Despite the excellent preserved properties, the shelf life of ordinary dry beans depends on many factors, which are not always taken into account, especially at home. For this reason, in almost every kitchen, among other necessary products, you can find one or two cans of a canned product that is insensitive to dampness, invasion of bugs and ingress of dirt particles.
The composition of canned beans
Fresh beans are almost half composed of complex carbohydrates, a quarter from proteins, 14% from water, 12% from dietary fiber, and only 2% from fats. It is noteworthy that the nutritional value of the product is very slightly affected during conservation, by only 15-20%. Given that when cooking, and any other heat treatment, the percentage of useful losses will be approximately the same, it is not surprising that many housewives prefer to use canned beans in their recipes instead of fresh ones.
The excellent digestibility of beans is explained by its rich mineral composition, four types of amino acids and vitamins, which are about ten in the pulp and skin of the grain. A more detailed list of important elements:
- vitamins: B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, PP, E, C;
- macronutrients: potassium, calcium, chlorine, sodium, silicon, sulfur, phosphorus, magnesium;
- trace elements: fluorine, cobalt, aluminum, iodine, copper, boron, chromium, molybdenum, nickel;
- amino acids: arginine, tyrosine, valine, lysine, methionine, threonine.
As for the composition of the preserving liquid, in addition to water, salt, tomato paste and sugar, only the presence of acetic acid is permissible in it. Less preferred is lemon.
Features of the selection of canned food
Depending on the intended use, the choice of the buyer can stop on a jar of canned product in white or red fill, and the difference in composition, at the same time, should consist only in the presence or absence of tomato paste. Ingredients such as food stabilizers, hiding under the usual names of starches and flour, in a preservative solution are unacceptable, since they will indicate a violation of the technology of thermal processing of the product. Harmful to the body (except in cases of an increase in the glycemic index in diabetics), such substances will not bring, but there will be no benefit from them.
The excess acids here, such as lactic and ascorbic acid, should also alert the list of components. There is no need to talk about various enhancers of taste and incomprehensible elements in the form of alphanumeric combinations - this kidney bean definitely will not add health.
The benefits and harms of the product
Quite often you can find canned beans in recipes for vegetarian dishes and this is not in vain, because fiber and vegetable protein, which the product is so rich in, are similar in nutritional qualities to meat. The feeling of fullness, when eating beans, comes faster than eating the same amount of chicken, so nutritionists strongly recommend that at least once a week, replace the bean with a daily portion of meat dishes.
Beans, unlike most products that have undergone conservation, can be eaten for diseases of the digestive tract (except for acute conditions), diabetes, open or closed forms of tuberculosis, pancreatitis. Of course, you can not include canned beans in the recipes of the daily diet. Oversaturation of the body with this rather heavy product, especially if the gastrointestinal tract malfunctions or liver failure, leads to undesirable consequences: gas formation and flatulence, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, pressure in the hypochondrium.
In the diet of a child under three years old, beans can only be present in boiled form, but older people should use any legumes with caution and definitely exclude canned food from the menu for diagnoses such as cholecystitis, intestinal obstruction, ulcer, acute gastritis, gout.
How to cook canned food at home
Purchased canned beans do not always meet the required quality, and the one that is closest to GOST standards is much more expensive than budget counterparts. You can duplicate the process of competent preparation of delicious canned food yourself, and you can do it at home without any special equipment and specific skills. The canned bean recipe below uses beans of the same red color:
- 1 kg of beans is selected from spoiled and cracked specimens and soaked for several hours in cold water.
- Beans are boiled in salted water until tender.
- Separately (in a large amount of vegetable oil), finely chopped onions are fried. It is enough to take two large, or three medium heads.
- Simultaneously with onion, tomato puree is prepared: 800 g of tomatoes without peel are boiled, the water is drained from them and the whole mass is ground to a homogeneous state.
- Pour tomato mass into an enameled pan, spread beans, onions, 2 bay leaves, 2.5 teaspoons of salt and 0.5 teaspoons of black pepper.
- On low heat, bring the semi-finished product to a boil, add a teaspoon of acetic acid (70%) to the pan and immediately pour the contents of the container into sterilized jars of 0.5 l.
Each jar is rolled up with a boiled lid and removed for inverted cooling.
Mexican Salad
Recipes with canned white beans are, for the most part, salads with lots of spices. An example of such a salad is a classic Mexican lime mix:
- 300 g of a mixture of white and red beans are mixed with half a can of canned corn;
- 1 red onion cut into half rings and pickle in a 1% vinegar solution for 15 minutes;
- 1 large yellow bell pepper is peeled and cut into half rings as well;
- for salad dressing, you need to mix the juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime, add a pinch of cumin, chili and zira to the acidic liquid and grate the whole mass gently in a mortar to enhance the flavor of the seasoning;
- before dressing the salad with sauce, pour 2 tbsp into the liquid mixture. tablespoons of mustard or olive oil, pour a pinch of sugar.
If desired, the finished salad can be sprinkled with cilantro and finely chopped garlic.
Crispy Salad
“Crispy”, this salad recipe with canned red beans, called thanks to one of the key ingredients - homemade white bread croutons, which must be prepared in advance. You can fry bread cubes with a little butter in a pan or on a dry baking sheet in the oven.
How to cook a salad with canned red beans and crackers:
- about a quarter of the average head of Beijing cabbage is cut into strips and mixed with 200 g of hot Korean carrots;
- 250 g of beans are spread in the vegetable mixture;
- a large bunch of finely chopped parsley is ground in a mortar with salt and 2 cloves of garlic, and mixed with 3 tbsp. tablespoons of olive mayonnaise;
- the salad base is combined with dressing, carefully mixed and laid out in a transparent salad bowl with a slide.
It is customary to add crackers to this salad just before serving, otherwise the toasted bread will be soaked with mayonnaise and stop crunching.
Beans with Pickled Onions
This recipe for a delicious salad with canned beans is suitable for both a festive and everyday table. The main highlight of the dish - pickled onion - can be harvested for future use and then the formation of the salad will take only a few minutes.
To pickle the onion, which then goes to the salad, take the middle onion and cut it in half rings. A solution is prepared separately: a glass of cold water is poured into a bowl, 1.5 tbsp are added to it. tablespoons of sugar, 6 tbsp. tablespoons of 6% vinegar, a large pinch of salt. Half the onion rings are dipped in the marinade and, while the remaining components of the salad are mixed, the bowl with the mixture is in the refrigerator.
Salad Formation:
- The entire contents of the jar of canned red beans (the product goes to the salad in a tomato fill) is tipped in a colander, and after all the liquid has drained, put in a deep salad bowl.
- A large bunch of lettuce is coarsely chopped, mixed with the prepared onion with your hands and all this is added to the bean salad bowl.
- For lovers of mayonnaise, a slightly salted salad is seasoned with this sauce, and for people who prefer a healthy diet - olive oil mixed with salt and black pepper.
Salad goes well with baked meat or barbecue and will serve as a worthy alternative to bored side dishes.
Bean Salad with Crab Sticks
Children who really like crab sticks can be offered such a hearty and tasty salad with canned beans:
- 150 g of crab sticks cut into large pieces, 1 medium sweet onion - in half rings, yellow Bulgarian pepper - in equal cubes;
- drain the liquid from one jar of red beans, and transfer the beans to a salad bowl;
- combine all the components of the dish;
- prepare dressing: grind finely chopped greens in a mortar with 1-2 cloves of garlic and salt, dilute the mixture with olive oil and juice of half a lemon;
- pour salad with aromatic oil mixture and garnish with olives chopped into thin slices.
If the salad is prepared exclusively for the children's table, garlic can not be added to it.
Canned Bean Soup
Cooking bean soup with pork or beef broth can negatively affect the function of the digestive tract, since the bean itself is a rather heavy product. The best option for a delicious, everyday first course is to cook a light chicken broth with traditional spices - bay leaves, salt and black peppercorns.
Algorithm for preparing a sharp "winter" soup with beans:
- cut as small as possible: onion - into cubes, carrots - into strips, white root - also into strips;
- in a vegetable oil preheated in a frying pan, immediately lay out all the prepared vegetables and sauté them until they are saturated golden color;
- when the frying is almost ready, spread tomato paste in a pan - 1 or 2 tbsp. spoons and throw a large pinch of any dried greens - all this is extinguished over low heat for another minute and removed from the stove;
- diced potatoes are launched into boiling broth;
- about five minutes after the potatoes are in the pan, frying is introduced into the broth and after a couple of minutes - beans from a jar along with preservation liquid;
- after 5-7 minutes, the pan can be removed from the stove.
For spicy lovers, a pinch of finely chopped garlic can be added to a bowl of hot soup. Separately, sour cream and finely chopped parsley greens are served on the table. Reviews this dish gets enthusiastic.
Beans with meat
Another version of a very satisfying second course that does not require a side dish is a recipe for meat with canned beans. You can use any meat - pork, beef, rabbit or poultry. But it is better to choose red beans in tomato pouring - it is harder than white and does not boil even with repeated subsequent heating.
Cooking Beans with Meat:
- fry the onions (2-3 medium turnips) and large carrots chopped into strips in a pan with vegetable oil;
- meat is added to sautéed vegetables, chopped arbitrarily - in large pieces or portioned slices, with or without bone;
- stirring the meat with vegetables, keeping it on medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, after which pour 2/3 glasses of meat broth into the pan, cover the dishes with a lid and leave the dish to cook for another 10 minutes at a low boil;
- after the set time, the meat is tasted with a fork for preparedness - if the blood, when the meat piece is pricked, no longer appears, the dish is salted, pepper and the contents of two jars of canned beans without liquid are added to the boiling mixture;
- if desired, a minute before removing the pan from the heat, garlic squeezed through a press is added to the meat dish.
Before serving, each serving of beans and meat is sprinkled with parsley. Judging by the reviews on specialized culinary forums, many liked this dish.