baked beans

[quartercup]

Please, would someone enlighten me about the baking of beans? Does it really take 7hrs till they are tender? Everything else seems ok. The only thing puzzling me are the beans.
thanks
quartercup

[CM]

Traditional recipes for baked beans take 7-8 hours, but this isn't really a problem if you use a Crock-Pot! (If baked in an oven, however, the last hour or so when you remove the cover of the bean pot and bake to a molasses-brown finish really adds a final layer of flavor, especially if a strip of lean salt pork or slab bacon sits on top.)

You can speed up the cooking time, although sacrificing flavor somewhat by using a pressure cooker. You won't have that slow-cooked goodness but navy beans will cook in 20-30 minutes. Add onions, bouillon, and other flavorings to the cooking water.


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CM

http://www.cooks.com

[JerryO]

You have to be really careful using a pressure cooker to cook beans. I used one once and had to scrape the beans off the ceiling as the beans can stop up the vent tube.

Jerry