Cooking dried beans?

[betty]

Has anyone tried cooking pre-soaked beans in a solar cooker? I usually use my crock pot on high setting and was wondering if beans would do well in a solar cooker? My solar cooker only gets up to about 200 degrees in cooler weather. How long would it take at that temperature??

[Ambergris]

I cook them all day in my solar cooker, sometimes after parboiling. Especially red beans. They just seem to get better and better.

[Ambergris]

Multi-posting this, from the Utah Extension:

 

Softening Old Beans

The older the bean the tougher it is and less digestible. Following are a few tips to soften old

beans.

1. Cook and freeze. The freezing moisture in the bean helps to rupture the cell wall and create a

more palatable product.

2. Pressure cook. Follow manufacturer’s directions for using pressure cooker. Increase cooking

time as needed to produce a desired texture.

3. Pressure-can beans. This method makes a readily usable product as well as softens beans.