Canning dried beans at home can greatly reduce your grocery expenses and provide a convenient way to have ready-to-eat beans whenever you need them.
With grocery prices on the rise and the quality of food declining, I figured it was time to make some adjustments in our grocery budget. Last year I began eliminating dry mixes and pre-packaged foods, as well as canned items that I don't already preserve at home. While canned beans were once a budget-friendly option, their prices have increased, so I decided to start canning them at home.
I love having ready-to-eat canned beans stocked on my shelf because it eliminates soaking and cooking times, making them ideal for busy weeknight meals. Canned beans are incredibly versatile and perfect in dishes like chili, soup, stews, burritos, salads, and taco bowls, all of which we enjoy regularly. Therefor, keeping a supply of canned beans is essential for our kitchen.
Purchasing dry beans in bulk and cannimg them at home can significantly reduce your grocery bills. For instance an 8 pound bag of pinto beans, priced at $6.88 at Walmart can produce 20-22 pint jars of canned beans costing only about .31 cents per jar comparted to 0.92 cens for a can of store-bought.
Similarly, 32 ounce bag of dried black beans, available for $3.98, yields around 9 pint jar, bringing the cost down to approximately .44 cents per jar, while organic black beans can range from .92-$1.48 per can. This method offers substantial savings for anyone looking to cut costs, and allows you to can a large batch of beans and stock your pantry for convenient meals.
HOW TO CAN DRY BEANS
The process of canning beans sounds complicated, especially if you've never pressure canned before, but it's actually simpler than it appears. Since beans are classified as a low-food, using a pressure canner is essential to process them safely. Boiling in a water-bath canner will no kill harmful spores in beans, so please don't attempt it.
The National Center of Home Food Preservation advises that beans need to be pre-soaked, and require a quick 30 minute cooking process before the beans can be packed into jars and processed in the pressure canner.
STRAINING THE BEANS: After the soaking process, drain the water and rinse the pre-soaked beans thoroughly. Using a colander is the best way becuase it removes all of the soaking water.
PARTIALLY COOKING THE BEANS: Add the beans to a large pot and cover the beans with fresh water. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat and lightly boil the beans for 30 minutes. While the beans are cooking prepare you pressure canner by adding the required amount of water per your canner instructions.
WASH & STERILIZE JARS: Add 3 quarts (2-3 inches) of water to the bottom of the canner covering the bottom trivet. Fill the jars with water and place them into the canner to keep the jars warm until ready to fill. Add a splash of of white vinegar to the water to keep the jars from getting cloudy on the outside while processing.
SKIM FOAM: As the beans cook, skim away any suface foam using a slotted spoon and discard. This method helps get rid of bitter flavors, reduces gas-causing sugars, and keeps the liquid clear.
STRAIN: Strain the hot beans and pack into jars. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each pint size jar or 1 teaspoon salt for quarts.
FILL JARS WITH BEANS: Remove a hot jar from the water and fill with hot beans leaving a 2 inch head space (beans will swell and absorb more water as they pressure can). Fill the remaining jars with beans.
ADD LIQUID INTO JARS: Fill each jar with boiling water making sure to leave a 1 inch headspace from the top. I like to keep a kettle of boiled water on the stove for this part. Using a wet paper towel, wipe the rims of each jar, so you get a good seal.
ADDING LIDS & RINGS: Add a lid and ring to each jar and tighten the rings to finger-tip tight. When all of your jars are filled thay are ready to be processed.
LOADING THE PRESSURE CANNER: Place the filled jars into you preheated pressure canner. My pressure canner holds 22 pints (double stacked with a trivet on the bottom and in between the jars). Check your pressure canner instructions to see how many jars yourr canner will hold.
SEALING THE LID: Add the sealing ring inside of the lid and place the lid on the canner, and lock it into place. For my canner I have 2 arrows that line up together and then twist the lid in place to lock. You will need to check your canners manufacturer's insructions. The temperature guage will read "0".
VENTING: Turn the burner on high and let the water inside the canner come to a boil until you see a stream of steam coming out of the vent hole. Let the canner vent for 10 minutes.
ADDING REGULATOR WEIGHT: After 10 minutes place the regulator weight/guage on top of the vent hole.
PRESSURIZING: The pressure canner will start to build pressure now. As the pressure canner starts to come to pressure you can get a bit of siphoning of water around the plug as it's comng to pressure. This is normal, so just take a cloth and dab the water off . This will stop when the plug completely pops up.
PROCESSING THE BEANS: Watch your heat and lower the temperature as the pressure canner starts to rise closer to the 10 pound mark because it can rise fast. Once the pressure canner reaches 10 pounds of pressure, lower the temperature on your stove. Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes.
ALLOW THE JARS TO REST: Allow the jars to sit, undisturbed for 12 hours. Jars are sealed when lids are pressed down. Remove rings, wash the jars with a soapy dish cloth (making sure to clean the rims) and rinse under cool water. Dry the jars, label, and store in a cool, dark place.
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