Stored beans question

[pjadams]

Been a long time since I stopped in. I'd lost the link even. It's nice to be back. :-) Now that I got back in, I have a question I've had for a long time.

 

I still have a lot of sealed buckets of wheat berries, for which I'm thankful. I know they keep. But I also have a lot of buckets of dried navy and kidney beans (yes, from Y2K - so 12 years old! LOL!). I tried several times to use them, and even have left them soaking for days and cooking much longer than normal, and they just don't soften. Haven't found yet anything online that would advise me on this. I tried grinding them and it was like trying to grind bullets. Tried pressure cooking as well. Are they just a lost cause? Huh....I bet they won't even compost. If no one has any ideas for me to try, I guess I could make bean bags and stuff them with beans. BOY, would they be HEAVY! :-D

[CrabGrassAcres]

If they didn't soften with pressure cooking, they ain't a gonna. I've had some like that. Bean bags are good. Make some big enough to use for heating pads that you can stick in the microwave. I've also warmed them in a gas oven on low or on top a woodstove. Set the bag inside a heavy pot and put the pot on a trivet. Lid on the pot. The beans warm nicely and you can take the bag to bed with you.

[Ambergris]

Have you tried grinding some for meatloaf filler and soup thickener?

[Mt_Rider]

Oh dear, I think I have some bean bag materials too.

 

Welcome back PJ! Good question.

 

So...you can't even grind them and make them usable?????

 

 

I've heard that they get so super hard cuz you can't let them get so dried out??? Is that true and what can one do about it? If packed properly [how] will that prevent ...er, bean bag syndrom?

 

MtRider [...hate to waste ANYthing! ]

Edited June 28, 2012 by Mt_Rider

[Annarchy]

back PJ,

 

 

 

We've been using our 'old' beans. After noticing they were not softening, I started cooking them in the pressure cooker a few hours. I read an old 1900's cookbook that advised to transfer them to 'an earthen pot' for final cooking/liquid reduction. It seems to work for me.

 

Thinking about trying the soak - cook - freeze - cook, method. Sounds logical.

 

 

I found these:

 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705377126/Fast-ideas-for-fixing-dry-beans.html?pg=all

Most people don't realize that after around eight years, beans gradually become harder and harder to hydrate. To soften old beans, add up to a rounded one-fourth teaspoon baking soda per cup of beans to the soaking water. You may have to experiment a little with the amount of soda depending on how old your beans are. Rinse beans thoroughly, add three times the amount water as beans, and simmer for up to two hours to soften them.

 

 

 

Among the many "...they will never soften..." was this:

 

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=641476

When using beans that were entombed in the Pyramids with the ancient Pharoahs, a couple of things to keep in mind:

 

Always presoak. Don't add anything except KOMBU to the soaking water.

 

Do not use any tomato products when cooking the beans. Wait until (or if ever!) they soften before adding tomato stuff.

 

Canning the beans is another way to soften them. Prepare as per canner instructions, place in hot jars with new lids, and can in a pressure canner for the appropriate amount of time for your elevation.

 

Freezing is another option. Cook your beans, then package and freeze.

 

The last two methods often produce beans which are "too mushy" for some folks. Therefore, the hard as rock beans should succumb to the extremes, and give you an edible product.

 

Note: KOMBU is dried seaweed, found in Asian markets or health food stores. A three-inch piece added to the soaking water can aid in (ahem!) digesting the beans. After soaking, drain off the water, and retain the KOMBU with the other cooking ingredients. It will disintegrate while the beans cook, and it makes no discernable difference in the end product.

 

Black beans can also benefit from the addition of the Mexican herb, EPAZOTE. That will provide some seasoning, and also help the (ahem!) "digestion" of the beans.

 

 

~VOW

 

 

Vow's advise coincides with this PDF file on "Dry Beans"

 

http://extension.usu.edu/juab/files/uploads/FSNE/drybeans_plus.pdf]

Softening Old Beans

The older the bean the tougher it is and less digestible. Following are a few tips to soften old

beans.

1. Cook and freeze. The freezing moisture in the bean helps to rupture the cell wall and create a

more palatable product.

2. Pressure cook. Follow manufacturer’s directions for using pressure cooker. Increase cooking

time as needed to produce a desired texture.

3. Pressure-can beans. This method makes a readily usable product as well as softens beans.

Follow USDA canning instructions below for pressuring.

[Mt_Rider]

...well fortunately I have some bags I can experiment with. You've restored hope, Annarchy. We'll see.

 

MtRider

[CrabGrassAcres]

Make sure you only store the freshest beans you can get. In other words, don't bring the salvage store beans home and plan to store them any length of time. Immediately upon purchase of fresh beans seal them in mylar with O2 absorbers and have the mylar inside a bucket. Store in a cool, dry place that does not get temperature extremes and do not put the bucket directly on concrete floors, put some 2x4s under the buckets so you get air flow. This keeps moisture from condensing and running to the bottom and molding.

 

I've not tried the cook/freeze method, but that might help. I got tons and tons of epazote. The goats LOVE it and it grows thickly all over here.

[pjadams]

So...you can't even grind them and make them usable?????

Nope, they broke my food processor and I don't have a grinder. But there are suggestions listed here that I haven't tried yet, so I will. Thanks, everyone! Edited July 3, 2012 by pjadams

[Annarchy]

I was preparing to cook a pot-o-beans and wanted to know how many minutes is the average for pressure cooking beans.

 

Here is a good chart I found. http://missvickie.com/howto/beans/howtobeantypes.html

 

12 minutes... NOT!

 

I soaked my hard beans for about 5 hours, then, poured them into the pressure cooker with a 1/4 package of bacon, and cooked them for an hour. Then, poured them into my haro/earthen pot for 10 or so minutes. They came out pretty good.

[CrabGrassAcres]

When I pressure can beans they are usually older ones and I process for 90 min at 10#. Haven't had any rocks in a good while though. I get beans from the food salvage and they tend to be at least a yr old in original package. Too hard to cook the standard way but good canned.

[The WE2's]

(oops...had to edit!)

 

Hmmm...I have some stored in bags inside sealed bucket. Perhaps I need to dig them out and get them cooked and dehydrated for their own safety and my use. Here's one of my favorite links..She says cook them first then dehydrate them and store. I've just been lazy and haven't gotten it done. Thanks ladies, for reminding me that I've let something go amiss! When in an unzipped spot, I don't want to have to boil beans for several hours!

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/katzcradul

Edited September 1, 2012 by Philbe

[Brian]

The key to great tasting beans, or any other stored food, is to make sure it is as fresh as possible at the time of storing. It sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how many people use the old lots of their food for long term storage, trying to be frugal. Never a good idea.

 

 

Along those lines, always test your supplies! When storing food in large quantities, always store some of each type in a smaller container for future testing. This way you wont have to open a 5 gal bucket just to test the lot. To test, make sure you are cooking with the equipment and condiments that you think will be available to you in an emergency, and no cheating! This not only helps to make sure your stores are truly good, but also helps you know that you have the right tools and recipes to make good use of those stores if they are ever needed.

 

I hope this helps someone

 

Brian

[lovinit]

Great post Brian. Using what we will need NOW is so important.

[Andrea]

Great suggestions Brian and !!!

[Jeepers]

Great idea Brian. I usually keep some of my stored food in smaller containers so I don't have to keep opening a mylar bag in a bucket, but never thought about it being a good sample of the rest of the food.

 

I wish I had thought about that before I stored away some noodles. I've been wondering about how they are doing. Was there oil and egg used in them? Are they going to get rancid? Wish I had thrown a handful in a canning jar and used the Food Saver on it so I could see them. Gonna have to open them soon.

 

Dag-nab-it Brian, where were you last year.

 

 

Oh and Welcome!