I've made several recipes that call for soaking ingredients "overnight". This has always bothered me, since I don't know exactly how long that is. I mean, do I start the soak at 6 pm, 8 pm, 11 pm? And what happens if I want to finish the recipe at 9 am, or don't get around to it until 4 pm the next day? So even from the same starting times, the total soak time can be wildly different.

So, what do recipes mean when they say to do something "overnight"? I'd like to be able to keep the same times, but be a little more flexible about start/stop times.

It depends on what you are cooking, really. If you are soaking dried beans, for example, if they soak too long, they might not come out right in the dish you are preparing. Again though, that depends on the dish...

I usually shoot for 8 to 12 hours for "overnight".

Yep, that's the issue... soak too short, and they are still hard, soak too long, and they can be mushy. And generally it's beans, tapioca, and dried fruit that I am soaking.

It really is a bit of a guessing game. Maybe someone else has a magic formula?? :D

Storage and Soaking of Dry Beans

Have a read there describes all kinds of methods hope it helps.

I normally soak for 8-10 hours covered as the site suggests say put them to soak before I go to bed at midnight then there ready when I get up at 8am and I start the cooking process then.