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With legumes, especially kidney beans and chickpeas (garbanzos), food poisoning is possible if they are not cooked at a high enough temperature, due to anti-nutrients within the bean. At lower temperatures (e.g. 80 deg C for kidney beans) the toxins can actually be made much more severe. Cooking kidney beans with slow cookers at less than boiling point has been blamed for cases of food poisoning in the US.[1]

With pre-soaking and then boiling for 20-25 minutes, this should not be a problem. It should then be safe to place the pot in a fireless cooker.

Kidney beans and chick peas are the most problematic, and should be soaked for several hours or overnight before cooking. Other beans, especially small beans and lentils, will benefit from soaking though it's not absolutely necessary; they will also not need to be boiled for as long.

At very high latitudes, boiling point may not be enough - a pressure cooker may be needed.[verification needed]

External links[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. Phytohaemagglutinin, on US FDA's Bad Bug Book. Toxicity of kidney beans may be greater if heated to 80 °C than if consumed raw.

[Category:Food safety]]

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Authors Chris Watkins
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Language English (en)
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Created June 10, 2010 by Chris Watkins
Modified June 8, 2023 by Felipe Schenone
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