# Small amounts of beans



## JustJoel (Apr 3, 2018)

It looks like I’m going to be making a lot of beans in the near future. I know that cooking up a heaping batch in a 7 quart Dutch oven is the popular thing. I know you can flavor each bowlful a different way for variety during the week, or you can use them as an ingredient in other recipes, but I just want to make, say, two portions at a time.

So, 1. Can I presoak beans and then drain and refrigerate them? And 2. Do I soak and cook a small amount of beans the same way I’d cook a standard amount?


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## Aunt Bea (Apr 3, 2018)

If I need a small amount of beans I reach for a can.

If I need a small amount of beans on a regular basis I make a big batch and freeze them in meal-sized containers.

I would not soak and refrigerate beans for fear that they would begin to sprout and or mold.  I would use the quick soak method of bringing the beans to a rolling boil for one minute and letting them sit covered in the liquid for an hour before starting the recipe. 

I think trying to bake a small amount of beans might lose something but for soups or stews a small amount would be fine.

Good luck!


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## CakePoet (Apr 3, 2018)

I cook beans and then freeze them on sheets in the fridge and then put them in bags,  easy way of  single freezing them and I can take as  munch beans as I need.


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## JustJoel (Apr 3, 2018)

Thanks guys, great suggestions! I really like the freezing thing, it looks oh so handy.


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## bbhank (Aug 1, 2020)

*Cook small amount of beans FAST!*

I am a BIG fan of beans.  Beans of different types.  I don't eat them much because of one issue - the TIME it takes to prepare them.  I know there are canned, precooked, beans but lets rule them out because that's what I use already.  I get bag beans a lot for nothing, from people who don't like the wait and wind up giving them away.   

Did a lot of searching around the web without finding anything about how to fix them fast.  By fast, I mean about 15 minutes.  I want to fix only a meal's worth at a time.  There is no refrigeration so any leftovers are discarded.  This is for on the road/outdoor use mainly, but will be applied to home.  Not into soaking all night and cooking all day.  When I come into the kitchen I'm already hungry and want to eat 5 minutes ago!

That's bag to plate in no more than 15-20 minutes.

Open to new, innovative, ideas and machines.  This is a wish from a non-cook.


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## msmofet (Aug 1, 2020)

I make dry beans no soaking in my Instant Pot. Place 1 cup dry beans in IP cover with 3 cups water. High pressure, vent - sealed, 35 minutes. 20 minute natural release.


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## bbhank (Aug 1, 2020)

*Fast - Fast - No refrigeration*

Remember.  I'm already hungry when I go into the kitchen or start to prepare food.
There is no refrigeration on the road or camping.
Amount is for one meal only.  Excess will be thrown away.

Preparation needs to be 20 minutes max.


Tall order.


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## pepperhead212 (Aug 1, 2020)

Welcome to the forum, bbhank!  

I'm another one that uses my Instant Pot for almost all of my beans and lentils.  And many lentils don't even need a pressure cooker mode - around 20 minutes simmering.  I wouldn't put beans in the freezer, unless they are in a cooked dish.  But even thawing something, and heating in the MW, might take longer than 20 minutes.  But then, speed, not quality, is why prepared foods are so popular.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Aug 1, 2020)

soak beans overnight.  Drain and rinse them/  Put the beans into your pressure cooker with enough water water to cover by three inches,and a tbs. of alt..  Cook under pressure for twenty minutes.  

Release the pressure according to your pressure cooker instructions.  Remove the lid.  

Test the beans. It is essential that they are cooked all the way  through, and soft, before adding any acidic ingredients, such as tomat or, yellow mustard (contains vintage). If the beans are very  firm yet, put the lid back on, bring back up to pressure, and cook for another ten minutes.   Add onion powder, a quarter cup of dark brown sugar, 1 tbs yellow mustard, 11/2 can of tomato paste, and 1/4 tsp. liquid smoke.  Let cook for ten minutes.  Divide into servings.  Beans freeze well; so you can freeze in portions.

Of course making a classic recipe of baked beans, slowly baked in the oven takes hours, but is so worth it, as the flavors go all through the beans.  You just have to plan ahead, and set a time and date to make them.  Then, portion them ut and freeze, or can them.  You can't make beans from dried in 15 minutes.  But you can make enough so that you can take a portion out of the freezer, or jar,  and and heat in the microwave for a few minutes.

There are several good baked bean recipes in DC.  Here are a few

I hope this has been useful.;
https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/baked-beans-89619.html

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/my-baked-beans-102134.html

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/killer-baked-beans-10830.html

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/boston-baked-beans-93381.html
https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f20/calling-all-bean-lovers-79107.html


Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## dragnlaw (Aug 1, 2020)

Welcome bbhank.
I think maybe you will have to accept the fact that other than a can, there is no such thing at the moment that gives you anything like "from scratch beans" in under 15 minutes. 

I believe they actually have single serving cans of beans, at least I've seen them for baked beans - if that's the kind of bean you want. - So no waste.

You might want to try to make time to prep meals ahead while you are at home. Freeze individual meals. You should be able to keep 3 days meals in a portable cooler. Or with a cooler that plugs into your car/truck maybe even a couple days more. 

Another suggestion might be to have some snacks to munch on while you are preparing a longer prepping meal.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Aug 1, 2020)

B&M Baked beans are pretty yasty.  Get the B&M in the jar,  I think they are better than the B&Mbeans i a can.  Also, the enhpty jar makes an attractive candle jar.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## gadzooks (Dec 24, 2020)

I cook beans from dried, usually pinto, in my stovetop pressure cooker. Old Presto 6 qt. stainless steel. It'll manage 2# dried beans with meat, onion, seasoning and such. I had to wait until I was (am) 68 years old to learn that by adding a cup of vinegar, and I use cider vinegar, to the overnight soak water, the finished beans are virtually gas-free.


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## taxlady (Dec 24, 2020)

gadzooks said:


> I cook beans from dried, usually pinto, in my stovetop pressure cooker. Old Presto 6 qt. stainless steel. It'll manage 2# dried beans with meat, onion, seasoning and such. I had to wait until I was (am) 68 years old to learn that by adding a cup of vinegar, and I use cider vinegar, to the overnight soak water, the finished beans are virtually gas-free.



Thanks for the tip. I'll have to give that a try.


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## Josie1945 (Dec 25, 2020)

gadzooks said:


> I cook beans from dried, usually pinto, in my stovetop pressure cooker. Old Presto 6 qt. stainless steel. It'll manage 2# dried beans with meat, onion, seasoning and such. I had to wait until I was (am) 68 years old to learn that by adding a cup of vinegar, and I use cider vinegar, to the overnight soak water, the finished beans are virtually gas-free.



Thanks for the tip I will try that also.

Josie


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## jennyema (Dec 26, 2020)

gadzooks said:


> I cook beans from dried, usually pinto, in my stovetop pressure cooker. Old Presto 6 qt. stainless steel. It'll manage 2# dried beans with meat, onion, seasoning and such. I had to wait until I was (am) 68 years old to learn that by adding a cup of vinegar, and I use cider vinegar, to the overnight soak water, the finished beans are virtually gas-free.




Acid can inhibit beans from softening.  Even a little acid.


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## salt and pepper (Dec 26, 2020)

pressure cooker


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## gadzooks (Dec 26, 2020)

I have not encountered a problem with the texture of the beans I presoak with vinegar.


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## taxlady (Dec 26, 2020)

jennyema said:


> Acid can inhibit beans from softening.  Even a little acid.





gadzooks said:


> I have not encountered a problem with the texture of the beans I presoak with vinegar.



Maybe acid is only a problem if the beans are cooked with it. 

Gadzooks, do you rinse the beans after they soak and before you cook them?


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## gadzooks (Dec 27, 2020)

taxlady said:


> Maybe acid is only a problem if the beans are cooked with it.
> 
> Gadzooks, do you rinse the beans after they soak and before you cook them?




I sure do rinse them.


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## taxlady (Dec 27, 2020)

gadzooks said:


> I sure do rinse them.



Great. I'm going to give this a try and rinse the beans really well before cooking them.


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## pepperhead212 (Dec 27, 2020)

This is interesting, since many years ago soaking with a small amount of baking soda - an alkali - was touted as something that reduced the gas from beans.  Didn't seem to do it, for me, though I really had no way of testing the difference, cooked with or without.


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## blissful (Dec 28, 2020)

Test it out. This will prove something.


Write down how many times a day you have flatulence. 

Soak your beans with vinegar (any acid), cook, eat a cup of beans.
Continue writing down how many times a day you have flatulence.
Continue daily, soaking your beans with vinegar, cook, eat a cup of beans.
Continue writing down how many times a day you have flatulence.
Your flatulence will decrease.


OR


Do the same experiment but instead of soaking in vinegar, cook the beans with 1/2 tsp baking soda.
Your flatulence will decrease.


Why does everyone come up with a different answer? 



It's not what we DO to the beans that matter. It's what we do to our bodies by eating beans that matters. Our bodies will adapt.



People that eat beans every day, don't have increased flatulence due to beans no matter how they are cooked. I eat beans not treated with vinegar or cooked with baking soda at least 5 days a week (home canned without anything added) and any increased flatulence is gone now because I'm consistent in eating them. (same with cabbage and greens)


https://nutritionfacts.org/2011/12/05/beans-and-gas-clearing-the-air/


He wrote: 





> The main source of gas, though, is the normal bacterial fermentation in our colon of undigested sugars. Dairy products are a leading cause of excessive flatulence, due to poor digestion of the milk sugar lactose, though even people who are lactose tolerant may suffer  from dairy. One of the most flatulent patients ever reported in the  medical literature was effectively cured once dairy products were  removed from his diet. The case, reported in the _New England Journal of Medicine_  and submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records, involved a guy  who, after consuming dairy, experienced “70 passages in one four-hour  period.” Cutting the cheese, indeed.
> Other poorly digested sugars include sorbitol and xylitol in  sugar-free candies. The fizziness in soda is carbon dioxide, which gets  absorbed by our gut, but the high fructose in the soda’s corn syrup may  be another culprit. Cruciferous vegetables may also contribute (kale-force winds?). Some grains can do it—the word pumpernickel stems from Middle German and means, roughly, “goblin that breaks wind.”




My favorite thing he wrote was "kale-force winds".


Our bodies adapt to what we eat. If you aren't used to eating beans, you may not have the right microbes or enough of the right microbes in your gut to digest them completely and they instead ferment and produce gas. If you feed them (feed yourself) beans every day, the ones that digest all parts of the bean increase and you'll have less fermentation and therefore less gas. The bean eating microbes increase until you have enough to digest all the beans you consistently eat.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 28, 2020)

blissful said:


> Test it out. This will prove something...
> 
> Our bodies adapt to what we eat. If you aren't used to eating beans, you may not have the right microbes or enough of the right microbes in your gut to digest them completely and they instead ferment and produce gas. If you feed them (feed yourself) beans every day, the ones that digest all parts of the bean increase and you'll have less fermentation and therefore less gas. The bean eating microbes increase until you have enough to digest all the beans you consistently eat.



+1

As you consume high fiber foods such as beans and cabbage, even blueberries, the digestive system adapts.  the micro critters in your gut change in that those responsible for digesting the soluble fiber have more of the food they want, and multiply accordingly.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Just Cooking (Dec 28, 2020)

Kinda off topic but, I miss the OP, JustJoel. Enjoyed his postings.

Ross


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## taxlady (Dec 28, 2020)

Just Cooking said:


> Kinda off topic but, I miss the OP, JustJoel. Enjoyed his postings.
> 
> Ross



Me too. I hope he is okay. He didn't sound very okay when he last visited DC.


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## CharlieD (Dec 30, 2020)

Just Cooking said:


> Kinda off topic but, I miss the OP, JustJoel. Enjoyed his postings.
> 
> 
> 
> Ross





Hope he is ok. I kept up with him for a while. But then he just disappeared


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