Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth after being soaked for 12 hours?

Question

Yesterday at 08:00 I had soaked white Chickpeas in water and left the container in the kitchen. Daytime temperature here is 44C.

At 20:00 the same day I saw the container covered by white froth. Is it normal for the Chickpeas to develop white froth or was it caused by the heat?

Not sure if that's edible.

Asked by Anisha Kaul

Answer

Yes, it is normal for pulses to develop froth when soaked. I've seen it at lower temperatures and shorter soaking times. They can feel slimy too. This isn't a sign of bacteria development in itself, I think it is caused by the oligosaccharides slowly dissolving in water (but don't remember where I read this, so not 100% sure).

On the other hand, these conditions are also risky. Your chickpeas can have developed bacteria independently of the froth. In temperate regions, soakers aren't a problem, because bacteria growth in them is not especially quick (the 2 hours rule is made tight enough to cover things like meat, and a soaker doesn't even have enough hydrated bacteria food initially). But I have noticed that food I would have had no problem with at 22°C goes bad in short time at 28°C. The relationship between bacteria growth and temperature is not linear, and with growing heat, bacteria growth can speed up a lot. So I don't know if I would eat the peas - not because of the froth, but because of the conditions you had them in. I would recommend that you soak in the fridge next time - you don't need any fermentation to take place, so the low temperatures aren't a problem.

Answered by rumtscho

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Speeding up soaking of cashews for a recipe

Question

I am trying to follow a srilankan recipe that asks me to soak cashews overnight, since I cant really wait that long, is there a way to speed up this process? Would putting it in hot water help the process?

Answer

The use of a pressure cooker would rapidly accelerate the absorption of water. It risks over doing it and also 'cooks' the cashews so this may not be the best solution for your recipe but the pressure vessel would force the moisture inward to the nut.

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How can I prevent pear juice from soaking into pastry dough?

Question

I'm baking a cheesecake with pieces of pears, using rich shortcrust pastry. The problem is that, during the baking, the pear juice is soaking the pastry. How could I avoid that?

Answer

Whenever you're worried about something crisp being made soggy by something moist, the answer is usually fat. Brush the crust with butter or oil before you add the pears, and the oil will slow the absorption of water.

Alternately, dry out your pears. Cook them a bit. Roll them in sugar to dry them out some.

I'm surprised the pear juice is making it through the cheesecake batter. Usually that stuff keeps the liquids locked up tight. Maybe try a drier cheesecake, or one with a bit more egg?

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Avoid pear juice soaking dough

Question

I'm baking a cheesecake with pieces of pears, using rich shortcrust pastry. The problem is that, during the baking, the pear juice is soaking the pastry. How could I avoid that?

Answer

Whenever you're worried about something crisp being made soggy by something moist, the answer is usually fat. Brush the crust with butter or oil before you add the pears, and the oil will slow the absorption of water.

Alternately, dry out your pears. Cook them a bit. Roll them in sugar to dry them out some.

I'm surprised the pear juice is making it through the cheesecake batter. Usually that stuff keeps the liquids locked up tight. Maybe try a drier cheesecake, or one with a bit more egg?

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converting dried measurements to soaked measurements

Question

I have a recipe which calls for 250g of tinned black beans.. i thought i would be smart and use some DRIED black beans i have already!

but.. obviously the dried beans will weigh less than the tinned black beans..

How can i calculate how many grams of the dried beans i would need to make 250g of cooked black beans?

I was going to soak them overnight and then boil them until theyre soft!

Answer

250g of canned black beans is about a cup of soaked/cooked beans, which is the same as a drained 15oz/425g tin.

The volume of beans increases from 2-3x. It is probably closer to 3x for black beans but I'm not certain.

So I would cook up about 80g-90g of dry beans, I think that will get you a bit more than you need without a huge waste. 70g would probably nail it but if I'm wrong you would be short. And I'd take notes on what the weight change is for future reference :-).

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