Old Beans?

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SouthCentralUS

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Doing inventory this past few days and found 5 buckets of pintos that are about 7 years old. I have tested some out of each bucket separately and soaking 12 hours and boiling 6 hours they are still not done. Mushy inside, crunchy outside and no flavor.

Can they be used for anything? I am trying to sprout a few but they have not sprouted yet. I thought about cooking then dehydrating for refried beans but they still would have no flavor. Any ideas?
 
Depending on your altitude you can try putting the dry beans into a pot of boiling water, which will cool the water off, and bring them back to a boil for 15 minutes and then simmer until tender. Higher altitudes really dry the beans out and the only thing you can do with them is grind them into flour. At the cabin beans will last FOREVER but after a year at 5000 feet they don't cook well. We grind them to flour and use them to thicken soups, stews and gravy. I haven't found a way to re-hydrate them and even after 12 hours in the pressure cooker they are still hard.
 
Time to get out the grinder. You might try to soak a few overnight and then plant them to see if they will sprout but I'm thinking they are so dry they are dead.

SouthCentral, what elevation do you live at? Maybe a better question would be, "what is the average humidity where you live?"
 
Then it sounds like you have a lot of beans to use for something other than eating.
I'll start you off.
You can make bean bags for games.

Gluten-free flour.
Grind dried beans into gluten-free flour, which can be used as a thickener for sauces and gravies or as part of nutritious gluten-free flour blends for baking. If you don’t have a flour mill at home, food processors often come with attachments you can use to make flours, or you may be able to find a local health food store that grinds beans and grains into flours for its customers. If it’s critical that your flour be gluten-free, make sure to check with the staff at the store to confirm that their flour mill is reserved for gluten-free items only.

Pie weights.
You can also utilize beans as weights for prebaking (also known as "blind baking") empty pie shells; no need to buy expensive fancy ceramic pie weights from the gourmet kitchen gadget store. Pour some dried beans into the bottom of a pie crust -- atop a foil or parchment liner -- to hold the crust down during prebaking; then remove them when you’re ready to add the filling. Beans may be reused for this purpose several times, but discard them when they start getting overly browned.

Poker chips.

Well, unlike Bubba and shrimp that's all I got. :D
 
OMG! Bean bag gun rests for target or game shooting, bean bag furniture, ammo for sling shots for less lethal use, use them in bags for hot and cold packs, use them to make pads for standing on concrete (this make it easier to grind them to flour later), they can be used to fill a pillow case for a buddy pillow (you can cuddle with it when you sleep alone), use them instead of a nut for the disappearing ball and cup game, throw them at your cat when it misbehaves, glue them together to make model houses, planes and animals, make huggable stuffed animals, and I could go on but you get the idea. The only limitation is your imagination! :)
 
SheepDog said:
Depending on your altitude you can try putting the dry beans into a pot of boiling water, which will cool the water off, and bring them back to a boil for 15 minutes and then simmer until tender. Higher altitudes really dry the beans out and the only thing you can do with them is grind them into flour. At the cabin beans will last FOREVER but after a year at 5000 feet they don't cook well. We grind them to flour and use them to thicken soups, stews and gravy. I haven't found a way to re-hydrate them and even after 12 hours in the pressure cooker they are still hard.
Click to expand...

We haven't had issues with beans at 5000ft or 7500ft. What type do you have?
 
Last edited:
Terri,
If you are asking me I would have to make a run up to the cabin to be sure but I think they are Pinto beans.
If you were asking SouthCentral then he can chip (yes the pun was intended) in.
 
SheepDog said:
Terri,
If you are asking me I would have to make a run up to the cabin to be sure but I think they are Pinto beans.
If you were asking SouthCentral then he can chip (yes the pun was intended) in.
Click to expand...

We put all our beans in a sealed jar as soon as we buy (or pick) them. I just sprouted some from 2012.
 
SouthCentralUS said:
Doing inventory this past few days and found 5 buckets of pintos that are about 7 years old. I have tested some out of each bucket separately and soaking 12 hours and boiling 6 hours they are still not done. Mushy inside, crunchy outside and no flavor. …
Click to expand...

I wonder how they'd work for baked beans after all that soaking and boiling. If that doesn't work, you might mix the rest of the beans with some Quikrete and pave your driveway.
 
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