I'd also add, you need a chemically non-reactive pot, and make sure the pH of your water is 7 - 8. I've had the experience of boiling water in an aluminum pot, only to discover that the water had gone GREY! When that happened, I threw away my Magnalite pots, and never cooked in aluminum again. Glass or stainless steel from now on! And about pH, when at my sister's house, I was cooking beans for a soup, as I had done 10,000 times before in my own kitchen; but they weren't softening....after a few hours, I threw them away and tried again with freshly bought beans. But they still wouldn't cook, it seemed. All of a sudden I realized what might be the problem. I got out some water testing strips, and discovered that my sister's well water had a pH of 5.4. This acidic water was preventing the beans from cooking properly. So, I used baking soda to adjust the pH to 7.5, and within 45 minutes, the beans (now on our 3rd batch) were finally softening as expected.
I'd also add, you need a chemically non-reactive pot, and make sure the pH of your water is 7 - 8. I've had the experience of boiling water in an aluminum pot, only to discover that the water had gone GREY! When that happened, I threw away my Magnalite pots, and never cooked in aluminum again. Glass or stainless steel from now on!
And about pH, when at my sister's house, I was cooking beans for a soup, as I had done 10,000 times before in my own kitchen; but they weren't softening....after a few hours, I threw them away and tried again with freshly bought beans. But they still wouldn't cook, it seemed. All of a sudden I realized what might be the problem. I got out some water testing strips, and discovered that my sister's well water had a pH of 5.4. This acidic water was preventing the beans from cooking properly. So, I used baking soda to adjust the pH to 7.5, and within 45 minutes, the beans (now on our 3rd batch) were finally softening as expected.