What did I do wrong?

[tricia]

I soaked a handful of Triple Lion brand Broth Mix in cold water for over 24 hours (instructions recommended 8-12 hours or overnight). I rinsed them then put them in a pan with plenty of hot water and boiled them for 1 hour (recommended 30 mins). They were then added, complete with the cooking water to a beef stew and simmered for a further hour.

The only ingredient that was cooked was the pearl barley. All the others - red lentils, yellow split peas, green split peas and marrowfat peas remained hard.

The stew itself was great - but an awful bother having to remove the uncooked stuff from my mouth with each mouthful! Good thing I was alone at my dinner table!

I'm inclined to bin the rest of the packet - any ideas as to what went wrong?

Tricia

[tricia]

[aj]

Every now and then you get a packet with really hard beans etc in them.

Did you salt the water? You shouldn't have if you did.

I usually boil them until the biggest will crush under a fork - with older packets it can take quite a while.

[pumkinlover]

I cannot see that you did anything wrong! I have never used the mixed packs as I could not see how pulses and legumes with such different cooking times could be successfully cooked together.
The only suggestion I have is to try using boiling water when put to soak, bringing to the boil again. Then switching off and leaving. This should help to reydrate quicker, and save cooking time.
I guess there is a possiblilty the batch you have has been baked instead of dried!!
Anne x

[pg]

Soaking in really cold water can leave beans/pulses hard (plus salty water as already mentioned). And at this time of year the water coming out of the cold tap is pretty chilly.

I tend to run the hot tap until it is just turning from cold to warm and soak in that. No problems so far.

Another thought, lentils do need to boil for at least half an hour to cook into softness. I've found this out, like yourself, cooking at casserole low heat for several hours and pulses still hard. Either start separately on stove in saucepan with a boil or cook all at a higher heat.

Better luck next time!

[PurpleHeather]

some pulses will soften in salted water others have a tendency to remain hard


It could be a clue.

Salt and stock with salt in it should not be included until the pulses are all soft.

I would cook the pulses in water only until they meet my desired level of softness before going on.

In fact the cost of tinned pulses and the cost of cooking down dried ones makes me wonder if it is worth it unless one is cooking for at least a football team

BUT you could do a huge batch and freeze in portions.

In the olden days THEY had no option. We do.

[Morris]

We used to make these for teacher presents when the girls were in primary school - they were apparently actually eaten and popular with the staff!  We still make them each year for us to enjoy as a family, but not to hang on the tree as the dogs would eat them!  The pepper sounds weird, they are are based on a German recipe, but they are lovely.   

Nigella's christmas decoration biscuits from Domestic Goddess:

300g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed ground spice
1-2 tsp freshly ground pepper
100g unsalted butter
100g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs beaten with 4 tbsp runny honey
set of Christmas cutters
2 baking sheets, lined or non-stick

For the icing and trimmings:

300g icing sugar, sieved
3 tbsp boiling water
silver balls or sprinkles, florists' ribbon

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, mixed spice and pepper in the processor. With the motor on, add the butter and sugar, then, the eggs and honey, though don't use all of this if the pastry has come together before it's used up. Form two discs and put one, covered in clingfilm, into the fridge. Preheat the oven to 170oC/gas mark 3. Dust a surface with flour, roll out the disc, also floured, to about 5mm, and cut out your decorations. Set aside the residue from this first disc, well covered, while you get on with rolling out the second. When you've got both sets of leftover dough, roll out and cut again until all the dough is used up. Now cut out a hole just below the top of every biscuit (for the ribbon). Put on the baking sheets and cook for 20 minutes: it's hard to see when they're cooked, but you can feel; if the underside is no longer doughy, they're ready. Transfer them to cool on a wire rack. Make up ordinary glacé icing by mixing approximately 3 tbsp of boiling water with the icing sugar and stir till you've got a glossy glaze. Ice the cold decorations and scatter sprinkles and sparkles as you like.

[tricia]

Did you salt the water? You shouldn't have if you did.

I usually boil them until the biggest will crush under a fork - with older packets it can take quite a while.

I didn't salt either the soaking or the boiling water as the stew was quite spicy. I might try again and boil them harder for longer next time.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Tricia

Morris - wrong thread  ;D

[Morris]

Oops I have no idea how my christmas biscuits recipe ended up here.  Sorry.   :-[

When I posted it yesterday, the original seemed to vanish, so I did it again.  This is obviously where it ended up.  Weird, especially as I haven't even opened this post until today.  Christmas elves up to mischief?!