Rinse the beans carefully in a colander. Any entire or partially discoloured beans should be discarded. You should also look for soil clumps and pebbles.

Beans are measured and added to a big stockpot. For every cup of beans, add 4 glasses of water. Depending on the beans, one pound of dried beans will produce 3-5 cups, so you'll need about 3-5 quarts of water.

For every cup of dry beans while preparing black beans, add 1 Tbsp of whey or lemon juice.

Give the beans at least 8 hours—up to 24—of uninterrupted resting.

After soaking, drain the beans into a strainer and give them a thorough cold water rinse.

The beans should be added back to the stockpot along with the original amount of water plus one additional cup for every cup of beans.

On the stovetop, add the beans and barely bring the water to a boil. Cover the beans after turning the heat off. Give the beans somewhere quiet to sit for 2 to 8 hours.

Beans should be strained into a sieve and thoroughly rinsed with cold water once more.

Once more, add the beans to the stockpot and fill it with water until it is at least 2 inches over the beans. The beans should be cooked for the specified amount of time at a very low simmer. This will take between 45 and 90 minutes for partially cooked beans. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours for completely cooked beans.

To prevent the beans from drying out while cooking, periodically check the beans for doneness and add more water as necessary. When the beans are almost done, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Before storage, drain the beans and let them cool.