Everyone preaches about dried vs. canned beans for good reason. Although canned beans seem cheap, making them from dried is actually much cheaper, because they expand as they soak and cook. But, they can seem tricky to cook, so use this guide and make dried beans for days.
Soaking
Most people know that you have to soak beans before you cook them, but the method of how you soak them is still very important. You should always soak beans in the fridge, because they can ferment if you leave them outside. Although fermented beans are useful in some recipes, for standard cooking, they are a no-go.
Water
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The best trick to evenly cooked, soft beans is to change the water as frequently as possible, or every 3-4 hours. This will allow more of the chemicals that cause them to be hard to digest to come out, and make them softer in the end.
Cooking
This goes especially for black beans, but really for all kinds: do not add salt until the end. Salt draws out moisture from the beans, making them hard, even if you cook them for hours. To add flavor, add in aromatics like bay leaves, oranges, onion, and garlic, and save the salt until the very end.
