Out of date beans/pulses

Lady_Willow

I have about 8/9 500g bags of various goodies (aduki beans, cannelini beans, pinto beans etc) ... some of them are pretty out of date (nearly a year).

Does anybody if it is safe to eat beans this out of date? I know they can sometimes take longer to cook (or may remain hard even if cooked for hours) ... but are they safe to try? Once has to be a bit careful with beans I understand.

Thanks

ariba10

I would not say it was unsafe, but older beans and pulses tend to be tough when cooked.

I would test cook a small batch and try them.

It would not stop me from trying them.

sooty&sweep

Hi

Is it a best before or use by date ?
I'd guess at a best before and so although may have dried a bit more they should be safe to eat.

Jen

Swan_2

Lady_Willow wrote: »

I have about 8/9 500g bags of various goodies (aduki beans, cannelini beans, pinto beans etc) ... some of them are pretty out of date (nearly a year).

Does anybody if it is safe to eat beans this out of date? I know they can sometimes take longer to cook (or may remain hard even if cooked for hours) ... but are they safe to try? Once has to be a bit careful with beans I understand.

Thanks

hi Lady W,
the unsafe thing you're thinking of about dried beans is probably that some beans contain toxins (even when they're within their dates) but it's only kidney beans & soya beans that have this problem & 10 minutes fast boiling after soaking gets rid of them

I've had dried pulses waaay past a year 'too long' & they've cooked up perfectly fine

Lady_Willow

I probably will cook them and see what they are like - I can't bear waste.

BTW ... most, if not all, beans contain toxins, not just kidney and soya. I sprout lots of beans and many of the larger ones shoulnd't be eaten raw in great quantities or the toxins can make you feel quite ill. It's quite safe to eat them raw in moderation though.

Swan_2

Lady_Willow wrote: »

I probably will cook them and see what they are like - I can't bear waste.

BTW ... most, if not all, beans contain toxins, not just kidney and soya. I sprout lots of beans and many of the larger ones shoulnd't be eaten raw in great quantities or the toxins can make you feel quite ill. It's quite safe to eat them raw in moderation though.

you're right of course about the sprouting (I sprout too) I was thinking of when people worry about simmering dried soaked beans, or doing them in a slow cooker

if I get left with really old ones & usually chuck them in soup, or if they're totally irredeemable they become blind baking weights

upsy_2

The only old ones I have had problems with have been yellow split peas 1 year ood. They were really tough and didn't soften up even after soaking and boiling in the soup for hours and hours. I did give it a blitz in the blender and it was edible although with bits.

Barneysmom

I'm sure we didn't have all those sell by dates when I was little? We never died of anything?
I'm only careful with eggs/meat/fish etc.

Lady_Willow

I think people did die of stuff like out of date food in the olden days, they just didn't know what it was!

My grandma used to say things like "cat's didn't get cancer in my day" .. well, yeah they did, they just didn't know it.

Luckily I don't eat eggs, meat, fish etc ... so I don't have to be all that careful with food. The worst I've ever suffered (apart from food poisoning got outside my home) was when I didn't rinse sprouted beans enough and their were toxins still in them. felt like I'd had a weekend of hard partying - not nice!