In the foreground you have microwave burritos. Cost per person $5 at the Family Dollar General Tree.
In the background you have canning chickpeas and black beans. The chickpeas have already exited the canner. The black beans are about to go in. A pound of dried chickpeas or black bean is about $1.50. You will get 7 pints out of both. The current price for generic canned beans is about 90¢. Cost to can 7 cans of the beans: 22¢ per jar.
My back hurt too much to do the dinner I planned. But I had enough in me to can some stuff for the future.
My beans often break up in cooking before they are cooked through, then are on the mushy side by the time all are cooked. What method do you use for cooking your beans? I have started adding salt and pinch of baking soda to the soaking water after I read about that supposedly helping. But still get mostly broken beans.
For canning I do a oil for 5 minutes and then hot soak for 45 minutes to an hour depending on the bean. Then I put them in the jar with a little bit of room for expansion. Then I fill with boiling water leaving 1 in of headspace. Then I can pints for 75 minutes after all the venting and bringing the pressure.
Thanks. So they do most of their cooking in the jar. I have not heard of using oil before. I’ll give it a try.
Yes, similar to a raw or cold pack method most of the cooking happens in the jar once it’s in the pressure canner.