The Magic of Beans: or What Jack's Mother Never Knew

                           Basics of Cooking with Beans

Beans are nearly a perfect food. They are loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are low in fat. They are inexpensive, easy to prepare, and can be used in a variety of dishes. Check out the RECIPE section for more ideas on how to use beans.

Beans are part of the legume family (as are peas, lentils and even peanuts.) In order for beans to be edible and improve digestibility, they must be pre-soaked. (This does not apply, however to the peas, lentils or peanuts.) This is actually where most people get discouraged and stop. If this has been you, then listen up. This is the easiest part of the whole process. Believe me. There are two ways to do the pre-soaked method, and a few other pointers, so to simplify things lets put it in lesson format. Here goes:

Lesson one:

Traditional pre-soak method

Take your beans: pinto, great northern, black, red, chickpeas, navy, kidney, pink or what ever type you may have-- rinse them off, put them in a pot, cover them with at least two inches of water. Then go to bed and let them soak while you are sleeping. Pretty easy so far.

Next morning, get up, drain and rinse the soaked beans. The soaking has just helped to remove the oligosaccharides (indigestible complex sugars) from the outer coating of the beans, which also will help to minimize beans ability to cause gas production in your digestive tract. (Isn’t that a happy thought?!) Another main reason for soaking is it allows for shorter cooking time. It will cut your cooking time down by 70%. Soaking allows beans to slowly absorb the liquid they need to cook evenly and completely.

At this point, put your beans back into your pot, refill with fresh water, and begin your cooking process. A long slow cook will yield tender beans and tend to be easier to digest. A Saratoga Jack’s Thermal Cooker is ideal for this process. Put your beans into the pot, cover again with fresh water, bring to a rolling boil for 4 minutes, put the covered pot into the thermal liner, shut the lid, and in 4-8 hours you will have delicious beans. (It will be done in 4 hours, but you can leave it for 8 without a problem.)

A Crockpot is also an excellent slow cooking option. Again put your rinsed beans into the Crockpot, cover with fresh water, turn on low heat, and let it go for the day. You may need to check it to make sure it doesn’t go dry, and add a little more water if it needs it. Again in about 4-6 hours you should have tender beans.

If all you have is a regular pan or pot--never fear. It will also work. Again, placed the rinsed beans in your pot, cover with water, bring the temperature up to a boil, and then turn on low. Make sure to cover your pot with a lid. Watch it through out the day to make sure it doesn’t boil dry, and add extra water if it needs it. In 4 hours or so (depending on how old your beans are), it will be done.

Lesson two:

Quick soak method

You forgot to pre-soak your beans the night before, but you still want them for dinner. No problem.
1. Rinse your desired amount of dried beans
2. Put into a pot with enough water to cover by at least two inches
3. Bring to a boil for two minutes. Then turn off the heat.
4. Let it sit for at least 1 hour (if you are in a hurry) or up to 4 hours    (if you happen to forget).
5. Discard soaking liquid, and rinse the beans.
6. Cover with fresh water, and cook as above.

Lesson three:

Cheating....or how to use a Pressure Cooker for Beans

You don’t have time to cook your beans for 4-8 hours. No problem. Ideally they still need at least the one hour pre-soak (see lesson two). After rinsing, place them in a pressure cooker covered with 2 inches of water. Make sure the pressure cooker is not any more than 1/2 way full (as beans expand when they cook!). Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for best results. Depending on the type of bean you are cooking, it will be done in as little as 5 to 15 minutes.

If speed is all important, and gas is not, you can technically skip the pre-soak step (just make sure you rinse those beans thoroughly), and pressure cook them alone. It will increase the pressure cook time to 10-40 minutes depending on the type of bean you are cooking. Again, check with your pressure cooker’s manufacturer’s guide for more exact instructions.

Pressure cooking is also ideal if you have older beans that won’t cook up tender with the regular cooking methods. It will cook those tough old beans when nothing else will, which is a great thing to know. Follow the instructions for the pre-soaking, then proceed on with the pressure cooking. Surprisingly, it will make the beans edible and tender.

* One note on older beans: If you don't have a pressure cooker and are using the traditional soak and simmer method on old beans, and they don't seem to soften, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to the soak water. Soak, thoroughly rinse and then cook as usual. The baking soda appears to soften the beans outer shell and allow the water to soak in more readily.

Lesson four:

Using Bean Flour

One last idea for using beans is bean flour. This may be the most versatile and healthful way to use beans yet. It also gives new life to old beans. Bean flour can be purchased, but for the purpose of being prepared, obtaining and using your own grinder is the way to go. Check with the model of grinder that you have to make sure it can handle beans. Some grinders require they are fitted with specialty grinding burr kit that can handle larger grains (corn) or beans. The Nugget Hand Grinders which we carry, have an optional stainless steel burr kit you can purchase. These were created to handle beans and corn easily. To find these click here.
Here are a few pointers regarding using beans for flour:

• You can replace up to 1/4 of the flour in any recipe with bean flour
• Beans when combined with whole grains form a complete protein and add additional nutrition and fiber.
• White beans (great northern, fava, navy) generally work best in baked goods.
• Use bean flour to thicken soups, stews, or to make your own “Cream of....soup”.  Many claim it tastes better and you can’t tell there are any beans in it.
• Reconstitute bean flours to make dips or fillings for other recipes.
• Darker beans (black beans, pinto, etc) work well for vegetarian “meat” loaf or patties. They also can be used in heavier baked goods with chocolate, such as cake or brownies.
• Black bean flour can be incorporated into an excellent tortilla recipe.

So you can see, cooking with beans does not have to be difficult. It is an inexpensive, healthful way to add to your meals--and your preparation.

When creating your food storage, please realize that variety is an important element to prevent dietary boredom. Because there are so many choices of beans and legumes (there are 100's of varieties), storing several different types will only add choice and nutrition to your meal-time experience. Coupled with a grain (barley, quinoa, rice, etc.) and a different seasoning or spice, you can prepare a delicious meal with a flair. We will cover in a future post ideas of seasonings to store to "spice" up your meals.

For additional resources, click here for some great bean recipes.

Just be aware that beans and legumes are such an important part of your food storage plan. Incorporating this versatile food in your everyday meals right now offers you double benefits: Delicious nutritional meals, as well as making economic sense. Use the money you save to purchase even more food storage, and you'll soon see your preparedness goals moving forward.