Black Eye Beans - Dry

Black-eyed beans are small, creamy-flavoured beans with a black 'scar' where they were joined to the pod. They are much used in American and African cooking and are the essential ingredient in traditional ethnic cooking and salads around the world. 

Commitment phobia ? 

Warning - dried beans are a little bit more of a commitment to make, but...

...the flavour and texture that properly cooked dried beans bring to your recipes make their canned counterparts feel like junior siblings. Their skins are in tact and firm, and when you bite into them, the insides are smooth and flavourful. Beans that have not been soaked ahead of time will always take longer to cook, but they will still cook.

Soaking beans in the fridge will reduce the time they have to cook drastically. And the texture of the beans will also be at their best, with fewer split-open and burst ones. 

Soak them overnight for 6 to 10 hours. Keep the beans covered with water while soaking. Beans soaked longer than 12 hours can absorb too much water and lose their characteristic texture and flavour. If you plan to cook beans for dinner and  want to use the long-soak method, start soaking in the morning.