universalizable.
Dark appearance

Language

EnglishItalianoDeutsch简体中文EspañolالعربيةPortuguês (Brasil)Bahasa IndonesiaFrançais日本語Русский
Your space
Sign in with GoogleYour commitmentsYour circlesSaved actions0

← Food

New action

Soak dried beans before cooking

Soaking dried common beans can shorten cooking.

I commit
Miniature scene: Start cooking the dried beans directly.
Start cooking the dried beans directly
Miniature scene: Start with safely soaked beans, then cook fully.
Start with safely soaked beans, then cook fully
01 / Why this can help

Your scenario, drawn

The same cooked beans, compared in electricity

The same cooked beans, compared in electricityWithout prior soaking: 52 kWh; With safe prior soaking: 41.6 kWh; Annual difference: -10.4 kilowatt-hours of electricityIN ONE YEARWithout prior soaking52 kWhWith safe prior soaking41.6 kWh052 kWh

Same scale, starting at zero. Change the assumptions to compare the two annual totals.

Sources and scope →
Read the values
Without prior soaking52 kWh
With safe prior soaking41.6 kWh
Annual difference-10.4 kilowatt-hours of electricity
02 / One possible next step

Check reliable preparation instructions for your dried bean variety. Use safe water, refrigerate a long cold soak and then cook the beans fully; soaking alone does not make them safe.

03 / Sources and scope

Context-dependent outcome

What the evidence supports

Soaking dried common beans can shorten cooking. Controlled tests in Malawi measured cooking time; separate Ugandan tests measured lower cooking energy for pre-soaked beans.

Boundary of the claim

Results depend on the beans, water, recipe and cooker. Use safe water, refrigerate a long cold soak and follow reliable preparation instructions for that bean. Soaking does not replace complete cooking; dried red kidney beans require their specific boiling method. No fixed saving applies.

What this simulation calculates

1 kWh before, 0.8 kWh after and 52 batches are editable examples, not study measurements or a typical saving. Replace them with an appropriate comparison. No fixed cooking-time reduction is applied to electricity.

Published coefficients and calculation references

  1. Research study · Justice Munthali, Smith G. Nkhata, Kingsley Masamba, Timothy Mguntha, Robert Fungo and Rowland Chirwa · 2022

    Soaking beans for 12 h reduces split percent and cooking time regardless of type of water used for cooking

    Consulted section (original language): Heliyon 8(9), e10561; abstract and methods: soaked versus unsoaked common beans; cooking time, not metered energy

    Consultation: original institutional abstract and indexed full manuscript inspected · DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10561

  2. Research study · Pamella K. Kajumba, Denis Okello, Karidewa Nyeinga and Ole J. Nydal · 2022

    Assessment of the energy needs for cooking local food in Uganda: A strategy for sizing thermal energy storage with cooker system

    Consulted section (original language): Energy for Sustainable Development 67, 67–80; controlled hotplate cooking tests, dry and pre-soaked beans, boiling and simmering energy

    Consultation: publisher-indexed original abstract and methods inspected; direct publisher fetch returned 403; bibliographic record checked in FAO AGRIS · DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2022.01.005

  3. Institutional guidance · Health Canada · 2017

    Lectins in Dry Legumes

    Consulted section (original language): Minimizing exposure to lectins in dry red kidney beans; page dated 4 May 2017

    Consultation: full text inspected

  4. Institutional guidance · Cheryle Syracuse; N.C. Cooperative Extension · 2025

    Beans, Beans and More Beans

    Consulted section (original language): Cold soak and refrigerated soaking; published February 2025, updated April 2025. Used for soaking storage only, not its generic cooking directions for kidney beans.

    Consultation: full text inspected

Avoid counting the same change twice

Sources reviewed:

Report a data issue

Other possibilities in this area

Food
Miniature scene: A meal based on plant foods.Make one day more plant-basedMiniature scene: The same quantity of loose apples.Choose loose produce when it worksMiniature scene: Pack the leftovers to take home promptly.Take home the food you will eat
universalizable.Food / 01

Soak dried beans before cooking

Miniature scene: Start cooking the dried beans directly. Miniature scene: Start with safely soaked beans, then cook fully.
Start cooking the dried beans directlyStart with safely soaked beans, then cook fully

Why this can help

Soaking dried common beans can shorten cooking. Controlled tests in Malawi measured cooking time; separate Ugandan tests measured lower cooking energy for pre-soaked beans.

One possible next step

Check reliable preparation instructions for your dried bean variety. Use safe water, refrigerate a long cold soak and then cook the beans fully; soaking alone does not make them safe.

What changes the outcome

Results depend on the beans, water, recipe and cooker. Use safe water, refrigerate a long cold soak and follow reliable preparation instructions for that bean. Soaking does not replace complete cooking; dried red kidney beans require their specific boiling method. No fixed saving applies.

universalizable.The action / 02

Your illustrative scenario

Over one year · with the assumptions below

You

10.4 kilowatt-hours of electricity less

You + 10 friends

114.4 kilowatt-hours of electricity less

1,000 participants

10,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity less

These are scenarios, not measured personal or collective savings. One separate household per participant. People sharing a home count it once, not once each.

Your inputs

Electricity per matching recipe before soaking
1 kWh
Electricity per matching recipe with soaking
0.8 kWh
Comparable batches per year
52

Calculation of the difference: (1 − 0.8) kWh × 52 = 10.4 kilowatt-hours of electricity

Calculation boundaries

Electricity for equal dry-bean quantities, the same recipe, appliance and fully cooked result. Include heating added water and any extra electricity used for soaking or chilling. Use comparable records from normal cooking; unrelated meter readings do not establish causation. Water, fuel cooking, manufacture and lifecycle emissions are not calculated.

1 kWh before, 0.8 kWh after and 52 batches are editable examples, not study measurements or a typical saving. Replace them with an appropriate comparison. No fixed cooking-time reduction is applied to electricity.

Sources and calculation references

  1. Soaking beans for 12 h reduces split percent and cooking time regardless of type of water used for cookingJustice Munthali, Smith G. Nkhata, Kingsley Masamba, Timothy Mguntha, Robert Fungo and Rowland Chirwa · 2022
  2. Assessment of the energy needs for cooking local food in Uganda: A strategy for sizing thermal energy storage with cooker systemPamella K. Kajumba, Denis Okello, Karidewa Nyeinga and Ole J. Nydal · 2022
  3. Lectins in Dry LegumesHealth Canada · 2017
  4. Beans, Beans and More BeansCheryle Syracuse; N.C. Cooperative Extension · 2025

Read the method: universalizable.com/en/method/ · One sheet · print double-sided, long-edge binding

Share a possibility.

Instagram and TikTok: save the image or use your device’s sharing menu.