Pinto Beans
By worldwise1
@worldwise1 (14885)
United States
June 21, 2007 1:20pm CST
I have a pot of pinto beans on cooking right now. I have always loved them. I grew up eating them. They were a staple in the area that I grew up in. Most families served them almost every day-mostly because this helped to stretch the meal in large families. I only learned later in life how nutritional they are. What I want to know is why beans have such a bad name. All of my kids ate them growing up, but a couple of them now turn their nose up when you mention beans. I also like kidney beans, lima beans, butter beans, and baked beans. What about you?
6 people like this
24 responses
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
21 Jun 07
I was not raised with beans and therefore have not eaten them alot in my life, my boyfriend LOVES beans (pinto) and bought some the other day and keeps saying to me that he wants me to make beans, I am baffled at how to cook them, do you have any recipes to share??
1 person likes this
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
22 Jun 07
The basic way of cooking pinto beans in my mother's house was soak them overnight in cool water with salt. Just enough water to cover the beans. Then the next morning, she would drain and rinse the beans. Then fill the pot up with water and boil them. Once they got a good hard boil going, she would boil them for an hour and then carefully drain the water. She swore this helped get rid of the gas from beans. Then she would refill the pot with cool water and set it to boil again. Once the water got boiling, she would add any seasonings. Then boil until the beans were tender and the skins peeled back when you blew on them, about another hour or so.
I add tomato sauce, diced onions, diced jalepenos, minced garlic and cumin to my beans. Then we ladle the broth and beans onto bowls of rice for a bean and rice soup the first night. Any leftovers are drained, but I save the broth for other uses, and the beans are put into 2 cup containers for other meals. They will keep for about a week in the fridge. I don't know if they will last longer as we never have them for more than a week. I use the broth for making soups and rice.
1 person likes this
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
22 Jun 07
Thank you so much for that recipe, I am going to make it tomorrow, I truly appreciate it.
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
23 Jun 07
Hi texas. The preferred method of cooking pinto beans where I grew up(in Tennessee), was to start a pot of water to boil which you have thrown a piece or two of either salt pork, ham hock, etc. Pick through your beans to remove any bad ones or tiny rocks. Wash them a couple of times to remove any dirt, then add them to the pot. You can season them with a little salt and pepper(I use red pepper), and simmer for about 3 hours. I like to serve mine with turnip/mustard greens, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread. Sliced tomatoes and onions go great on the side.
@Juanamomof5 (429)
• United States
21 Jun 07
Beans are very healthy and I grew up eating different types of beans. My kids love them especially when I make tostadas. There are so many ways to eat beans, and I really don't understand why they get such a bad rap.
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
21 Jun 07
I like most kind of beans. I think they go great with most meals. I am not sure why they have a bad name. Maybe they are thought of as a poor people's food. I don't know. They do provide some good nutrition and lots of fiber. If you have leftovers, send them on over...lol.
1 person likes this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
23 Jun 07
I grew up eating pinto beans and love them to this day! Hubby had never heard of pinto beans when I met him! After 19 years of marriage, I am STILL trying to get him to enjoy them as much as I do! My children all enjoy them, but he just can't seem to enjoy them no matter what I try! I enjoy them in many different ways. I like them plain, with hot pickle relish atop, with hot sauce atop, on and on! Nothing better than a large bowl of pintos, a wedge of cornbread, and a huge plate of steamed cabbage! You are right that they are very nutritional as well!
@lightningMD (5931)
• United States
21 Jun 07
I dont really like beans by themselves,but i love red beans and rice or black beans and rice. I love chili made with kidney beans. I love black beans soup too.Beans and rice make a great cheap and nutrious meal.
@rdougl (469)
• United States
21 Jun 07
I was raised on Beans also. I like Pinto and baked beans the most. You've raised a good question. I'm not sure why people don't like beans. Some complaint that it makes them visit the restroom more often, but I've not had that problem. I once new a guy in Michigan that ate them everyday. His wife would put on a pot with whatever she was cooking that day. They have been married over 25 years. How about them beans? lol
1 person likes this
@sweetaspie52 (2359)
• United States
22 Jun 07
I think the bad name came from the gas it givees you after you eat them I like you I love beans all kinds of them
@mssnow (9484)
• United States
22 Jun 07
I like pinto beans too. I usually cook mine with ham or a ham bone. I like to make refried beans out them too. Which i put on my tortilla. Its god that way. I also like all the beans you mentioned except baked beans. My dad used to make pinto bean and cornbread the he would crumble his corn bread in his beans,
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
22 Jun 07
Growing up we ate lots of beans to stretch the food. We were so poor. When I got old enough to get a job, I started working. I also started buying my own food. I didn't eat any kind of beans for years. I couldn't stand them. Every single time I tried, I would remember the times when we would have to eat nothing but beans and tortillas for weeks at a time. I just couldn't eat them.
In 2001 the bottom fell out of the internet industry and I got poor once again in my life. I still wouldn't eat beans. Then one day, we had to decide between diapers and food. We bought diapers and 2 pounds of beans. I started eating pinto beans again. However, I discovered that I make them better than my mother did. :) I actually like them now. We make a huge pot (2 lbs at a time) and the first night, we have bean soup. The second night we have mashed beans with our dinner. The next night we will refry them and make bean and fried potato tacos. By the end of the week we have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then we will go 2 or so weeks without eating them.
@aweins (4199)
• India
22 Jun 07
I love beans and i like a variety of them. beans are healthy and good to eat. me and my hubby both love beans. i love kidney beans a lot and i love to eat them boiled with some onion , tomato, garlic, green coriander, green chillies chopped and sprinkled over it. i also love chickpeas and black gram a lot. i love baked beans , boiled beans, butter beans, lima beans. i have also grown up eating them, so i have developed a goood taste towards it.
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
22 Jun 07
LIma beans are probably my favorite followed by baked beans! I also grew up eating pinto beans as my dad was raised in the south and so they were a staple of the meals with cornbread.
I don't eat them as much now but they are still good and I do eat them some especially on a cold snowy day in the winter. What a treat!
I am not sure of why people feel the way they do about them. I think it is just a sterotype that they have.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
22 Jun 07
I love beans as well...I love kidney beans and will even add them to salads..lima beans I love, baked beans...I make a wonderful black bean soup as well as 7-bean soup--and since they are considered part of the bean family will make a delicious lentil soup as well--Also since I do a bit of Mexican cooking I love making homemade refried beans...Yikes all this talk about food makes me want to rush and make some soup--LOL
@Mustang80 (52)
• Canada
22 Jun 07
We used beans a lot in our mals growing up. I really like baked beans, they are my favorite. I also like kidney beany in my stews and chilis. I would like to start cooking with chick peas, but I am not sure of any good recipies. They say beans are a good substitute for red meat if you don't eat red meat. I am not sure why anyone would not like beans. I think they are very tasty.
@BudgetingDiva (120)
• United States
22 Jun 07
My family were never big bean eaters when I was growing up. We would have baked beans at a picnic or something and green beans or lima beans with supper. After I moved down south, though, I got introduced to beans. My husband's family grew up with them and his favorite meal is still pinto beans and corn bread. I learned to cook both pretty quick. My favorite type of bean is the October bean.
@chileman (967)
• Australia
22 Jun 07
I love baked beans in ham sauce and kidney beans are awesome in a nacho dish with minced meat and corn chips and of course sour cream and melted cheese on top! Pinto beans, would love to try them but how do you cook them and what is a good recipe?
@sassybratky (872)
• United States
21 Jun 07
i love soup beans(thats what we call them here) always love going home and my mom knows this is one my favorite meals so she will fix soup beans and fried taters and pork chops and sour kraut and weiners and corn bread ~drools~ now i am hungry for some good food lol...i on the other hand have never been able to fix them the way my mom does just cant seem to get the soup to the right thickness and the taste right so i only get to eat them when i go home for a visit which isnt often enough....like kidney beans in chilli..and baked beans but dont care very much for the other types of beans like lima HATE lima beans with intensity lol
@321633wy (1795)
• United States
21 Jun 07
Bean is very healthy and nutritious as well.I like all kinds of beans some of the i don;t even recall their name.I like bean dessert it's very yummy , after the bean is cooked add some sugar , coconut milk and a little bit salt to taste .You can eat them cold with ice cream,it's sooooo good! trust me...:)
@nabilaryan (52)
• Trinidad And Tobago
21 Jun 07
I love beans. I do take cautions when eating red beans though it make me pass wind.
