Originally Posted by Maggie_Sue

I ended up leaving the beans cooking in the crock pot until 8 PM, then I refrigerated them overnight. The next day heated, simmered them on the stove top. Seemed to soften them up enough to eat. After reading all 5 pages, I think the problem was that I used chicken broth for the liquid instead of water, a recipe that I found on the internet, it was low salt but that might have hindered the softening of the beans. Great Northern Beans here I come!!!! Thanks to all for the replies!!!

Originally Posted by SewingSew

I grew up eating dry beans. In our family, the beans would be rinsed, then soaked overnight, then rinsed again, and then brought to a boil and, reducing the heat, simmered slowly on the stovetop for 3-5 hours until they were done. At that point, we would fry up about 6 pieces of fatback and pour the rendered fat into the pot of beans. They would then be served with home-made biscuits or hoe-cake, or cornbread. The bread made the beans a complete protein.
Now, I rinse my beans, then put them in my crock-pot before I go to bed and turn it on low. And usually, I think the ratio of beans to water is 1 part beans to 4 parts water. I let the beans continue to cook overnight and the next day. Most of the time they are done around 3pm to 5pm the next day. Although it is dependent on the type of bean that I cook. I usually cook pintos, or kidney beans. When I cook navy beans, or black-eyed peas, it takes less time. I gauge the cooking time with smaller beans by opening the crock up in the morning and determining how much longer they need to be cooked. If I am making split-pea soup or cooking lentils, the cooking time is much more minimal.

The crock-pot that you use is very important. The ones that they sell in the stores now have thin crocks in them. Those crocks cook too fast and they turn the beans to mush. What you want to do is go to eBay and look for a used crock-pot that has a heavier pot inside. Trust me, it makes all the difference in the world. And, by the way, I read somewhere that the rule of thumb for removing the lid of a crock-pot is that you have to tack on 20 extra minutes for every time you lift the lid, so that it can return to the temperature it was at before you removed the lid.

Here is something else that is important. Never add tomatoes to a pot of dry beans before they have cooked to the texture you want, because the acid in the tomato will cause your beans to stay hard. This also applies to rice.

You owe it to yourself to make baked beans in a crock-pot. Look for a recipe online and try it. They are wonderful. Split pea soup is also excellent in a crock-pot.

Also, I have cooked beans in my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker and I was very impressed. They cook fast and, while the bean is not quite as nice as when I use a crock-pot, they are still pretty good and so convenient.

And, speaking of nutritional value in regard to reduced sugar diets using the glycemic index, the more al-dente' you cook your beans, the lower the glycemic index. For those counting their carbohydrates or trying to reduce their sugar, this is a good tip.

Originally Posted by GingerK

I soak them overnight and then simmer for 1 hour, drain, rinse and then make my recipe. For baked beans, my recipe calls for all of the above plus 6 hours in a 300 degree oven after combining with the other ingredients.

Since I learned that adding salt inhibits the beans from softening, I omit it until I am ready to season the dish. Has made a tremendous difference in the time needed.