Beans. Nutritious, deliciously satisfying, and filling. Undeniably, there’s a love-hate relationship when it comes to cooking beans. On one hand, I love the taste. On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of spending an unending amount of hours sifting shaft, picking dirt and stones. It oftentimes feels like an uphill task, for what will be eaten in less than 10 minutes. 

On the average, it takes about three hours to go from prep to cooked. Picking beans takes forever. I’ve always wondered if there was no other way out and thankfully there is. 

Life truly doesn’t have to be so difficult. Simple physics is all it take to prep beans in 10 minutes.  I stumbled on this hack and thought to share. All you need do is pour beans in a bowl then add water. Tadah, watch the magic happen. 

The shaft and bad beans will float to the top, whilst the stones sink to the bottom. Stir the water with your hands. More shaft and bad beans will float to the top. With your hands or a sieve, scoop the dense beans out of the bowl and set aside. Reduce the amount of water in the bowl to about half an inch above the beans or remove it entirely. At this point, you can see all the stones at the bottom of the bowl.

Take things a step further and parboil. Beans become lighter after being parboiled and makes the separation of stones from beans even easier. Another quick rinse and it’s done. Life will never be the same. Go forth, spread the word, and save time. 

Breathe.