Exact Answer: Up to 12 hours
Chickpeas are known for their versatile nature. The chickpeas are supposed to be soaked for around 12 hours before adding them to dishes. The main intention behind soaking the chickpeas is to decrease the cooking time. If not soaked, then the chickpeas would cause trouble in the cooking process.
Chickpeas can be used in mashed and whole form. People can purchase different forms of chickpeas from the markets. Chickpeas are available in their dry and pre-cooked form. The size of the chickpeas is another concern for predicting the cooking time.
The small-sized chickpeas may not have to be soaked for a long time. Some people prefer soaking the chickpeas for not more than 6 hours.
How Long To Soak Chickpeas?
| Chickpeas | Time |
| In hours | 12 hours |
| In minutes | 720 minutes |
The soaking time of the chickpeas would depend on the size, type, and cooking requirement. The soaking of chickpeas would help in making the chickpeas soft. The softness of the chickpeas would come when they are soaked for the required amount of time. The soaking time of all the chickpeas would be different.
The chickpeas, which are bigger in size would require to be soaked for around 10 to 12 hours. This is because the big chickpeas would take more time to absorb water due to more surface area. The small chickpeas can absorb water in lesser time as compared to the bigger chickpeas.
The chickpeas, which are very hard won’t be able to get soft before 12 hours and the person should allow them to soak till they get softer. This doesn’t mean the chickpeas should be soaked excessively. If someone is going to fry the chickpeas, then they may not have to wait for 12 hours.
People can either slow or fast soak the chickpeas. If someone wants to soak the chickpeas in a slow process. Then they may have to soak it for 9 to 12 hours overnight. People can take some cold water in a container, put the chickpeas inside the water. Then allow the chickpeas to absorb water as much they can.
If people want to follow the fast soaking methods for chickpeas, then take a pan and put some water in the pan. Put the required amount of chickpeas in the pan, and allow the water to boil for one minute.
Why To Soak Chickpeas For This Long?
The chickpeas should not be soaked for more than 10 to 12 hours. After that, the chickpeas would start losing their taste and texture. The water used for soaking the chickpeas should be clean and chemical-free. As the chickpeas would start absorbing the water.
Nobody should add any type of additional ingredients in the water as it would disturb the soaking process. The proportion of water and chickpeas should be the same. The person is supposed to add 1.5 cups of water for half a bowl of chickpeas.
Adding less water to the chickpeas would not help as the chickpeas would not get sufficient water to absorb. The composition of water and chickpeas should be the same for both the quick and slow soaking processes. Some chickpeas may require more water content while others may require less.
In a quick soak process, the person may see a slight change in the composition of water and chickpeas. The soaking time of the chickpeas would also get affected by the type of dish, the person is going to make.
If someone is trying to make hummus, then they may have to soak the chickpeas for around 12 hours as they need to blend the chickpeas for getting a smooth texture.
Excess soaking the chickpeas would prevent them from holding the texture. People should soak the chickpeas till they get soft and firm. The canned chickpeas are not required to be soaked, as they just need to be reheated.
Conclusion
The soaking time of chickpeas would be around 6 to 12 hours. The quality and quantity of the chickpeas would influence the soaking time. The types of chickpeas would also influence the time of soaking. People can use both quick and slow soaking methods to soak the chickpeas.
The slow chickpeas soaking method would be better for bringing the flavors and texture of chickpeas. People who run out of time can always try the fast or quick chickpeas soaking method.
