Why You Shouldn’t Throw Away the Liquid from Cooking Lentils (2024)

FAQs

Why You Shouldn’t Throw Away the Liquid from Cooking Lentils? ›

If you plan to strain your lentils (turning them into a soup or leaving them to magically dissolve into dal), be sure to save the tasty, liquid leftovers. The lentils give the water an earthy, savory flavor that is so good, I'll admit, I sometimes drink it like tea.

The soaked water should be discarded as it includes tannins or phytic acid. Remember to drain and refill the water when soaking beans and lentils. Refilling with fresh water twice during the soaking time helps to lessen gas and bloating.

After cooking, drain any excess cooking liquid and use as desired. To store cooked lentils, place in a covered storage container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Throwing away water 💧 after soaking grains and Pulses is not a good practice. The soaked water contains B vitamins which get leeched into the water due to soaking. There is a common misconception that soaked water contains antinutrients and should be discarded. This is absolutely wrong.

Your lentils may absorb all the water (if they do and are still not tender, add more water), but if there is additional water in your pot when you are done cooking, simply drain the excess water before eating.

When to Use It. Use lentil stock in any recipe that calls for chicken or vegetable stock, like risottos, gravies, casseroles, or the base of your next bowl of curry-spiced ramen. And pat yourself on the back for getting more from your ingredients and your time at the stove.

Lentil water is also rich in macronutrients essential for plant growth compared to normal water, which lacks these elements. They found that the electrical conductivity of soil fertilized with lentil water is lower than that of pure soil.

While it seems like an unnecessary step, don't skip rinsing your lentils and sifting through them before cooking to remove any stones or debris. It is rare to find stones, but it does happen.

Rinsing Canned Beans, From a Nutrition Perspective

If you're a relatively healthy person though, enjoying canned beans without draining or rinsing them first is fine. That's because our bodies require sodium to function. It's only when we go above and beyond what we need that it becomes a problem.

You're not using enough water

Adding salt can make the lentil's exterior tough and unappetizing (via Lentils.org). Instead, pop them in your waterlogged pot and throw in a bay leaf or two to enhance the flavor.

Why should we not throw the water in which pulses are soaked? ›

To answer this query, Juhi Kapoor, a holistic nutritionist, took to Instagram to share: “Throwing away water after soaking grains and pulses is not a good practice. The soaked water contains B vitamins, which get leeched into the water due to soaking.”

Fun Fact: Discarding the soaking water and rinsing beans can help make cooked beans more digestible. Some people choose to save the soaking liquid because some nutrients are leeched from the beans into the liquid during soaking. We prefer to drain our soaking liquid but you can decide what works best for you.

Soak lentils before cooking them to minimize the gas they might cause. The soaking process will help get rid of some of the oligosaccharides, like raffinose that can make you feel gassy and bloated.

Cook on a stovetop, using 3 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc) to 1 cup of dry lentils. Be sure to use a large enough saucepan as the lentils will double or triple in size. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes.

Lentils should always be consumed well-cooked as when raw or undercooked they can cause serious health problems, food poisoning and, in very extreme cases, even death. It's all because they contain natural compounds called lectins which are toxic but fortunately, cooking destroys them!

If you use too much cooking liquid, your dish can turn out soupy. Some lentils you can drain if you use too much water, but if you're cooking red lentils or you're cooking a dish where you simmer the lentils right in with the other ingredients, draining isn't as easy.

Fun Fact: Discarding the soaking water and rinsing beans can help make cooked beans more digestible. Some people choose to save the soaking liquid because some nutrients are leeched from the beans into the liquid during soaking. We prefer to drain our soaking liquid but you can decide what works best for you.

Lentil water(K: 310,F: 59,N: 36.8 mg/L)is considered rich in the major elements necessary for plant growth compared to water(K: 8,P: 10.8,N: 5.7 mg/L)which lacks these elements.

Consuming lentil broth offers numerous health benefits and culinary delights.