Hi PR,

It’s frustrating when a recipe doesn’t turn out as expected, especially after following the instructions carefully! There are a few possible reasons your beans didn’t reach the creamy texture you were aiming for:

Old Beans: If your dry gigantes beans are old, they can take much longer to cook, and sometimes, they may never soften completely. Beans that have been sitting on the shelf (or in storage) for too long lose moisture and require more cooking time. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell how old beans are when buying them, but this is a common issue.

Hard Water: The minerals in hard water (especially calcium and magnesium) can interfere with the cooking of beans, making them tough. If you have hard water in your area, it might be worth trying filtered or bottled water for soaking and cooking the beans.

If 14 hours in a slow cooker still didn’t soften them, it’s possible that either more time or a higher temperature (if your slow cooker runs cool) could be needed.

Possible Fixes:
Pressure Cooking: If you encounter the same issue again, you could try using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot to fully cook the beans before adding them to the slow cooker.
Check Water Quality: Consider using filtered water for both soaking and cooking the beans.

Hi Raquel, these beans are tender and creamy, so the acid from the tomatoes don’t keep them hard.

Hi Zoe, you can put them in halfway though the cooking process and put them on top, this should keep them from getting mushy.