A Drain’s Not the Only Place for Bean Liquid

By Katie Barreira

I’d prefer dried beans to canned any day, but the reality is that canned beans have a place in my pantry and so does their liquid.

Poke around the Web and you’ll see that bean liquid has a bad rap. But the biggest beef is its high sodium content and there’s an easy answer for that: buy low-sodium or sodium-free beans (like Eden Organics). They’re better for you anyway.

Another common complaint is that the cloudy liquid has “gunk” in it. I get it; coagulated starch balls don’t do much for me either, but I’ve found that higher-quality canned beans tend to be less gunky and when in doubt, you can just pour the liquid through a sieve. It’s no harder than draining the beans.

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