Digby, I have a question about soybeans!

Do you add anything to them for flavor, how long do you bake in oven? I have not perfected the soy nut and was curious what you do...
Thanks!

Thu. Dec 1, 2:03pm

I buy raw soybeans (best deals are from Asian food stores) and cook them in much the same way as any other bean: I clean and soak them, then simmer them for several hours.

One intensely important feature about soybeans, however, is that they have a lot of the enzymes that cause intestinal gas. I therefore take extra precautions in soaking them, simmering them, and in the quantities of "digestives" such as epazote, cumin and bay leaves that I add.

If you check the thread regarding the posting of my basic meal plan, I laid out in detail a recipe for cooking pinto beans.

For soybeans, using the same basic approach as I outlined for pintos:

1. I start with a batch of 5 cups, rather than 9 cups of pintos., and a 16-cup pot (I think) rather than the larger pot for pintos.

2. After boiling the soybeans for 3 minutes and soaking them overnight, I rinse them until there is no more foam coming out. The foam is what causes intestinal gas.

3. I add 2 tablespoons each of epazote and cumin, along with two bay leaves when I put the beans on to simmer. These are aids to digestion, as well as flavoring.

4. I simmer them for about 6 hours. It is difficult to tell when soybeans are done, as they never get soft, as best I can tell. I'd rather be safe than sorry. Six hours does not hurt them.

5. I add 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt to the pot of beans about 15 minutes before I remove them from the heat.

This yields about 12 cups of cooked beans, more or less. I freeze about half of them for later use. Can't be too rich, too thin, or have too many containers of cooked beans tucked away in the freezer :-)

As far as soynuts go, I have never baked any myself, although I do have a recipe and anticipate that I will do so sooner or later. Right now, I just go to a health food store and buy them. At present, I don't really use that many soy nuts.

Hope this helps. If not, I'll try again.

Digby

Thursday, December 1, 2005, 5:59 PM

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