they don't cause gas. Lentils, for some reason, don't have the same effect.

fantom1,

If you're going to cook dry beans or lentils on the road for health reasons, I would do it. Combining healthy eating with lots of cycling is a great lifestyle. I'd use a recycled plastic peanut butter jar for soaking while petaling.

I'm not so sure about saving cash, however. Buying food along isn't too costly. But it's easy to eat a lot of crap along the way. I don't mind-- I love Top Ramen and Ho Hos! But I understand it's not totally healthy.

That's a good point! I don't particularly want to be eating a bunch of junk, and I'm a vegetarian, so fast food's usually no bueno.

Hey! I'm going to be taking copious amounts of dried lentils and beans with me on my next tour, but I'm pretty unsure of how to cook them. I have a stove that can simmer (or simmer as best a white gas stove can), but everything I've read from cooking sites online says to soak the beans/lentils for a while before they cook.

So...how do you cook them on the road without time to let them soak? Do they need to soak?

Thanks!

PS- I'm planning on making a lot of dal type dishes since they're easy, hearty, and delicous.
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.

****
Beano can be a very useful adjunct.

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" :)

From the New York Times a couple of days ago (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/dining/02curi.html?pagewanted=all):

"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."

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.

I think but I'm not sure, that canned beans are more expensive, which on a week tour its absolutely nonsense, but on a long tour it can save you money and let you have more variety cooking your meals.

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.

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.

(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.))
How long is short term?

How long is short term?

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....)

****
Defatted flours are also available, and they last longer.

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

http://www.soyconnection.com/soyfoods/soyfoods_directory.php

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

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

"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.

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.)

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

Here are a few ways of using them,

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

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

Garbanzo nuts:

http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.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.]]

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."



* * * * *

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

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

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