Soaked dry kidney beans for 9 hours, are they okay to cook now?

Nana lamb is a dink - but her heart is in the right place I guess. True, you don't need to soak beans if you don't want to. I cook mine till soft in boiling then simmering water till they are soft. When the skin peels back quickly when you blow on a few hot beans, they are usually ready. Bite into one to see for sure if they are done to your liking.

The slow cooker method probably works, however I don't really see the need to use one unless you want to. They will be done on the stove in half the time.

Don't add salt before or during cooking. It can keep the beans from becoming soft - ever - depending on what type of beans you are using.

Your tap water may not be anymore alkaline than anyone else's. Mine in town is just fine and I wouldn't waste money on purified water just to cook beans.

Pretty much any dried bean is fine for chili - kidney, pinto, black, navy - whatever you have handy.

Add the cooked beans toward the end of cooking your chili, they don't impart a big flavor note that requires a lengthy cooking time and they could get too soft if you put them in too early.

Dried ginger in chili? That sounds sort of weird.

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I like to soak them over night, but when I have forgotten them I par cook them in about a tablespoon of baking soda for about 20 minutes, Then drain and wash really well. Since you are using dried beans I would have had the chili on cooking about 4 hours. I make a 3 bean chili using canned beans. It works really well and I don't have to remember to soak beans,

people say to soak beans because that is how their great great great grandma cooked her beans and it has been passed down through the generations. There is actually no good reason to do so!

You really don't need to soak beans at all! I toss the dry beans into crock pot and turn it to high til it gets to boiling point then turn it down to low to cook for the same 9 hours you wasted soaking the beans.

I do not ever cook anything except PINTO beans for chile! I add minced onion, minced bacon, salt and a teaspoon of ginger per 2 cups dry beans to the pot then use bottled or distilled water to cook the beans in. NEVER tap water here because it is highly alkaline and will not cook beans til maybe doomsday!

If you need to add more water to the pot, add boiling water!!

It depends on how they are being cooked. DO NOT use them in a crockpot or slow cooker. Once soaked, they have to be throughly cooked through at a high temperature. Raw, dry Kidney beans contain a toxin that can kill. Truthfully, I'd soak them overnight and discard the water, but the key is cooking them hot and long.

9 hours should be enough.

Here's a good recipe. It is derived from an old Arlo Guthrie album, Alice's Restaurant. Of course I am as old as it is but still a fine chili.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1926,152183-228200...

I'm not to sure