Reversibility of the Hard‐to‐Cook Defect in Dry Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata)

The hard‐to‐cook defect, assumed to be a permanent condition in legume seeds, can be reversed. Dry beans ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) and cowpeas ( Vigna unguiculata ) which had developed the hard‐to‐cook defect when stored at 29°C, 65% RH had progressively shorter cooking times after additional storage at 6.5°C, 71% RH. This would suggest that the mechanism(s) leading to development of the defect should be easily reversed. The ability to reverse the hard‐to‐cook defect in legume seeds would provide several economic and nutritional benefits.