I've prepared loads of tares over the years and if you're not careful, it's easy to end up with a saucepan full of mush. I put the un-cooked tares in a container, add a spoonful of bicarbonate of soda, cover them with boiling water and leave them to soak for 24 hours. After soaking, drain the water off and put them in a saucepan, add some more bicarb and slowly heat up the water. It’s very important to simmer and not to boil them. Keep spooning out a couple of samples and squeeze them to test the consistency. When they are soft, drain them off in a sieve and allow them to cool naturally. Don’t pour cold water over them; this will cause them to disintegrate. The addition of bicarb (as with hemp) softens them and also makes them go black. I find that if they are bagged and put in a fridge, you can keep them for several days. Don’t be tempted to keep them too long, because, again as with hemp, they will go off and smell. I always prefer fresh hemp and tares, rather than ones that have been frozen.
