Must the beans be soaked before boiling?

Yes, the recipe uses soaked brown beans. They are put over the fire together with celeriac, onion and 2 liters of water and boiled until the beans are well cooked.

Why should you not salt the water from the start?

Legumes must not be boiled in salted or hard water – then a considerably longer cooking time is needed. Therefore they are salted only when they are done; the stock is added to taste toward the end. If the water is hard, you can add a little baking soda.

How is the soup thickened?

A spoonful of sago flour is stirred out in a little water and stirred into the boiling soup. After stock and 50 g butter are added, the soup is boiled for half an hour. It can be strained or served unstrained, as desired.

Bean Soup, Brown II

Brown bean soup II from Erken 1914: soaked brown beans are boiled tender in water with celeriac and onion, thinned with meat stock and butter, boiled on for half an hour and thickened with sago flour stirred out in water. Note: legumes must not be boiled in hard or salted water; salt is added at the end.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 41 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

The simpler of Erken's two brown bean soups, thickened with sago flour. The note that legumes must not be boiled in hard or salted water is Erken's own household advice, and still holds today.

How to make it

1
Boil the beans
Put the soaked beans over the heat with the water, celeriac and onion, and boil until the beans are well tender. Do not salt the cooking water.
2
Add stock and butter
Thin with stock to taste, add the butter and boil the soup on for half an hour.
3
Strain or leave
Strain the soup, or leave the beans and vegetables in the soup — as you like.
4
Thicken the soup
Stir the sago flour out in a little cold water and stir it into the boiling soup. Season with salt.

Changes from the original

Measurements have been converted to modern units; "1 spoon of sago flour" is interpreted as 1 tablespoon. The stock can be from salted or fresh meat, or bouillon. Salt is added only after the beans are tender, in keeping with Erken's note.

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Time machine – what changed?

Pick two editions and see what Henriette Schønberg Erken added, removed or changed between them.

From1914 1949 Modernised

To1914 1949 Modernised

1949 (proofread, p. 53) → Modernised~84% of the text changedremovedadded

500 g brune bønner (bløtlagt i kaldt vann natten over). 2 l vann (gjerne bløtt vann; tilsett litt natron hvis vannet er hardt). 1 l kraft (av salt- eller ferskt kjøtt, etter smak). 1 stk sellerirot (renset). 1 stk løk. 50 g smør. 1 ss sagomel (til jevning). salt (etter smak, først når bønnene er møre). Sett de utbløtte ~~bønner, selleri, løk og vann~~ bønnene over ~~varmen,~~ varmen med vannet, sellerirot og ~~la det koke~~ løk, og kok til bønnene er godt ~~kokt, tilsett~~ møre. Ikke salt kokevannet.. Spe med kraft ~~efter smak~~ etter smak, tilsett smøret og ~~smøret;~~ kok ~~¾ time. Siles~~ suppen videre i en halv time.. Sil suppen, eller ~~ikke,~~ la bønnene og grønnsakene bli i suppen — som man ~~vil. Melet røres~~ vil.. Rør sagomelet ut i litt kaldt vann og ~~røres~~ rør det inn i den kokende ~~suppe.~~ suppen. Smak til med salt.

Note on Modernised

Mål er omregnet til moderne enheter; «1 ske sagomel» er tolket som 1 spiseskje. Kraften kan være salt- eller ferskkjøttkraft, eventuelt buljong. Salt tilsettes først etter at bønnene er møre, i tråd med Erkens merknad.

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Frequently asked questions

Must the beans be soaked before boiling?: Yes, the recipe uses soaked brown beans. They are put over the fire together with celeriac, onion and 2 liters of water and boiled until the beans are well cooked.
Why should you not salt the water from the start?: Legumes must not be boiled in salted or hard water – then a considerably longer cooking time is needed. Therefore they are salted only when they are done; the stock is added to taste toward the end. If the water is hard, you can add a little baking soda.
How is the soup thickened?: A spoonful of sago flour is stirred out in a little water and stirred into the boiling soup. After stock and 50 g butter are added, the soup is boiled for half an hour. It can be strained or served unstrained, as desired.

Equipment for this dish

Cast-iron cookware set →Cast iron handles long, slow simmering – just what soups and stocks need.Engrospris.no

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