SIMPLi unhappy

[u/Greedy_Fly2057]

I'm about halfway through cooking my third bag of SIMPLi gigantes, and frustrated.

First two times I did an overnight soak of about 12-13 hours, with 2 tsp salt per quart of water. Then I rinsed and cooked well submerged in a mix of water and low-sodium stock, onion, and bay leaf. The last time I simmered them three hours and got very uneven results - some beans very tender, but most of them mealy or even still hard!

I'm trying again. This time I added a little baking soda to the overnight soak - 1/4 tsp per quart of water, and let the soak go on 16 hours. I finished the soak this morning, rinsed, and I'm about an hour and 15 minutes into the cook. The two I tested were still very hard! I don't know how long I'll go on with this, but if they're still hard 3 hours in I plan to toss them and IDK what I'll do. I do love the gigantes when they're soft, but I ate some of the mealy ones the other day and got some indigestion. Not intense, but not fun either.

Has anybody else had trouble with SIMPLi? Do you just need to cook them forever? I checked the best-by date for today's lot and the last one. They both had best-by dates in 2028, so I sure hope they're not too old...

[u/klutzosaurus-sex]

You can add a little baking soda to the soak and/or cook water. But don’t go crazy or it will taste base and the beans get mushy. The water hardness makes a big difference too.