My cheap bag of lentils turned into a kitchen disaster

I grabbed a 2 pound bag of brown lentils from the dollar store to make a big pot of soup, but they never got soft no matter how long I boiled them. Turns out they were super old and probably sat in a warehouse for years. Has anyone else had this happen with dried beans from a discount store?

3 comments

3 Comments

patking2mo ago

Yeah, dollar store beans and lentils are a total gamble. I started soaking mine overnight with a pinch of baking soda in the water. That seems to help soften up even the really old, hard ones. If they still won't get tender after cooking, they're probably too far gone. I just toss them and buy from a store with faster turnover now.

riverm482mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy tried that baking soda trick with some discount lentils last month. They still came out like little rocks, so he gave up on that store completely. Some batches are just too far past their prime to save.

cameron_webb1mo ago

My buddy Mark tried the same thing with a bag of split peas from a discount grocery, and man, it was a nightmare. He soaked them for like 18 hours and then boiled them for almost three hours and they were still crunchy, like little pebbles in his soup. He even added a pinch of baking soda halfway through (which I guess can help sometimes) but it just made everything taste weird without softening them up. He finally gave up and tossed the whole batch, which was a bummer because he was really looking forward to that soup on a cold night. I think those discount stores just get random surplus from who knows when, so it's a total crapshoot if they're fresh or ancient. Now he swears by buying lentils from a store with a lot of turnover, like the big chain grocery, even if it costs a little more.