Author Topic: Cooking Lentils on the road?  (Read 1162 times)

Left Bank

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Cooking Lentils on the road?
« on: June 15, 2021, 02:01:06 PM »
The problem is that lentils take quite a bit of time to cook.  I know that the amount time and energy can be shortened with proper soaking and/or the use of a pressure cooker but I won't have a pressure cooker with me on a long, dual sport motorcycle camping trip.  So, do you have any additional helpful tips beyond soaking in water to shorten cooking?   
Would soaking in an acetic (vinegar) or ascorbic acid (lemon juice) solution, as is used for the preparation of ceviche help?  Soak them all day?
Google has not been my friend for this question but I hope a Mustachian or two could help. 
Thanks
LB

GuitarStv

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2021, 02:06:49 PM »
Usually lentils cook pretty fast (20-30 minutes in boiling water) for me.  Are you using old lentils?  They can take forever . . .

socaso

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2021, 02:09:37 PM »
I also only usually have to cook lentils for 20-30 minutes. I wonder if a Jet Boil would help? We have one we take camping and my spouse has taken it backpacking, it's very small and really does boil water quickly.

draco44

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2021, 02:15:21 PM »
Also consider what color/kind of lentil you are cooking. Red lentils seem to need the shortest cooking time.

centwise

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2021, 05:19:10 PM »
Yes, red lentils cook quickly and could work for you. You can also use lentil flour or chickpea flour; you can add water, salt, herbs and make patties/pancakes called socca or farinata.

You should be able to find chickpea flour at an Indian market as besan or gram flour (NOT Graham).

ixtap

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2021, 05:30:33 PM »
You may be able to cook them for half the time, then place in a wide mouthed thermos. This is a slow cooker method, so you start them with the previous meal.

Left Bank

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2021, 09:55:22 PM »
You may be able to cook them for half the time, then place in a wide mouthed thermos. This is a slow cooker method, so you start them with the previous meal.

That is an interesting idea.  Have you done this with french/green lentils? 
I think I will have to experiment at home with this.  Thanks

ixtap

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2021, 07:26:09 AM »
You may be able to cook them for half the time, then place in a wide mouthed thermos. This is a slow cooker method, so you start them with the previous meal.

That is an interesting idea.  Have you done this with french/green lentils? 
I think I will have to experiment at home with this.  Thanks

No, the last time I tried, I didn't realize you had to cook them for half the time first; you can't just put boiling water in the thermos with the lentils. This technique also theoretically works with rice.

Jorey

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #8 on: June 16, 2021, 09:37:44 AM »
Cook at home and then dehydrate. They will rehydrate much faster this way. I do this for meals for backpacking.

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honeybbq

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #9 on: June 16, 2021, 09:39:46 AM »
red lentils cook much faster than green!

Jenny Wren

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #10 on: June 16, 2021, 10:10:56 AM »
Cook at home and then dehydrate. They will rehydrate much faster this way. I do this for meals for backpacking.

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I second this. It works for a variety of beans because the initial cooking breaks down the fibers inside. The cooked-and-dehydrated lentils will be just as shelf stable on the road, but will I dehydrate and make all of our backpacking meals and use green lentils for most recipes because they are my favorite vegetarian protein.

Some notes --

*red or green work best, as they are the fastest cooking in most cases.
* to save fuel, you can boil the water and then soak the lentils for about 30 minutes. An insulated bag helps keep the water temp up for the soaking.
* alternatively, boil for about 10 minutes to full rehydrate.

Jorey

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Re: Cooking Lentils on the road?
« Reply #11 on: June 16, 2021, 10:20:49 AM »
Cook at home and then dehydrate. They will rehydrate much faster this way. I do this for meals for backpacking.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

I second this. It works for a variety of beans because the initial cooking breaks down the fibers inside. The cooked-and-dehydrated lentils will be just as shelf stable on the road, but will I dehydrate and make all of our backpacking meals and use green lentils for most recipes because they are my favorite vegetarian protein.

Some notes --

*red or green work best, as they are the fastest cooking in most cases.
* to save fuel, you can boil the water and then soak the lentils for about 30 minutes. An insulated bag helps keep the water temp up for the soaking.
* alternatively, boil for about 10 minutes to full rehydrate.
+1. I rehydrate inside a small freezer Ziploc. I place that inside a homemade piece of reflectix(you can find at home depot) cut and shaped to hold the Ziploc bag, it closes with Velcro.

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