Beans, dried vs. canned

Isaac Wingfield said:

If somebody served you two versions of a dish, identical except for
dried vs. canned beans, could you tell which was which? How?

More importantly... how would YOU tell the difference?

_.-In rec.food.cooking, Isaac Wingfield wrote the following -._

Quoted message said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

The only reason I prefer the dried beens is because of all the other
things they put in the cans like corn syrup.

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On Wed 29 Jun 2005 12:17:06a, Faux_Pseudo wrote in rec.food.cooking:

Quoted message said:

_.-In rec.food.cooking, Isaac Wingfield wrote the following -._

Quoted message said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

The only reason I prefer the dried beens is because of all the other
things they put in the cans like corn syrup.

If you're buying plain canned beans, they contain nothing added except,
perhaps, salt and sodium benzoate.

--
Wayne Boatwright *¿*
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

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Isaac Wingfield said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

None that I can think of.

Quoted message said:

Are there *any* dishes where it matters?

None that I can think of.

Quoted message said:

If somebody served you two versions of a dish, identical except for
dried vs. canned beans, could you tell which was which? How?

The canned beans would be more uniform and smoother.

Pastorio

That is my problem with canned beans, or caned anything. They are
sooooo salty !

Rosie

Faux_Pseudo said:

Isaac Wingfield said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

The only reason I prefer the dried beens is because of all the other
things they put in the cans like corn syrup.

There's no corn syrup in canned beans... why don't you read the
label... oh, you can't read.

Sheldon

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

Are there *any* dishes where it matters?

If somebody served you two versions of a dish, identical except for
dried vs. canned beans, could you tell which was which? How?

Isaac

IMHO the difference is the canned beans are generally overcooked. Second canned
beans are cooked "Their Way" I prefer to have the beans cooked "My Way". In
short I prefer the flexibility to flavor the beans not the broth.

Dimitri

The only differences I can think of is that canned beans are often
fairly mushy and frequently very salty. You can cook dried beans to a
different consistency, and control the salt content. Dried beans are
often far less expensive at the store, but that doesn't affect the
final product's quality.

Most of the time, I use canned beans. Rinse a few times to remove some
of the excess salt.

If you are going for a high quality result, you will want to pick over
the beans, dried or canned, to make sure everything is good. Cheap
canned beans frequently have smashed or broken beans, but I never see a
recipe calling for canned beans to be picked over like dried beans.

Dean G.

Wayne Boatwright said:

If you're buying plain canned beans, they contain nothing added except,
perhaps, salt and sodium benzoate.

Nope, just salt and water.

nb

rosie said:

That is my problem with canned beans, or caned anything. They are
sooooo salty !

You should look for the "diet" version. Canning's dirty little
secret: the only difference between regular and diet canned food is
they turn off the salt injector and change the label ...oh, and up the
price!

nb

Isaac Wingfield said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

In the case of kidney beans I prefer canned. They
tend to have a better texture than most canned beans
and do not get mushy. I have tried cooking my own a
couple of times but gave up in disgust as the beans
never cooked properly and stayed very hard. Maybe it
was just my bad luck with the particular beans I bought
at the time but since you can get perfectly good canned
ones, why go through the work and aggravation.

Now with other types of beans I think it does matter.
For my taste most canned beans are too mushy. I like
my beans still fairly firm.

I always cook my own Great Northerns for Boston-style
Baked Beans.

I recently tried Bush's canned black-eyed peas and they
weren't too bad but I still prefer to cook them myself.

Garbanzos (chick peas) I think are okay canned. I've
never cooked them from scratch and probably never will.
Don't see the need.

Dried limas I cook myself. I'm not sure there even
are any canned ones. I've seen canned butter beans
but they're not quite the same thing. I have eaten
the seasoned canned butter beans and they seem to be
okay.

I also prefer my own black beans but the canned ones
aren't too bad in a pinch.

I don't cook many other types of dried beans such as
pinto, navy, Anasazi, adzuki, cranberry, cannellini,
fava, red beans, flageolets, etc.

Quoted message said:

Are there *any* dishes where it matters?

For me it matters most in baked beans. I really hate
mushy baked beans. I never eat canned baked beans and
I always use Great Northerns and cook them myself.

Quoted message said:

If somebody served you two versions of a dish, identical except for
dried vs. canned beans, could you tell which was which? How?

Mostly by the texture of the beans in most cases as
canned will always be mushier.

Kate

rosie said:

That is my problem with canned beans, or caned anything. They are
sooooo salty !

Rosie

That's odd because I use lots of canned items - kidney beans,
corn, tomatoes, etc. - and I have never found anything to be
too salty and I don't like a lot of salt in my food.

There are many commercially prepared foods that I do find
too salty - most chips for one - but the plain things like
canned vegetables, etc. are never salty tasting to me.

Kate

Isaac Wingfield said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

If I'm going to make bean soup, say pinto bean soup with a nice ham
bone in it, then dried beans are what I use. Otherwise, canned. I have
a variety of canned beans in the pantry: black, pinto, red, kidney,
etc. That allows me flexibility to make something with beans when I
feel like it. With dried you have to plan at least a few hours ahead.

Brian

"Dried limas I cook myself. I'm not sure there even are any canned
ones. I've seen canned butter beans but they're not quite the same
thing. I have eaten the seasoned canned butter beans and they seem to
be okay."

Occasionally I find fresh or semi-fresh limas (and black and garbanzo)
beans in the produce section of some markets. They cook up fine, but
they do seem to shed more of their skin than I expected. Also, unless
you rinse them the water gets starchy. Otherwise, I go with frozen
limas.

For Turkey Day last year, I fried up some corn with a bit of shallot
(in butter), boiled some limas, and mixed together with some pimentoes.

Do you have a recipe for your baked beans ?

Dean G.

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 22:39:42 -0700, Isaac Wingfield <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

I believe the choice is mostly between cost and time. If you have a
long-cooking dish where flavors are supposed to meld, the dried are
probably better. But to soak and cook garbanzo beans for hummus? I
don't think so.

Isaac Wingfield said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

Are there *any* dishes where it matters?

I'll continue to use dried pinto beans. The reason for that is that I use
beer to finish rehydrating them, when it comes time to add more liquid.
I'm not sure that the beer would saturate canned beans. If anyone knows
otherwise, I'll gladly switch to canned. Oh, the other thing is, I don't
like my pintos mushy (no refried beans for me). I like them to still be
beans.

Carol

--
Coming at you live, from beautiful Lake Woebegon

Dean G. said:

The only differences I can think of is that canned beans are often
fairly mushy and frequently very salty. You can cook dried beans to a
different consistency, and control the salt content. Dried beans are
often far less expensive at the store, but that doesn't affect the
final product's quality.

Most of the time, I use canned beans. Rinse a few times to remove some
of the excess salt.

If you are going for a high quality result, you will want to pick over
the beans, dried or canned, to make sure everything is good. Cheap
canned beans frequently have smashed or broken beans, but I never see a
recipe calling for canned beans to be picked over like dried beans.

that's because "smashed/broken beans" != rocks, leaves and bugs.

Lena

Kate Connally said:

rosie said:

That is my problem with canned beans, or caned anything. They are
sooooo salty !

Rosie

That's odd because I use lots of canned items - kidney beans,
corn, tomatoes, etc. - and I have never found anything to be
too salty and I don't like a lot of salt in my food.

There are many commercially prepared foods that I do find
too salty - most chips for one - but the plain things like
canned vegetables, etc. are never salty tasting to me.

Kate

Read the label. Compare with American Heart Association recommended
sodium limit of 2000 to 2400 mg/day. Put back on shelf. This applies
to most canned foods

--
Del Cecchi
"This post is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions,
strategies or opinions.”

Dimitri said:

"Isaac Wingfield" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So for most recipes (soup, cassoulet, chili, etc.) is there any reason
having to do with the "quality" of the finished dish, to prefer dried
beans?

Are there *any* dishes where it matters?

If somebody served you two versions of a dish, identical except for
dried vs. canned beans, could you tell which was which? How?

Isaac

IMHO the difference is the canned beans are generally overcooked. Second canned
beans are cooked "Their Way" I prefer to have the beans cooked "My Way". In
short I prefer the flexibility to flavor the beans not the broth.

I occasionally like the convenience of canned beans so I learned how to
home can them. It really is fairly easy and you can do them the way you
want, not their way. A pressure canner is necessary. I do kidney and
brown beans. I wouldn't mind doing chickpeas so may try a few pints.
DH doesn't like them but I do.

Quoted message said:

Dimitri