How to Sort Lentils

Lentils are an indispensable pantry staple and one of the easiest legumes to prepare – all it takes is water and heat for them to go from crunchy to soft!

Sorting lentils by hand and rinsing them before adding them to dishes is an integral step that can prevent unwanted flavors and contaminants from impacting their final dish. Based on consumer complaints and testing results, GFWD has been advised to continue sorting lentils by hand and rinsing.

Easy on the stomach

Lentils are a powerhouse food, offering both tasty and nutritional value. Packed full of essential nutrients and low in fat, cholesterol and sodium content, lentils provide vegetarians with protein while helping prevent deficiencies of minerals found in animal products like iron and B vitamins. Furthermore, their versatility makes them a key staple in most vegetarian diets.

Lentils may seem bland and monotonous on their own, but they are highly versatile food that can take on the flavor of whatever spices or aromatics you add to them. To ensure optimal results when cooking lentils, it is important to sort through them beforehand using either a fine-mesh sieve or by hand to identify anything off or remove excess debris.

Once your lentils have been sifted, the next step in their preparation should be boiling them in water. Bring to a boil then lower the heat until a lively simmer develops – don’t forget to stir frequently as well, otherwise they could stick at the bottom of your pot! Cooking time varies according to variety and age; allow yourself plenty of time.

Be careful not to overcook them or they will become soggy and inedible. To prevent this, use a large pot and constantly monitor them during their cooking process.

Be sure your lentils are cooked completely by adding aromatics to the cooking water, such as bay leaves, spring of rosemary leaves, cloves of garlic or half an onion. Doing this can add both delicious flavors as well as make for easier digestion of your lentils.

Lentils are great because they’re simple to prepare on any hectic schedule – you can even use your slow cooker! Use lentils as a meatless alternative in soups, salads and stews while providing plenty of fiber for optimal digestive health.

Easy on the wallet

Lentils are an ideal whole food protein source, making them a delicious addition to soups and stews alike. Additionally, lentils offer fiber, iron and folate content; and contain essential choline that contributes to brain development in babies – an additional reason they should be included as an essential staple in every parent’s pantry.

Lentils are easy and affordable way to add protein-rich meals into a vegetarian diet, or serve as an excellent replacement for meat in various recipes. Plus, lentils provide essential minerals and vitamins.

As with other dried pulses (beans, peas and split mung beans), lentils must first be soaked before being cooked; however, unlike many dried beans their cooking time is relatively quick, making them perfect for meals that need to be made quickly.

Your choice of lentils will have an impact on their cooking speed and flavor. Options include brown lentils, green lentils, French Le Puy lentils (commonly known as caviar lentils) and black beluga lentils (commonly known as caviar lentils). Brown and green lentils retain their shape well when cooked making them suitable for salads, veggie burgers, soups and caviar lentils are more hearty in flavor making them suitable for stews, sauces and tacos respectively.

Lentils absorb flavors quickly, so seasoning them while they cook can greatly enhance their flavors. A bay leaf, cut onion or garlic clove half or even strips of kombu seaweed will all enhance this nutrient-packed legume’s flavors and enhance its nutrition content.

Lentils are one of the best meal prep foods, as they can be prepared ahead of time and stored in your refrigerator or freezer, saving time during busy weeknights. To decrease sodium consumption when home-cooking lentils, cook in vegetable stock rather than water; homemade vegetable stock would be best, though store bought low-sodium vegetable stocks work just as well.

Easy to prepare

Lentils make for an easy and healthy dinner solution. Perfectly versatile, lentils can be found tossed into green and grain salads, wraps/ sandwich salads and soups/ chilis alike. When selecting organic lentils as your option of choice to avoid pesticides and chemicals that may be present.

Before cooking lentils, it is crucial that they are thoroughly rinsed and sorted to remove grit and other plant debris that may adhere to them. Left unsorted, these bits of foreign material could potentially contain gluten that could trigger adverse reactions for those suffering from celiac disease or digestive disorders.

Sorting lentils is simple and relatively fast. Start by rinsing them through a fine mesh sieve, discarding any discolored or shriveled lentils. Divide them into two piles by color based on standard deviation – no pile should differ by more than one standard deviation from another pile if possible; to be extra thorough use a spectrophotometer to increase accuracy.

When following a recipe that calls for one style of lentil, add all other ingredients gradually. This method works particularly well for recipes requiring large amounts of liquid such as those using French or Beluga lentils; use 1 part dried lentils and 2 parts boiling water as per package directions.

Red or split lentils require slightly more liquid as their size expands during the cooking process, then simply following your recipe’s directions for preparation – such as seasoning them before simmering until tender – can then be stored in an airtight container or frozen for up to one month in your freezer.

Easy to cook

Lentils (also referred to as pulses) are an easy and nutritous pantry staple that can be cooked quickly. Not only are they affordable and simple to store, they’re a rich source of plant-based proteins as well. But sometimes lentils can be tricky to prepare when not done the right way – that’s why it is vital to sort lentils before beginning your cooking session so that you get only premium-quality lentils that will be ready for use in recipes.

If you don’t sort your lentils before cooking them, you may discover rocks and debris within. This is due to their harvest process – small bits of dirt, twigs and plant parts may become mixed in when harvested by farmers’ machines – this is completely harmless but may be disturbing for people sensitive to foreign particles in their food.

Sorting is an easy and effective process you can perform before adding lentils to a pot. Simply rinse and sift through them to remove any pebbles or debris that might have made their way into the bag, before pouring the sorted lentils into boiling water according to recipe instructions.

Once finished, your lentils should be tender and soft enough for you to eat comfortably. For added flavor, stir in one or two teaspoons of olive oil before stirring them back in.

Sorting may take practice to master, but once it comes easily it will soon become second nature. Sort your lentils by color if desired to ensure all shades match. Simply divide your lentils into two piles that differ by no more than one standard deviation in color range from each other.