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Dried beans - how long can you store for?

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Primrose
Primrose Posts: 10,621 Forumite
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Have found a large jar of dried butter beans (bought 2007) in my cupboard and a large jar of cannellini beans (same age). Are they still worth soaking and cooking or will they be well past their best? Am never sure how long dried pulses can be stored for before they become unpalatable when cooked.
I usually pressure cook them and wonder if some other way of cooking them might lessen the ageing effect.

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  • BitterAndTwisted
    BitterAndTwisted Posts: 22,492 Forumite
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    I'd give it a go. I've cooked dried beans well past their "best before" date but not quite that old. I'd expect to cook them a fair while longer to be tender but they're unlikely to be unpalatable.
  • ariba10
    ariba10 Posts: 5,432 Forumite
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    Give them a long soak in cold water first.

    They should be O K.
    I used to be indecisive but now I am not sure.
  • Butterfly_Brain
    Butterfly_Brain Posts: 8,862 Forumite
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    Should be fine, just soak and cook a bit longer than usual, but do not add salt until after cooking, this can make them go tough
    Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones that let in the light
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    Butterfly_Brain wrote: »
    Should be fine, just soak and cook a bit longer than usual, but do not add salt until after cooking, this can make them go tough

    What she/he said :)
  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,621 Forumite
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    I soaked them for 24 hours then boiled them for an hour and a quarter. They tasted like raw potatoes and not at all like the floury texture of the tinned ones, so I,m putting that exercise down as a bit of a failure. Is there any special trick in getting them nice and floury so they sop up sauces in soups or casseroles?
  • hilstep2000
    hilstep2000 Posts: 3,089 Forumite
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    They tend to get hard if kept too long. I tend to use tinned I'm afraid(Can't be fafing about with soaking) Not very OS but at least you can use them!
    I Believe in saving money!!!:T
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    soaking for 24 hours and cooking in a pressure cooker gives as good a result as tinned beans
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