Dry beans need soaking before cooking. Use 2½ cups water for 1 cup of blackeye beans (blackeye peas, cowpeas), Great Northern beans, and lima beans. Use 3 cups water for 1 cup of kidney beans, pea (navy) beans, and pinto beans.
To soak them quickly, boil beans 2 minutes, remove from heat, and let stand 1 hour. Or if you prefer, boil beans 2 minutes and let them stand overnight.
Cook the beans in the soaking water. Add 1 teaspoon salt for 1 cup of beans; boil gently for the time given below. One cup of uncooked beans yields about 2½ cups cooked beans.
| Kind of beans | Approximate cooking time (hours) |
| Blackeye (blackeye peas, cowpeas). | ½ |
| Great Northern | 1 to 1½ |
| Kidney | 2 |
| Lima | 1 |
| Pea (navy) | 1½ to 2 |
| Pinto | 2 |
Dry beans will cook more quickly if you add baking soda to the water before soaking. If tap water is of medium hardness, adding ⅛ teaspoon soda to the water for each cup of dry beans reduces cooking time about one-fourth. Measure soda exactly; too much soda affects flavor and nutritive value of beans.
To reduce foaming when cooking dry beans, add 1 tablespoon meat drippings or other fat to the cooking water for each cup of beans.
Cooked dry beans may be seasoned and eaten without further cooking, or they may be baked, or combined with other foods.
If acid ingredients like tomatoes, catsup, or vinegar are included in the recipe, add them after the beans are tender. Acids prevent softening of the beans.
Boston baked beans
6 servings