Dried pulses, worth the hassle?

[HaveAHappyNewJung]

If indeed there is any hassle!

Normally use tins of beans (kidney, borlotti, black eyed etc) - but is dried better?

Is it a bit of a PITA soaking them, rinsing them etc?

And do you think it's cheaper overall? (tried looking prices up on asda but no luck)

Yes. Cheaper, better, easy.

Put in bowl, cover with 3x water, soak overnight, drain, rinse, cook. I soak in the fridge.

Just remember to boil rapidly for 10 minutes to kill lectin toxins. Most beans cook in about an hour. Chick peas can take much longer so are best soaked at least 24 hours.

Don't know about cost, never worked it out. It's a bit of a faff to remember to soak them the the night before you need to use them, but in terms of flavour, worth it for sure.

The soaking just takes time off the cooking esp. if you buy 'fresh' pulses and beans.

as a farmer, this word "fresh" is like "new" or "sustainable"- utter tosh.
I grow edible beans, a variety called Wizard, which I hope the Arabs are going to buy- they put spices in them to hide the blandness.
Now "fresh" you say- well they were combined mid September, put in a grain store to ambient dry with air, and are still there, WAITING. They are as fresh as you can get them, being 2010 harvest, but that is now 6 monhs ago.
If it is not growing actively, it is not fresh.
"New" potatoes in farming never used, as it implies they may be "early" pots, rather than mid season or lates/maincrop. Of course, I see "new" potatoes for sale at the most unlikely times for earlies, even impossible times for earlies.
Food is sustaining, whilst sustainable implies something going on forever, changeless. No. Matters change all the time

I think the texture holds better with dried. Usually with the tins, which I do use for chilli etc, I find they have a slightly softer texture which is ideal for dishes like this.

Yes, its cheaper as you can buy a big bag for under £1. Unsure if nutricianally better but I did read that you should use the soaking and boiling liquid in the dish as this contains goodness but unsure if this is correct?

I havent seen fresh pulses????

depends, butter beans have never worked for me but chickpeas lentil etc are great.

it is a faff remembering to soak chickpeas the night before though.

I like dried because you can have a wide variety taking up very little cupboard space!

We use dried lentils but not dried beans, too much hassle.