Instant Pot Bean Cookery

Royal Corona (Rancho Gordo)

This huge lima is tasty and will get your digestive tract moving.
I was happy with this method of preparation:

1. Soak overnight (7-8 hours).
2. Cook on manual for 20 minutes (in new water ~1.5" above the beans).
3. Turn off pot, let the pressure naturally release.

I threw out both the soaking water and the cooking water.
Previously, I'd tried cooking for less time (15?). The beans were edible but very firm, and they had lots of white patches that looked uncooked. When cooked for 20 minutes, they still held together but were softer, without the white patches.

Cooked Royal Corona beans

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Vaquero (Rancho Gordo)

Similar to an Anasazi bean, the Vaquero is a beautiful bean that keeps some of its black-and-white color after cooking. I used Vaquero beans in chili. (Yes, I like beans and ground beef in chili. I also like all cubed beef chili. Both have their place.) The beans were a little softer and more broken than I'd like, so next time I'll try less cooking time.
Here's what I did:

1. No soak.
2. Cook on manual for 23 minutes (try 20 minutes next time) with a bay leaf.
3. Leave pot on warm for far too long. (Try turning off the pot next time, as for the Cordova beans.)

The pot liquor looked good but I didn't need it, so I threw it out. I think I put in 3" of water above the beans, but that was excessive; 1.5" should do.

[TODO: picture here]

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