Food Storage Friday - Cooking Old Beans

This technique for rescuing old cooking beans comes from my friend "M". She doesn't know yet that her method is the feature of Food Storage Friday.  Thank you, "M"! (Until and unless someone gives me permission to use their name, I will refer to them by their first initial.)

Rice and beans should be a staple in anyone's food storage. Together, they provide all of the amino acids you need to survive. Plus, it's relatively inexpensive. I say "relatively" inexpensive since food prices have skyrocketed lately and nothing is truly inexpensive anymore!

Below is the email I got from "M" that explains how to cook dried beans that have been in storage too long. I'd tried cooking pinto beans and despite nearly an entire day in the crockpot, the beans were still semi-hard. "M" came to my rescue with this technique. I used it on the rest of the pinto beans from that same bag and it worked! I had beautifully plump and tender beans.

Thank you, "M"!

The Mesa, Arizona LDS Cannery had a visit from the top employees of the Quality Control Lab of the LDS Church. They shared something interesting that I thought should be passed on.

 

 

 

 

 

  There are many complaints of not being able to cook “old” pinto beans. After many tests, the following information teaches how to cook old beans. 

 

By boiling the water FIRST then adding the beans, certain enzymes are released and actually allows the beans to soften and cook. By adding the beans and bringing the water to a boil, etc., the labs have found the bean enzymes aren’t released and you will be cooking bean “rocks.” 

 

The longer dry beans are stored, the longer they may take to cook. First, sort and rinse the beans. For each cup of beans, bring 3 cups of water to boil, add the beans to the boiling water, and boil for two minutes. Next, add 3/8 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for each cup of beans, cover, and soak for 1 hour or more. More baking soda may be required for older beans. Next, drain and rinse the beans thoroughly, cover with water, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1-2 hours or until tender.

 

Do not add salt or other ingredients until the beans have softened adequately.