Dried Beans

From Scratch Thursday

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Beans are a good source of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are incredibly versatile and economical. Once you see how easy it is to cook beans from scratch, it will give you one more way to save on your grocery bill.

You may be thinking, Canned beans are really not all that expensive in the first place and they are very convenient. Here are some of the reasons we cook our own beans instead of buying canned:

Ingredients: Canned beans contain preservatives and salt. And all companies, with the exception of Eden Organics, use BPA in the lining of their cans.

Quality: I find that the texture and taste from cooking your own beans can not even compare to canned beans.

Pantry and Environmentally Friendly: A bag or mason jar of dried beans takes up a lot less room then several cans of cooked beans. It also produces a significantly smaller amount of waste, especially buying in bulk.

Price: One pound of conventional dried beans is around $1.oo (cheaper if you buy in bulk) and that will yield about 6 cups of cooked beans! Canned beans hold less than 2 cups on beans and cost about $.80-$1.30.

Decoration: I store dried beans in tightly sealed glass jars on the counter top. This adds beautiful color to the kitchen.

Simple Soaking and Cooking Method for Dried Beans

1. Spread the dried beans out on the counter and pick out any cracked or wrinkled beans, as well as any small stones or dirt.

2. Dump the beans into a colander and rinse with water.

3. Put the rinsed beans in a large bowl and cover with several inches of cold water. Soak overnight.

• Why Soak the beans? Aside from speeding up the cooking process, soaking beans begin the sprouting process which removes the phytic acid that prevents minerals .from being absorbed. Soaking improves digestibility because enzymes and trisaccharides are released into the soak water.
• You can also add two teaspoons of whey, yogurt, buttermilk or kefir to the water with the beans to allow a little bit of fermentation This helps break down complex proteins and nutrients into their simpler, more digestible forms.

4. After 8-24 hours of soaking, pour out the water and rinse the beans.

5. Choose a cooking method: Crock Pot or Stove top ( You could also use a pressure cooker, I do not have one and am not familiar with this option, but I heard it works well)

• Pour your beans into a wide, heavy pot. Cover with about 2 inches of water. Place on Medium High Heat. Don’t add any salt yet because it will prevent them from absorbing water, slowing down the cooking process. Wait until the end when the beans are tender. The water will quickly turn colored and foam will come to the surface. Scoop off the foam and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer on low. Cook until tender, anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the variety. Sample a few beans before removing them from the heat. You want them to be tender but not mushy.
• Or pour beans in the crockpot. Cover with 2 inches of water. Turn the crockpot on low and cook for 7-9 hours. Cook until tender. Sample a few beans before removing them. You want them to be tender but not mushy.

Beans beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you...

Soaking the beans will help improve the digestibility but you can also try adding some acid. If gas persists, add a little bit of apple-cider, brown rice or white wine vinegar into the water in the last stages of cooking.

Time Saving Tip:

• Cook beans in bulk and store them in 2 cup portions in the freezer. This will make them easy to throw in soups or thaw for recipes that call for a can of beans (1 can= just under 2 cups)
• If making soup cook your beans in the soup. Soak beans and then throw directly in soup or chili to cook. This will help preserve any vitamins lost in the cooking in the broth.