Lentils - to soak or not?

mummysaver

Please could anyone tell me if lentils should be boiled before using?

I know that most beans need boiling after soaking to remove compounds that can be slightly toxic, and cause upset tums, but it has just come up on another thread about lentils and whether they should be boiled as well.

I just chuck red lentils into various dishes, usually in the slow cooker and leave them to cook in the dish I'm preparing. I've searched various places on the internet and can't find anything that says you must boil them first, but then I couldn't find anything that categorically stated you didn't need to either, but then I'm perhaps not looking in the right place!

I've found various recipes that start with boiling the lentils and then adding other ingredients, and also recipes that are for the slow cooker and the lentils are just put in raw.

If anyone could help I'd be very grateful

mioliere

Mummysaver - I posted about this a bit earlier today because I was worried when I read that someone (not sure if it was you?) just puts them straight into the slow cooker. Obviously, it hasn't done you any harm! On my packet of lentils (from the Co-op) it says you must rinse them then boil for ten minutes before using them to make them safe to eat. They also say that you should never put raw lentils in a slow cooker.

Hope this helps!

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there :beer: I don't rinse, soak or pre-cook lentils, and AFAIK, that's what most people here do (that's where I learnt about lentils, after all ).

You can also take a look at the Pulses Quick Questions thread

Penny. x

jackieb

mioliere wrote: »

Mummysaver - I posted about this a bit earlier today because I was worried when I read that someone (not sure if it was you?) just puts them straight into the slow cooker. Obviously, it hasn't done you any harm! On my packet of lentils (from the Co-op) it says you must rinse them then boil for ten minutes before using them to make them safe to eat. They also say that you should never put raw lentils in a slow cooker.

Hope this helps!

I made lentil soup 2 days ago - in the slow cooker. :eek: I rinsed them but never boiled them first (also from the Co-op, but I didn't read the label ). I've always done it this way. Soup was lovely. Dh is farting a lot after eating the stuff for 2 days, but apart from that, no side effects. :rotfl:

My mum saw me rinsing the lentils and asked what I was doing. Apparently, she doesn't even rinse them.

mioliere

I really don't know now! I've googled and found a mixture of sites, some say you can eat them raw, some say you shouldn't! I'll just carry on doing what it says on the packet, but it is obviously not harming anyone to eat them raw. I was going to ask my Mum what she did but I'm sure I ate them raw as a child and she didn't stop me!

JackieB - your DH and mine, too!:eek: :rotfl:

mummysaver

I don't rinse my lentils either now, but I do remember doing it during student days, and I do remember finding tiny stones in them back then, guess supermarkets have got stricter about stones or something now!

Thanks Penny - didn't realise there was a pulses thread! Doh!

Moliere - all I can find are instructions for cooking them saying boil for ten minutes, I haven't yet found any warnings like you get with kidney beans, will check when I pop into Mr T's for bread flour and cheese later, there was me thinking I didn't need the supermarket and I'm missing half the ingredients for dinner, wonder where the cheese I bought went?!

White_Boots

Hi everyone. I get my lentils from Morrisons and it definitely says on the packet that you don't have to boil them before using them. Of course that could just be the kind I'm using? Maybe they have done something to them first. I would suggest reading the packet each time you buy them. I will definitely do that from now on - I always chuch them in the slow cooker raw!

Christina_F

I dont boil or rinse them either. I made some lentil and carrot soup in my slow cooker yesterday and it was delicious.

phizzimum

if i'm making soup in the slow cooker I will put it on high for a short while, which makes it hot enough to bubble. but that's more because I want the chicken stock to be reheated thoroughly rather than the lentils

sweetserendipity

jackieb wrote: »

I made lentil soup 2 days ago - in the slow cooker. :eek: I rinsed them but never boiled them first (also from the Co-op, but I didn't read the label ). I've always done it this way. Soup was lovely. Dh is farting a lot after eating the stuff for 2 days, but apart from that, no side effects. :rotfl:

My mum saw me rinsing the lentils and asked what I was doing. Apparently, she doesn't even rinse them.

Oh come on admit it it wasn't just the Dh!! It seems to have that effect on everyone in my family!! I think the only one who doesn't do it after eating lentils (or anything else for that matter) is the Queen, or that's what I was always told anyway!!:rotfl:
Anyway, I never rinse or pre-cook my lentils when I make soup & we have always been fine, apart from the above of course!!:rotfl:

Doom_and_Gloom

Red lentils do not need soaking or boiling before hand, however brown and green etc should be. Red don't have the usual 'shell' that the others have as they have had it taken off. This means you can use them as they are. Rinsing is to make sure that you do not have stones in your food. Alot of the time you do not need to worry about this. Hope that helps.