I finally figured out why my dried beans were still hard after cooking all day

I soaked a pound of pinto beans overnight, then put them in my slow cooker on low for 8 hours. They were still like little rocks. I found out my tap water in Phoenix is super hard, and the minerals were stopping them from getting soft. I had to dump it all, start over with bottled water, and cook them for another 4 hours. Anyone else have a simple trick for cooking beans with hard water?

2 comments

2 Comments

lewis.barbara2d ago

My grandma in Tucson always added a pinch of baking soda.

rowanjenkins3d ago

Phoenix water is so hard it can literally stop beans from cooking, that's wild. I never would have guessed water could do that. I guess it makes sense since it leaves all that scale on the shower head. You must have been so mad after waiting eight hours for nothing.