UKC

Well this sparked a heated debate in our house recently.
I used to be all for the microwave, ease of use and speed but recently have been converted back to the way of the pan. Beans break down slightly, giving a wonderful mushy texture.
Discuss, or dont bother.

In reply to mrconners: neither, throw them away, now!, quickly, hurry up before its too late, for the love of god throw them away now, no no noooooooo................................... sorry i just thought i should add a bit of a dramatic scenery

In reply to mrconners: Pan! Stirring occasionally, the beans thicken nicely. As for microwave 'ease of use' and 'speed' it would take more time and effort for me to go down to the shops, buy a microwave, carry it home...

In reply to mrconners:

Pan, and chuck in some cheese and chilli flakes too!! Hmmmm!

In reply to mrconners:

oven

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/bakedbeans_80441.shtml

In reply to satori:

I like it!
Now thats thrown a spanner in it, wait till our kid gets in, the debate will rage on.
However after a long day at the crag it may be a bit long winded

In reply to mrconners:

If all pans are unwashed then microwave. If all microvable dishes are unwashed the pan.

In reply to mrconners:
pan + clove of garlic + HP sauce
Serve with red wine and toast
THE best meal in the world

In reply to mrconners: Try putting some curry powder in the beans in either pan or microwave, on brown bread cut thickly with marge or butter then melt cheese on top of beans with raw onion as well under grill.

Garnish with pepper or lea an perrins.

Three rounds of bread for a decent size meal though.

YYYYuuuuuummmmmmeeeee

In reply to mrconners:

toaster!

room temp outta the can

In reply to mrconners:
i prefur beans in the pan-keep stirring so it doesnt stick.
microwave-pops them ! and makes a ruddy mess !

In reply to satori: .... cook on a very low heat for 3-4 hours ... place it in the oven....etc ... etc... after 3 hours, turn off the oven and leave the beans to cool etc...

so, the best part of a day for a plate of beans
is it worth it?

In reply to prana:


yes.

you don't have to sit and watch the oven for half a day - the same as when roasting something.

In reply to satori: correct, just testing. speed cooking is a good skill tho? boil, then bake?

In reply to prana:

it is.

not every recipe should involve 2 days preparation and 2 days cooking

unfortunately most bean recipes i know start with the phrase 'soak the beans in cold water for 24 hours. change the water 3 times' etc.

In reply to satori: soak in boiling water if u forget

In reply to prana:

strangely enough they never mention that in any texts, but i learnt it years ago when i used to forget to soak chickpeas.

In reply to satori:

Was poisoned by unsoaked red kidney beans once - can be very toxic.

In reply to Hannah m: kidney beans need a vigorous boiling for 10+min, and pref a change of water to reduce toxicness

In reply to Hannah m:

kidney beans are worse than most other beans.

most unsoaked beans have a hard center and will giove you flatulance or mild digestive upset.

kidney beans on the other hand....

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytohaemagglutinin

In reply to mrconners: Hey great learning how to cook beans. can't cook, won't cook, sh*t cook.

In reply to mrconners:

Mushing from them in a pan everytime, especially when pouring over a steaming hot jacket tatey!

In reply to satori: 'outbreaks of poisoning have been associated with the use of slow cookers whose low cooking temperatures may be unable to degrade the toxin or vegan f*ckwits'

In reply to satori:

Yes, I found out! I was about 12 and I'd wandered through the kitchen and randomly taken a handful of beans that were soaking, as you do; the effect, several hours later, in the middle of the night was severe - was on the floor unable to call out for help for some time - very poisonous! It was very frightening.

(Prefer tinned kidney beans now! I don't like tinned baked beans though, except when there's no alternative, extremely hungry, or outdoors -with Worcerstershire sauce).