I believe it's OK to soak for a whole 24 hours: in any case I have done this a few times without ill-effects.

Thanks misteraitch, I'm going with that.

I'd like some potential meat, please.

Oh taz, there is always potential meat, you just gotta know where to look. But seriously, I don't know that I can bring myself to buy a ham hock or even a ham bone. I don't really want to do processed bologna-ey kielbasa, either. If I go no meat, what do I do, onions in olive oil and spices to add fat? I have a good organic low sodium chicken stock product, and an unknown quality beef stock product.

Yes, it's ok to soak them. If you want/have time, you might change the water. As far as prep goes, I'm a fan of onions, garlic, bay leaf, and pepper with beans. YUM! Also, toss in the chicken stock when you drain them again before cooking. Don't salt until they're almost done, because beans can soak up a lot of salt, and before you know it, it's saltier than the dead sea during a 1000 year drought.

YUM! I'm hungry.

Olive oil and aromatics are perfectly fine as a soup starter if you can't deal with bones. The chicken stock will be great.

Another solution I use for meat flavoring is to get some sausage - Italian sausage or, more likely, sage breakfast sausage. You can saute that and crumble it up to form your fat base for sauteing the onions, garlic, and herbs. It's not too gross, and it lends a lot of nice flavor.

Another tip: I'm not sure what sort of end-product bean soup you're going for, but if it's one of the variations of 6-, 9-, 16-bean soup (or whatever), a great trick is to remove a cupful of beans and liquid before you serve it, puree it, and return it to the pot. Makes it thicker and creamier.

The continued soaking is fine, but I'd continue that soaking in the fridge. They can start to ferment if left at room temp for more than 8 hours.

oh. And how would I know if frementation has begun? Smell I guess? Are the unrefegerated beans (67-ish degrees) doomed?

Metachat: overthinking a bowl of beans

I couldn't resist.

Thanks Hugh! I've been thinking that from the time I posted, actually. He he. Remind me next time to stop with the "frugal cooking" and just go to the damn salad bar, ok?

Smell and bubbles. Smell and bubbles. As with so many things in life, smell and bubbles are the first signs of impending doom.

*lights a candle and maintains a vigil for rainbaby's beans*

It worked. Miko, I did the sage breakfast sausage, and it wasn't scary at all. Thanks!