Cooking beans

[saving-10-years]

@Bankai If you are in the UK have you noticed that bean varieties (esp. canned but also dried) are getting more and more limited in regular supermarkets. It is now almost a case of kidney beans or chickpeas take your pick. You might be able to get haricot or butter beans in tins but lots of other varieties are only available as dried products. We use the pressure cooker method as the basis for soup and also make bean salads (with fresh green beans/broad beans added). We do also buy canned beans for convenience when these are on offer, but storing them in quantity is an issue as dried beans take less space so we always have dried beans to add variety or when we can get hold of good deals.

Supermarkets in UK tend to have better deals of these particular canned items on their international food sections (same store/different ailse). So cheapest ASDA (UK Walmart) cost per 400g can is 40p currently on the international aisle but also on offer there for 4 for £1 so 25p each. You can pay 33p on own brand on special 'rollback' offer in same store in the 'regular' bean aisle, £1.38/kg which is similar to your purchase price. (Rather bizarrely the cost of dried beans in the regular beans/pulses section tends to be always higher in the international section for some beans even when buying quantity - go figure).

[Bankai]

Yeah I noticed this as well. A year ago Morrisons was having almost permanently 4 for £1 deal on canned beans (240g) and you had a choice of about 10 different kinds. Currently they offer 3 for £1 and there are rarely more than 5-6 kinds to choose from. Also, this seems to be the price floor currently, even Aldi/Lidl don't offer any cheaper while still having noticeably worse quality.

[Jean]

It is much easier to carry bags of dry beans, rather than cans of cooked beans, which are mostly water.

[Seamus]

@Bankai

I agree it's important to avoid frugality fallacy, but I don't necessarily think this is an example of that. In particular I would say the extra time to cook beans is closer to 3 minutes than 30, as long as one doesn't get mesmerized by simmering water

I agree with Jean as well, I might buy dry beans even if they were the same price as canned just to avoid the 1-2 extra cans in my backpack on the way home from the grocery store every week.

[Bankai]

Pressure cooker? The normal way involves multiple overnight soaking etc.

[Seamus]

I don't have a pressure cooker. I soak them once for about 9 hours, usually during my work day on Mondays. When I get home from work I drain the water, add more, and start it boiling, then simmer for an hour and they're done. I guess you could argue that I have to be around the house for an hour while the stove is on, but my attention is only on the beans for a couple minutes max.

[Hobbes]

I use an Instant Pot to cook my black beans. I don't pre-soak them; I just put a pound of dried blacks beans into the pot along with 6 cups of water. I then cook them on high pressure for 25 mins, and leave them on 'keep warm' for a further 35 mins. So far, they've always turned out good for me!

[EdithKeeler]

Just came across this thread. I just put a pot of beans into the slow cooker. 2lb black beans and a ham bone and a jalapeño pepper. I’ll probably have beans for breakfast in the morning. No soaking, no nothing except to rinse them off.

Worth mentioning: beans freeze really well. Totally worth cooking a big bunch and freezing in portions. I like soupier beans, but with less liquid nice to dump on top of a salad or wrap in a tortilla for a quick meal.

[Lemur]

Just came across this thread. I just put a pot of beans into the slow cooker. 2lb black beans and a ham bone and a jalapeño pepper. I’ll probably have beans for breakfast in the morning. No soaking, no nothing except to rinse them off.

Worth mentioning: beans freeze really well. Totally worth cooking a big bunch and freezing in portions. I like soupier beans, but with less liquid nice to dump on top of a salad or wrap in a tortilla for a quick meal.

Funny I just filled up my slow-cooker with dry navy beans, enough water to cover them up, and salt, pepper, and "italian" seasoning. This was before I found this thread though. Glad I found this thread. My food costs are ridiculously high by ERE standards and I'm trying to trim down.