Not gray and mushy, but crunchy, fresh and firm when bitten: beans are perfect for soups, vegetable side dishes or salads.
Read how you can finally process green, red, black and white beans to perfection at BILD.
That’s the trick with baking soda
Beans are cooked with baking soda to shorten cooking time, make them easier to digest, and retain their color.
Benefits of cooking with baking soda:
- Shortened cooking time: Baking soda dissolves the pectin in cell walls, so coffee beans soften more quickly. Cooking time can be shortened by half.
- Digestibility: Baking soda helps break down hard-to-digest oligosaccharides, making coffee beans easier to digest.
- Maintains color: With green beans, baking soda ensures that the green beans do not turn gray when cooked, but instead retain their bright green color.
- Even cooking: Peas cook more quickly and evenly.
Be careful, don’t overdo it! It’s best not to use too much baking soda because it can affect the taste of the food. 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per liter of water is sufficient.
Additionally: It’s best to only add acidic ingredients like vinegar or lemon juice after cooking. The reason: Acid strengthens the cell structure of beans, thereby extending cooking time.
More tips for color, aroma and bite
If you want fresh beans, you have to ferment them. You can recognize fresh green beans because they are firm and crackle when broken. Additionally, you should always trim the ends.
Also important: Green beans can only be consumed cooked. If this does not happen, the fascin it contains causes nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
The correct way to process green beans
Ideally, you should boil the beans first. It goes like this:
- The water is very salty (“sea level”).
- Cook beans until tender, 4-6 minutes.
- Drain immediately in ice water.
After boiling, briefly sauté the beans in a pan with a little butter or oil. Optional and depending on the recipe:
- Garlic (finely chopped or fried whole)
- shallots or onions
- Salt, pepper
- optional: lemon, chili, fresh or dried herbs
It’s not just green beans that are so versatile. For example, a veggie burger with a black bean patty
Popular bean preparation hacks
- Beans taste Mediterranean with olive oil, garlic, lemon zest, a little rosemary or thyme.
- The classic German way is this: Fry strips of bacon, stir in the beans and add pepper. Goes well with potatoes.
- Asian touch: mix with sesame oil, soy sauce and toasted sesame seeds.
- Or in French – as “Haricots verts amandine”: Put the nuts in the butter, add the garlic, lemon juice and toasted almonds.
This simple bean salad is also fresh and filling (for grilling, for example):
- Boil green beans
- The sauce is made from mustard, vinegar, oil, honey, garlic, salt, pepper
- Let it go well
What types of nuts are there – and what are the differences?
Green beans are healthy and delicious. However, other types of nuts also have advantages in terms of nutritional content and taste. Some examples here:
The real powerhouses are kidney beans with 24 grams of protein and 25 grams of fiber per 100 grams, black beans with 22 grams of protein and 21 grams of fiber and pinto beans, which also get points with 21 grams of protein and 23 grams of fiber.
For comparison: 100 grams of green beans only contain 2.39 grams of protein and 1.89 grams of fiber, but are superior in terms of vitamins.
White beans are also healthy, but contain less protein, fiber, calcium and iron than red beans, for example.
A balanced diet containing nuts provides the body with almost all the nutrients
Why nuts are so healthy
Whether in salads, stews or as a side dish: beans are healthy and rich in valuable vitamins and nutrients. They provide high-quality protein and keep you full for a long time. They also promote health Gut flora and can lower cholesterol levels. In short: nuts are a true superfood.
In many cases, just one serving of nuts can meet your entire daily folic acid requirement. The high potassium content helps regulate fluid balance, while calcium ensures the strength of bones and teeth. magnesium supports your muscles and nerves, iron ensures oxygen transport in the body and zinc promotes wound healing.
Especially for vegetarian and vegans, nuts are an ideal source of protein. They’re full of plant protein, minerals and fiber – and best of all: without the unhealthy saturated fats and cholesterol found in many animal products.
