Maybe I should just buy them in cans (or tins, if that's what you say). Those can be good. I've tried different brands and found some that I like better than others.
Some of the best black-eyed peas I've found here were in cans imported from Portugal. I can't find them any more. But as I've said, I cook dried black-eyed peas (which are not peas but beans) with great success. For example... And these, more recently. I think black-eyed peas are the tastiest of beans.
I think in America, these would be called "pink beans" because "butter beans" are something entirely different. Even in America, "butter beans" means one thing in certain regions and something different in other regions. I think butter beans might be something else entirely in Great Britain.
Packages of dried beans in France do have sell-by or use-by dates on them. These white lingot beans say they are good until 06 12 2018. That means 06 December 2018, because we Americans write dates in a different order from Europeans... mais passons.
According to an expert, Steve at Rancho Gordo beans in California, dried beans are good for about two years. Then their quality starts to decline.
I hope you find the answer to the bean situation for us. I usually make them in the oven at low temperature and that usually works for me. As for black-eyed peas, I made a burger out of them and covered them with comeback sauce. Delish. I am from the midwest but only had them once I move to CA.
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked about California is that there you could find a lot of Southern U.S. food products like black-eyed peas, okra, and collard greens that weren't available in the Midwest (I lived in Illinois for 5 or 6 years back in the 1970s — I'm sure things have changed there now). I bet those veggie burgers were good. I've made them but with pinto beans. By the way, I can get pinto beans from Portugal at the supermarket, but they often have tough skins when I cook them.
DeleteOf course, canned or tinned or bottled or jarred vegetables are a different story, beans included
ReplyDeleteBeans survive the canning process better than green vegetables, in general. I find that some of the canned beans I buy also have tough skins, though.
DeleteLast year you suggested I buy canned red kidney beans; I did just that and they were very good. As you sugested because of the salt content, I rinsed them thouroughly. That's why I use dried beans to be sure there is as little salt as possible.
DeleteI'm afraid that if I don't cook them 'correctly' that they will contain some thing poisonous. I stick to the canned sort.
DeleteI don't think you have to worry about being "poisoned" but it's true that insufficiently cooked red beans are slightly toxic. They need to boil in water for 10 or 15 minutes, and then they can cook at a low simmer until they're tender. A lot of uncooked foods can be toxic, if consumed in large quantities. Toxic doesn't mean you'll die, but you might get a stomach ache.
DeleteI have always thought that I had more control when I cooked dried beans then when I buy canned. I don't cook them often, because of the time it takes.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't have to take that much time. Put them on to cook, with no soaking, on very low heat whether in the oven, on the stove top, or in a slow-cooker, and let them go for 2 or 3 hours. They require little attention. That said, the canned beans can be very good too.
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