Dried garbanzo beans not expanding when soaked I recently tried soaking dried garbanzo beans for the first time. The 'quick soak' method which involved boiling them for 5 minutes and then letting them sit an hour didn't seen to change their overall size as much as I expected, and neither did leaving them to sit in water for another 12 hours. Does this mean they are bad to eat?
The soak doesn't swell them to 'cooked' level; the cooking does that.
It is true that very old beans will never be tender, but you have no good way to find that out before you spend the next two hours simmering them. [Change the water first &amp; don't salt them until the last half hour].
This covers most of the basics, over several methods - How to Cook Dried Chickpeas (Ultimate Guide)