It’s very easy to get carried away with the saltshaker when you're making a big pot of pinto beans. All is not lost if this happens; you can still salvage the beans.
Add More Liquids
Extra water helps to balance the amount of salt. Add water 1 cup at a time, and taste the beans with very addition.
Apple cider vinegar and sugar can cut saltiness, too. Add 1 teaspoon of each at a time until you achieve your desired flavor.
Lemon juice helps to distract the taste buds from picking up too much salt from overly salted foods. Drop a few spoonfuls into the pot of beans.
Switch Out the Liquid
Another option is to replace overly salted water with fresh water.
Remove the cooked beans from the pot using a slotted spoon and place them into another pot.
Set aside about 2 cups of the salty water, and discard the rest.
Add new water to the original pot. Heat the water to the same temperature at which the beans were cooking.
Place the beans and the 2 cups of salty water back into the new pot of water.
Simmer the beans for 15 minutes. Taste them to see if they need any salt. If they do, add it gradually.
Split Up the Beans
You can also split up the beans into batches and make a new batch with no salt added. Once the unsalted beans are cooked, add them to the salty batches.
References
Writer Bio
Victoria Ramirez has been writing professionally since 2009. She has a background in health and human services, and contributes her expertise to several online publications. Ramirez received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from California State University, Bakersfield, where she graduated with honors in 2004.