Beans...I hate them, but I want to like them?

[misleading space shibe]

my experience is primarily with what's sold in fast food places.
Like Wendy's and their chili (which I love...except the beans. I think they're nasty.)
Taco Bell and the bean mush they put on the nachos. D;

The main thing is that I don't like the texture, especially with the Wendy's chili beans.

I don't think my experience will be the same if I personally make recipes with them, but could I be wrong? emotion_sweatdrop
Any recipes featuring beans that erm, a newbie like me would enjoy? Or specific beans that I should try using in recipes? :O

thank you for reading my probably confusing post.

[Clover_IceQueen]

Have you had home-cooked beans before? Or are you just judging how they might taste based off of your assertions with fast-food joints' beans? (I'm just asking so that I can get a bit more info before giving you advice.)

[misleading space shibe]

Clover_IceQueen

Have you had home-cooked beans before? Or are you just judging how they might taste based off of your assertions with fast-food joints' beans? (I'm just asking so that I can get a bit more info before giving you advice.)

Never everrr had home-cooked beans before. D;
OH, but I do like hummus, which I'm half-certain is made with beans? emotion_sweatdrop Haven't made hummus at home though. I haven't been able to locate tahini paste for some reason.

I mainly want to try it because they're cheaper, but I'm just not sure of where to start, or what kind of beans I should try.

[Clover_IceQueen]

xAliceJae

Clover_IceQueen

Have you had home-cooked beans before? Or are you just judging how they might taste based off of your assertions with fast-food joints' beans? (I'm just asking so that I can get a bit more info before giving you advice.)

Never everrr had home-cooked beans before. D;
OH, but I do like hummus, which I'm half-certain is made with beans? emotion_sweatdrop Haven't made hummus at home though. I haven't been able to locate tahini paste for some reason.

I mainly want to try it because they're cheaper, but I'm just not sure of where to start, or what kind of beans I should try.

I prefer baked beans, myself. I don't really like them in chili very much. I like Bush's baked beans a lot because they have a little bit of bacon in there for flavor, but I've never tried to make my own beans. I just take them out of the can and heat them up lol

[Lilac Wood]

The taco mush beans are refried beans. They always taste and feel about like what you'd expect them to. I love them, personally! Nom nom nom.

To start I'm maybe suggest adding beans to soups in small quantities. Black beans are lovely in chicken soup, and white beans are quite good as well.

Garbanzo beans/chickpeas are great on salads. They've got a slightly firmer texture than most beans, so maybe you'd like them a bit better?

I'd honestly suggest using canned beans, just be sure to rinse them very very well. The liquid they come in is thick and soupy and you'll want to get that out before adding them to anything.

Cooking beans takes a while, they're usually left to soak a few hours before heating (though you can skip this and just boil the hell out of them). It's fine if it's something you're used to doing, but if you're just trying to figure out which types you do or do not like, it'll be easier to go with canned ones.

[Pikkewyn]

Cook them at home. And try different kinds of beans.
I hate kidney beans, but I love lentils. Hummus is lovely as well, and it is made with chickpeas.

[spacekitten]

I've never had Wendy's chili, but I'm going to wager a guess that they use kidney beans in it, which is also what Taco Bell's refried beans are made from. It could be that you just don't like kidney beans. There are many more out there!

Personally, I prefer black beans, chick peas, and lentils. Black beans have a creamier texture to them compared to kidney beans, and they take well to spices. I like them in a spicy soup. Chick peas are what they make hummus out of, and they're also good IMO in chili, since they're good at keeping their shape and not mushing out when cooked with other things. I mainly use lentils to make dhal, a curry-spiced soup.

Canned beans are a good convenience, since dried beans take a long time to cook (except lentils, which cook really fast!) If you're using canned, like said above you'll want to rinse them off before using them.

If you try canned beans and find them a bit mushy, try getting them dried. That way, you can control the cooking so they're a bit firmer, if that's what you'd prefer. A crock pot or slow cooker works well for dried beans, since they need a few hours to cook before you can add them to other dishes. A lot of the people I know who use dried beans will do big batches of them, then freeze in smaller portions to pull out and use when needed.

[Meline Moon]

Have you tried heating up some beans and stirring in something else that you like? For example I like black beans with a little salsa / or cheese mixed in.

[misleading space shibe]

Meline Moon

Have you tried heating up some beans and stirring in something else that you like? For example I like black beans with a little salsa / or cheese mixed in.

I've never made beans at home. D; It's more of a...there's so many beans where do I start kinda situation.

[misleading space shibe]

spacekitten

Why did I never think to look up what kind of beans they were...
After looking up a couple of Wendy's copycat recipes, most of them use kidney beans, so you're probably right. 3nodding I probably just hate kidney beans a lottt.

Are you able to describe the flavor or texture of lentils for me at all? emotion_sweatdrop I've seen them used in a lot of soup recipes. Just not sure if I'd like them.
&thanks for the chickpeas & chili thing. biggrin

& WHOO. I do have a small slow cooker that needs to be used a bit more.

[spacekitten]

xAliceJae

spacekitten

Why did I never think to look up what kind of beans they were...
After looking up a couple of Wendy's copycat recipes, most of them use kidney beans, so you're probably right. 3nodding I probably just hate kidney beans a lottt.

Are you able to describe the flavor or texture of lentils for me at all? emotion_sweatdrop I've seen them used in a lot of soup recipes. Just not sure if I'd like them.
&thanks for the chickpeas & chili thing. biggrin

& WHOO. I do have a small slow cooker that needs to be used a bit more.

Hmm, lentils don't really taste like anything, IMO. They're like the tofu of the bean world: they taste like whatever you cooked them with. They do get mushy easily, though, since unlike most dried beans they only take 20-40 minutes to cook. I like letting them go mushy, because the result is a really thick soup.

So glad I could help! Yeah, crock pots and beans are like, best friends. Slow, low heat cooking for hours with lots of flavors is the way to go, and I doubt fast food joints do that!

[epuka]

I'd suggest Pinto beans (which you can cook out of scratch or try Bush's, as they're pretty good!). What I usually do with mine is heat them up, then mash them (it's a Mexican custom but I find it easier for how I eat them) and either use them as a side for something like ham and egg or I put them in a tortilla and add some cheese to them. So good~ uwu

We also have Frijoles a la Charra, which is pretty much a pinto bean soup including bacon, chorizo, sausage, cilantro, carrot, lentil, and onion. Pretty tasty!

[Avgvsto]

I can never really like beans unless I'm really hungry.

[misleading space shibe]

Avgvsto

I can never really like beans unless I'm really hungry.

I'm trying to see if I can like them. As far as I know, they're a decently healthy thing, shelf-stable, and fairly cheap.

[Ratttking]

spacekitten

I've never had Wendy's chili, but I'm going to wager a guess that they use kidney beans in it, which is also what Taco Bell's refried beans are made from. It could be that you just don't like kidney beans. There are many more out there!

Taco Bell uses pinto beans, not kidney, so she'll want to avoid those as well.
http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/ingredientstatement
Or not mush them up at least.

Try dried white navy beans to start.They're very easy to find in any grocery. If you like baked beans you are familiar with them already and baked beans made in a Crock-Pot are awesome. Or try DC's famous Senate Bean Soup. Do you have a good Hispanic market nearby? They stock more types of beans, both dried and canned, than you can imagine and the prices are very reasonable. Just grab a few that look appealing, and if there's a recipe on the package, try it, the ones I've made have been very good. Pigeon peas and pink beans are a couple of my faves.