How to Use Beans in Your Long Term Food Supply
Beans are a very common bulk item that many people store in food grade buckets or mylar bags with oxygen absorbers (which extends the shelf life from about 2 years to about 20 years.) They are inexpensive and easy to come by.
Has your mother ever told you to “eat your beans… they’re good for you”? Beans (legumes) are without a doubt one of the most nutrient dense and health-supporting foods, making them a prepper’s go-to storage food. They are a good sources of iron, B vitamins, folate, and calcium. They are rich in soluble fiber which helps you feel fuller longer. Beans have an incredibly high nutrient to calorie ratio, are good sources of protein (if animal protein is not available), and are very versatile.
Besides the health benefits, I have a few more reasons for why a good stock of beans should be on your long term food supply list.
Here’s your first reason: You need to let your body get used to them. If you currently eat little to no beans and then change your eating habit to eating them often, you are in for a rude awakening! Beans can be difficult for some people to digest. Why? They contain starches which our bodies have limited stores of digestive enzymes. We do have some of the enzyme, but it resides only in our stomach bacteria, and if we don’t eat beans regularly, we likely won’t have quite enough of it to digest them without trouble. The main way to combat this challenge is to gradually add more beans to your diet, which will encourage the enzyme’s presence.
Second reason: You need to practice cooking dried beans to get it right. Most people do not cook dried beans partially due to the fast paced world we live in, where a can of beans is heat-n-eat.
Here are some tips to get you started:
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Before preparing dried beans, place them in a colander, sort through them thoroughly and remove any tiny pebbles or other debris, and then rinse under cold water.
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Do not add salt, seasoning or anything acidic like tomatoes or vinegar to your beans until they are fully cooked. If you add salt or tomatoes beforehand, the skin of the bean will turn out tough
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“Long Soak”: Soaking your dried beans overnight or at least 8 hours before cooking. Strain the beans, throwing out the soaking water (you can even rotate the water a few times if you have plenty of water to spare). Cook your soaked beans in fresh, clean water. (This will help reduce crampy tummies and offensive gas)
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“Quick soak”: For a “quick soak,” rinse your beans, cover them with water (1 part beans: 3 parts water) and boil them for five minutes. Take pot of beans off heat and let them sit for an hour after, and then cook through.
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To cook soaked/drained beans, cover with about 2 inches of fresh water, bring the beans to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the beans are tender. NOTE: When cooking beans, always simmer. Boiling can cause the cooking liquid to overflow, as well as cause the beans to break apart and the skins to separate.
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Pressure cooking: When pressure cooking soaked beans at 15 lbs of pressure, it takes about 5 to 8 minutes to cook.
Dried Bean = Cooked Beans
Use this guide to gauge how much dried beans to cook.
1/3 cup dry beans =1 cup cooked beans
1/2 cup dry beans =1 1/2 cups cooked beans
2/3 cup dry beans =2 cup cooked beans
1 cup dry beans =3 cups cooked beans
2 cups (1 pound) dry beans =6 cups cooked beans
Side notes:
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You can cook beans without soaking if you have to, but it takes longer, and some people think the beans taste better when soaked
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As a rule of thumb, the larger the bean, the longer they need to soak: and the longer you soak beans, the faster they cook.
- Keep in mind… If soaked too long, they may ferment, which affects their flavor and makes them difficult to digest.
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When dried beans boil, a foam forms on the top of the cooking liquid. This foam is water-soluble protein released from the beans and it will be absorbed back into the bean cooking liquid. It is not necessary to remove the foam. But it won’t hurt your beans if you do skim it off.
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Split peas and lentils don’t need to be soaked. They take about 30 minutes to cook.
Get cooking!
Sources: whatscookingamerica.net; choosingraw.com;
