Monthly bites from the Bean Institute

In this issue we explore best practices for cooking with dry beans. Our feature article includes insights from a world-renowned food scientist, Dr. Guy Crosby of America’s Test Kitchen. And in our Q&A this month, we talk with Chef Joyce Goldstein whose cookbooks on Mediterranean cuisines have won multiple awards and guided many chefs and home cooks during their discovery of foods and flavors from the Mediterranean. Both Guy and Joyce are big bean lovers, and they were happy to share their insights and bean love with us!

If you’re attending FNCE in Boston, we hope you’ll join Dr. Crosby and Amy Myrdal Miller at their education session on Sunday, October 15 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. where they will be discussing food science and culinary nutrition strategies for cooking with plant-based foods, including beans.

We also hope you’ll stop by the Bean Institute booth (#2566) at FNCE to get your “Cook with Beans!” bamboo spoon, the perfect kitchen tool for making naturally nutritious, simply delicious bean recipes. We’ll also be distributing some of our favorite recipes, and playing the “Name That Bean” game for fabulous prizes. We look forward to meeting you and hearing about your favorite ways to cook with beans!

Cooking with Dry Beans:

Food Science Insights and Strategies from Dr. Guy Crosby
Since dry beans can take more attention to cook just right, it turns out that baking beans in the oven provides much more control compared with cooking on the stovetop. Beans cooked in the oven are exposed to more consistent milder heat producing beans that are more consistently cooked with creamy soft interiors and tender intact skins. Read more…

Classic Baked Beans

This recipe for Classic Baked Beans, created by chefs at The Culinary Institute of America, is the perfect dish for leisurely weekend cooking. And since the recipe makes 12 servings, you’ll likely have some leftovers for easy weeknight dinners. You can serve this as a side dish or an entrée, accompanied with a side salad and your favorite beverage. Enjoy!

Q&A with A Renowned Chef, Cookbook Author, and Restaurateur

Chef Joyce Goldstein was chef/owner of the ground-breaking Mediterranean Restaurant SQUARE ONE in San Francisco. Joyce was voted San Francisco magazine’s Chef of the Year in 1992 and received the James Beard Award for Best Chef in California for 1993, and the lifetime achievement award from Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, of which she is a Founding Board Member. Read the interview…

Fast Facts About Brining Beans

• Brining beans prior to cooking reduces cooking time, eliminates bursting during cooking, and creates beans with a soft, creamy texture.

• Brining beans adds very little sodium, just 52 milligrams per ½ cup of brined beans.

• To brine 1 pound of dry beans, you’ll need 3 tablespoons of salt dissolved in 4 quarts of tap water. Add beans to brine liquid and soak at room temperature for 24 hours.