Beans are the most reliable, oldest and the most diverse form of sustenance. It is not surprising why beans have become the best cooking ingredient in cuisines around the globe.

If we do a background check of bean, we will notice that it has a royal history. Beans are being used as a part of the human diet for 10,000 years.

Currently, the bean is the second most produced agricultural cereals all over the world. About 963 countries all over the world are cultivating different types of beans. It clearly represents the higher demand for the bean.

 

In this article, we are going to explore the following topics –

  1. Types of beans
  2. Dried beans vs. canned beans: Which one is better?
  3. Are canned beans as healthy as home-made beans?
  4. Recipe of cooking canned black beans
  5. What shouldn’t you do while cooking canned black beans?

 

Without wasting more time in here, let’s break it down!

Types of Beans:

The beans are basically divided into six different categories. They are listed below –

  1. Pinto Beans:

The pinto bean is named after its outlook. Pinto means “Painted” in Spanish. In its natural state, it is the prettiest bean. Its appearance looks like maroon speckled.

The pinto bean is also known as Frijol pinto (speckled bean) in Spanish and Poroto Frutilla (strawberry bean) in South America.

 

  1. Great Northern Beans:

The Great Northern Beans are white colored medium sized beans.  They are often mistaken with navy bean or cannellini beans. But the Great Northern Beans are far different than those. The Great Northern Beans are nuttier in flavor and lighter in density. These beans are ideal for purées and soups.

 

Source: Wikipedia Commons
  1. Kidney Beans:

The kidney beans are also known as cannellini bean. They are named after their shape. The kidney beans are available in two different colors. It might be light red or dark red in color. The light red color beans are larger in size with glossy pink or red color. They have a firm texture on their body.

The kidney bean is a complete package of protein, iron, dietary fiber, copper, folate and omega-3 fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids are extremely helpful for our heart. They also contain few important chemical elements like molybdenum, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B1.

You can use these beans with a number of dishes such as chili con carne, minestrone soup, pasta e Fagioli etc.

 

  1. Navy Bean:

The Navy beans are the most commercially consumed beans. They are also known as pea bean, haricot bean, white pea bean, and Boston bean.

The navy beans are smaller, plump, oval and creamy-white in color. They come with a mild flavor and buttery, smooth texture.

Basically, the English peoples use Navy bean on their almost every breakfast. They call it baked bean. They cook these beans with the savory tomato sauce. They are known as Boston baked beans in the US. These beans are most widely used in South America, Portugal, France, and Spain.

 

  1. Chickpeas:

The chickpeas are also known as Egyptian pea or Garbanzo bean. These beans are nutty in flavor and buttery or starchy in texture. There are two different varieties of this bean. They are the larger Kabuli and the desi. The larger Kabuli is mainly common throughout the Mediterranean and the desi chickpeas are mainly grown in India.

 

  1. Black beans:

Black bean is an alternate name of beauty. No other beans looked as beautiful as black beans. It represents the beauty of Cubans farmers.

The black beans are mild, sweet and creamy while cooking. You can use black beans with almost any recipe. From soups and chilies to salads and enchiladas, it suits everywhere.

You will get the black beans in two different ways. You may use the dried black beans or the canned beans. Though both of them are almost similar, they hold some differences too. We will cover the differences later. Let’s take a look at the average bean usage of the American citizens.

 

Types of beans are Americans eating:

The average bean consumption of the citizens of the United States is stated here –

Point to be noted, this statistics is published By Bean Institute and based on the past few years’ bean consumption.

 

Types of Beans Pounds/Person
Pinto beans 3.29
Great northern beans 0.26
Light red kidney beans 0.23
Dark red kidney beans 0.25
Navy (pea) beans 0.84
Garbanzo beans 0.44
Black beans 0.58

 

Source: Flickr

 

Dried beans vs. canned beans: Which one is better?

Both the dried and canned beans are good for our health. However, they have some slight differences. Let’s find out those differences –

  1. Cooking Time:

The cooking process of the dry beans is very lengthy. It may take about 3 to 24 hours to complete the cooking procedure. Before using the dried beans into your recipe, you have to go through multiple processes. The processes are sorting, rinsing, soaking and after that, you may cook them.

On the other hand, canned beans are almost ready to cook. Simply open the can, collect your beans and use them on your mouthwatering recipe! If you value your time, the canned beans must be your prior choice.

 

  1. Macronutrient Content:

The Macronutrient content of dried and canned beans is almost the same. A cup of dried kidney beans contains 0.9 gram of fat, 11.4 grams of fiber, 225 calories, 15.3 grams of protein, and 40.4 grams of carbohydrates. On the contrary canned kidney beans contain 1.5 grams of fat, 37.1 grams of carbohydrates, 13.4 grams of protein, and 13.6 grams of fiber.

 

  1. Ingredients of beans:

Canned beans are mostly a commercial product. So, the ingredients of these beans are almost basic. They contain salt, beans, and water. Few manufacturers also add a firming agent called Calcium Chloride. On the contrary, the dried beans are homemade. So, you may use your favorite ingredients with your beans.

 

  1. Cost:

You can buy canned beans from WinCo for 60 cents per can. But the dried beans are cheaper. You can buy dried beans only for 90 cents per lb.

 

Are Canned Beans As Healthy As Home-Made Beans?

Beans are one inevitable part of a healthier diet. Researchers recommend eating at least half a cup of beans every day.

Beans are an excellent source of folate, plant iron, fiber, vitamin B1, plant protein, and minerals. The minerals include phosphorus, copper, magnesium, potassium, and sodium.

But, few researchers of The Journal of Nutrition shows that almost 96% of Americans do not meet the minimum requirements of taking the bean.

So, it is the high time to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. If you take a good look at this Dietary Guidelines, you will notice that the researchers encourage the peoples to consume a minimum amount of beans every day.

However, as the canned beans are more preferable among the people, so it becomes a buzz question about its nutrition fact. Is it healthier than the home-made beans or not?

Nutrition-wise, the canned beans, and the home-made beans are almost similar. But the canned beans contain a slightly higher amount of Sodium.

The home-made beans get rid of about half of Sodium by rinsing and draining the beans for hours.

 

 

If you are concerned about the sodium, purchase the bean juice and avoid the salt added beans. It keeps you healthy and also saves your time.

In a single word, the canned beans are also as healthier as your home-made beans only if you can utilize the beans properly. To save your time, I will always suggest you go for the canned beans.

One cup (172g) of cooked beans contain the following nutrition elements –

  • 227 calories
  • 15 grams fiber
  • 15 grams protein
  • 0% cholesterol
  • 14% carbohydrate
  • 64% folate
  • 38% manganese
  • 30% magnesium
  • 20% iron
  • 40% copper
  • 35% vitamin B1 Thiamine
  • 24% phosphorus

 

 

Recipe of Cooking Canned Black Beans:

As beans are using as a healthier diet food for centuries, there are a number of recipes are available for you. However, today we are representing one of the most popular canned black bean recipes only for you. Let’s start –

 

Required Ingredients:

  • Canned black bean
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • A pan
  • Sliced onion (1 piece)
  • Oil
  • Vegetable Chopper
  • Colander

 

Step-by-step Cooking Procedure:

  1. Slice the onion first by the vegetable chopper. Try to make some small cubes of onion.
  2. Get the black bean and wash them under the flowing water. But, don’t do it for the longest time. Try to use a colander to do this task.
  3. Now it’s time to mix the pepper and salt. Remember, few manufacturers’ added salt in their beans. If your beans are already salted, you don’t need to use more salt.
  4. Now turn on your gas burner or stove with a medium heat. Place a pan on it and pour some oil.
  5. When the oil is heated a little, put the onions on that heated oil.
  6. Now fry the onions until they become golden-brown color.
  7. After frying the onion properly, add the canned black beans on there.
  8. Your job is almost over. Now keep them on the heat for 4-8 minutes and your canned black beans are ready to eat.

 

Extra Tips: If you want to make your beans more juicer, add some water while cooking. It will bring extra taste.

 

What Shouldn’t You Do While Cooking Canned Black Beans?

Cooking the canned beans is very easy. But you can also ruin your beans very easily if you make any of these five following mistakes.

 

Mistake #1: Using the wrong amount of bean:

Choosing the perfect amount of bean is the most important task. Check your recipe over and over again to get the perfect amount. However, you can’t use dried beans instead of canned beans. The canned beans remain almost the same after cooking. But the dried beans increase in nearly double in both volume and weights.

 

 

Mistake #2: Seasoning the beans over and over:

The taste of black beans depends on seasoning. You should use less amount of salt while seasoning. Most of the canned black beans contain lots of sodium. If you use more salt over the sodium, it will make your beans super salty. However, if you want to use salt, then purchase the low-sodium beans. You will found the amount of sodium on the can body.

 

Mistake #3: Not rinsing the beans before cooking:

Beans might be canned for a longer period. So, the manufacturers use some chemical liquid to keep the beans lasting longer.

Whenever you will open the beans, you will notice some thick liquid is surrounding the beans. It is most probably the sodium. If your recipe needs those chemical, you may keep them. But, it is always a better choice to remove those thick liquids by rinsing the beans properly.

 

Mistake #4: Not drying the beans before roasting:

If you plan to roast your beans, you should rinse and dry the beans properly. It will be a better choice if you add some additional steps to dry your beans completely. If your beans are not dry enough, it can’t provide your required taste.

 

Mistake #4: Storing leftover beans back in the can:

It might look pretty normal to store the leftover beans back in the can. Most of the canned foods are completely good with it. But, the beans are different. You just cannot store the leftovers back in the can. If you do so, the beans will make some chemical reaction with the cans metal. So, the beans will lose its taste forever.

However, to avoid this scenario, you may get only the required amount of beans from the can. You can also keep your leftover beans in a plastic container or covered glass in the fridge. Your beans will remain good in this condition for a week.

 

Final Thoughts:

There is no way to decline the importance of beans in our healthier lives. So, in this article, we summarize a few topics about beans especially the canned black beans. Hope that you will found this article helpful.

If you have anything else to know about canned black beans, don’t forget to use the comment box below.

Have a healthier day!

 

 

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