Beans - Revisited

I guess I was aware that canned beans are already cooked - but it certainly wasn't very much on my mind back when I wrote this post. In fact, it's fair to say this fact wasn't on mind at all until I moved from California to Switzerland and was suddenly faced with a sharp decline in the available options of canned beans in the supermarket.

Not to be discouraged (well, in truth I have come to crave beans on a fairly regular basis) I started shopping for dried beans and read up on the subject of how to cook dried beans, primarily in my copy of Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. What I learned was that cooking times would be dependent on the type of bean, their state of drying, and whether or not they were pre-soaked. Pre-soaking, apropos, was considered decidedly un-Mexican. hmm...


As illustrated I armed myself with black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans, and white beans .. and patience. Then I started cooking, varying the method a bit every time. And by now, after I don't know how many times of cooking dried beans from scratch I present my guide on it.

As in my original post on the subject, there are two fundamentally different versions: with or without bacon. With bacon starts by frying some bacon in a large pot, then adding onions - without simply cooks the onions in a little oil. Either way, when the onions are translucent, beans, water, and chillies (whatever I happen to have) are added, and the pot is brought to a boil. While boiling, keep an eye on them - you don't want them to foam too much, nor to dry out (especially some of the longer cooking times might require additional water).

As mentioned the cooking times vary quite a bit, so I've tried setting it up in a little table:


Cooking times are approximate - once the beans are fully cooked they will be pleasantly soft. At this point, I reduce the volume by cooking uncovered at medium-high heat with occasional stirring.


Et voila... lovely beans, to be eaten with all the lovely Mexican fare that makes my exile from California more tolerable. As a side note, I've found that it's nice to sometimes cook a large batch, freeze the rest, which can then be quickly warmed up later.

UPDATE: The text above does state that cooking time is dependent on state of drying - the black beans I've bought in Sweden so far need only a little over an hour of cooking after overnight soaking.