When I first started canning earlier this year, I focused on canning things we use on a regular basis. Since we use  a lot of black beans, I took dried beans and canned them using this method. Basically, I cooked the beans for a little while, then canned them with the cooking liquid.

One of my lovely readers (thank you, Sheri!) commented that cooking the beans isn’t necessary. You can put dry beans in the jars, top them with hot water, and pressure can them, thus preventing mushy beans. And, while the first batch of beans I canned weren’t mushy, omitting an extra step did appeal to me. So, since we ran out of canned beans a few weeks ago, I thought I’d try out Sheri’s method.

I put 2/3 C. of dry black beans into pint jars (2 pound of beans filled 8 pint jars)

Then I boiled water and poured it into the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.

Then I topped the jars with hot lids and screw bands and placed them into my preheated pressure canner.

From here I  followed the regular procedure: venting the canner and processing the beans for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

The only drawback I can see is that two of my jars didn’t seal. This may be my fault, and not the method used. Either way, I put those two in the fridge, and will use them in the next few weeks.

This method was definitely easier and didn’t take as much time (or cooking equipment). I will use this method from now on. Anything to keep from cleaning…

The Wife