Feb
03
As vegans we eat a lot of beans. Dry organic beans are CHEAP! Using dry beans instead of canned beans, not only saves money, but it reduces packaging materials and reduces the amount of fuel used to transport the beans (since dry beans are lighter in weight).
I use my environmentally friendly pressure cooker to make beans and freeze them (you can also boil then in a large soup pot). It takes a while, but it is kinda like doing laundry, you don’t have to stand and watch the magic happen, you can do other things while they cook.
There is plenty of info on the web about the proper way to use a pressure cooker, but here is what works for me.
- Night before: Pour beans 1-2 pounds of black beans on a light colored towel. Pick through and discard rocks, debris, and nasty looking beans. Put in pressure cooker or a large bowl, cover with water, and soak over night. (They will expand to double the volume.)
- When ready to cook, pour soaked beans in a colander, strain, and rinse.
- Pour into pressure cooker, cover with fresh water. I fill the cooker about 2/3 full.
- Put on lid and set to pressurize.
- Turn stove up to high for about 5 minutes, when you start to hear sounds, turn down to medium, and cook on medium until the pressure indicator pops up (about another 5 minutes).
- Once pressurized, turn down the stove to the lowest setting and set the timer for 11 minutes for black beans (15 min for kidney beans).
- After 11 minutes, turn off heat and remove cooker from burner. Allow to sit until it de-pressurizes, about 10-20 minutes.
- Pour into colander and rinse. Allow to drain for a bit.
- Fill glass containers with beans, cover, and freeze. They will remain good for at least 4months (probably longer), but ours never last that long .
What type of pressure cooker do you recommend?
I have a Fagor Splendid Pressure Cooker 10 quart that I bought from Linens N Things for $89.99 (also available at Amazon same price). It works great, and I have used it many, many times. I think most pressure cookers are pretty similar. One thing that would be nice (and I don’t know if it exists) is a sound signal when the pot pressurizes. My pot has a little visual indicator that pops up when it reaches pressure, but I have to be in the kitchen to see it.
I love the idea of using glass containers to freeze food in (instead of ziplock bags) what type do you use or recommend using?
Thanks,
Chris
Chris – I use Pyrex 1, 2, and 4 cup basic storage containers with plastic lids. I purchased some glass containers at K-Mart that were a generic Pyrex-type. The glass part was fine, but the lids are inferior and wore out quickly. I order additional lids from Pyrex when my lids are ruined, and they fit the generic glass containers just fine.