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My roommate and I had a huge fight over using dried beans vs canned
Last week in our Portland kitchen, she wanted to make chili with canned beans because it's faster. I argued that a bag of dried black beans for $1.50 makes way more food than a $1 can. We ended up making two separate pots to prove our points, which was kinda silly lol. So, for a tight budget, is the time to soak and cook dried beans really worth the cash you save?
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fiona33013d ago
Honestly that whole two-pot situation sounds exactly like something my old roommates would have done. The money saved with dried beans really adds up over time, especially for something like chili you make often. But man, sometimes after a long day, just opening a can feels priceless.
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margaretj4013d ago
Figure the time factor is a little overblown. Soaking dried beans overnight takes maybe two minutes of actual work, and cooking them the next day is just letting them simmer while you do other things. Canned beans are definitely a convenience, but you're paying three times as much for something that's mostly water and often has extra salt. Your roommate might not see the difference now, but over a whole year of cooking chili regularly that $1.50 bag versus the $3 in cans really adds up to a noticeable chunk of change. I've been using dried beans for decades and the taste is just better too, less mushy and more hearty. So while I get the appeal of opening a can, for me the savings and the flavor make the tiny bit of planning worth it every time.
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Thinkin about fiona330's point about convenience after a long day, I get it, I really do. But I remember reading this article from a food scientist who said dried beans actually hold their shape better because the slow hydration keeps the cell walls from bursting, which is why canned ones get that mushy texture. Plus, I timed myself once and it literally took me 90 seconds to rinse and sort a pound of pintos, so the whole "time factor" argument feels like a leftover habit from when people swore by microwaves over stovetops.
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