How to cook beans

Tonight I made a delicious 15 bean soup. This is something I have tried to make in the past, but it has never turned out very well. But tonight I think I've found the right way to do it.

Ingredients: 15 bean soup mix, with or without included seasoning. Salt. Fresh cilantro. Olive oil. Light beer. No meat.

Start by soaking and then rinsing the beans. Soak for an about an hour. Some recommend soaking overnight, which will decrease cooking time. Discard the water used to soak the beans. This will make them more digestible.

As you cook the beans, temperature is obviously important. In the past, I have cooked to low, which makes the cooking time impractically long. The beans do not turn out tender at low temperatures. I think the key is a consistent simmer, with bubbles gently breaking at the surface, but without any obvious splattering or undulating at the surface. I checked often, and at times the simmer was starting to get intense, I stirred a little beer to cool it down.

Seasoning: Save all seasoning and oil for the very end. Salt added at the beginning will make the beans tough and extend the cooking time (or so I've been told.) Right before serving I added fresh, minced cilantro from the garden. Tonight, I added the salt and oil just before the cilantro. It takes a lot of stirring and tasting to adjust the salt content.

Tonight's beans cooked in about 5 hours, with a 1 hour soak beforehand. They were tender and delicious. I hope they will be even better tomorrow.