Assuming I can cook another pot of beans without burning them (burned the last batch while out caring for a pregnant ewe, and BOY DO THEY STINK!), can anyone give me directions to can the beans? How much do I cook them before canning them (I'll use a pressure canner,)? Seems like I read an article in Countriside a couple issues back, about someone doing that, but I loaned all the recent issues to someone and don't have them handy, so I'm not sure how long to cook them. How much headspace to leave, etc., so they don't continue to swell and not seal. I have a 50 pound bag, so it would help to have some canned so I wouldn't have to cook them as long in the summer for meals. I would still heat them first, just in case, but here it takes all day to cook dry beans because of the altitude, plus I don't know how old these beans are. Thanks everyone, hope spring comes soon!

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), March 07, 2000

Answers

I read, I believe, in Countryside how to can beans. You do not cook them first. Put 1 cup of cleaned dry beans into qt. jars. Add 1 tsp. salt, fill to within 2" of top, clean jar rims and put on lids. Process in canner at 15#for 90 min. I have canned many different kinds of beans this way with success. I've done pinto beans, navy beans, garbanzos, dry limas, and kidney beans and have always had great success. It is convenient to have them already cooked but be sure to heat them for 15 min. before eating.

-- barbara (barbaraj@mis.net), March 07, 2000.

Jan, I can understand the desire for faster cooking times! Have you tried cooking them in a pressure cooker? MUCH faster. Just follow the directions carefully because beans do swell and you don't want them plugging up the vent. I've done it with excellent results.

-- Peg (jnjohnsn@pressenter.com), March 07, 2000.

Wow, sounds really simple. What if you wanted to have beans and ham? Would you still leave the beans raw and add the ham and some water to the correct level? Or...better to add it later? What about baked beans? Anybody done that? I haven't tried the pressure cooker for cooking the beans, Peg, I may do that one day when I feel adventurous! Thanks again everyone! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), March 07, 2000.

Hi Jan! This is from the last Ball Blue Book I bought, in '98, I think, page 62.

"Kidney, navy, pinto, etc. Use any variety of dried beans or dried peas. Cover beans or peas with cold water. Let stand 12-18 hrs. in a cool place. Drain. Cover beans or peas with cold water by 2 inches. Boil 30 minutes. Pack hot beans or peas into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint, 1 teaspoon salt to each quart, if desired. Ladle hot cooking liquid or boiling water over beans or peas, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam pressure canner."

In the margin I had noted that 8-9 cups dried beans yielded 7 quarts and that jars shouldn't be filled more than 3/4 full with the beans but do fill to leave 1-inch headspace for the liquid.

I live at an altitude of about 750' and don't know what adjustments would need to be made for higher areas.

-- Marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), March 08, 2000.

Thanks again everyone for the ideas! I will try some cooked and some dry and see how they turn out. Had a Ball Blue Book, but think my daughter borrowed it sometime ago and didn't return it, as I couldn't find it to look this up.

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), March 08, 2000.

You mentioned you live at a high altitude. The following is an altitude chart given by Rita Bingham in COUNTRY BEANS for canning beans. 0-2,000 ft=10lb; 2,001-4,000 ft=12lb; 4,001-6,000 ft=13lb; 6,000+=14lb. In all cases, process pints 60 min & quarts 75 min. Her canning method is the same as given by Marilyn. Rita states this is a great way to fix old beans. Hope the altitude chart is helpful.

-- Dee Oberg (oberg@watervalley.net), March 09, 2000.

I soaked our dry beans last year all night before canning them. I canned pinto beans in quarts and lima beans in pints. Used 11 pounds pressure and the time was what was suggested in our home demonstration cook book the county and state put out. We love these because all you have to do is come in and open and can and warm them throughly and they're done! We used a 1/2 inch cube of pork in each can of beans. The lengthy processing time cooks the beans and pork. These are great because you can can them any time of the year when you have time (like in the winter when you don't mind the stove heating the kitchen up) good cookin'!

-- Suzy Lowry Geno (slgt@yahoo.com), March 10, 2000.