Reliable places to buy dried beans/peas in smaller quantities? Or just get them in a tin?

[soupyspoon]

For some recipes Im looking at it is better for me to get dried beans but its a lot of faff with soaking etc. Ive also been stung a bit in the past with something as simple as lentils which didnt cook no matter what I did

But Im also finding its quite difficult to get good priced dried beans of a good variety and in smaller quantities. I dont want massive 1kg bags I will never get through them.

Is it worth it?

Im cooking a dish tonight with dried very large butter beans/Judiones but I dont know if they are too old, I'll find out after a few hours!!!

Watching with interest. Used to be able to buy ‘soup mix’ of mixed dried pulses that did not need soaking - supermarkets like Asda and Sainsbury’s. Can’t find them now -annoying as I love soup and don’t v want to buy lots of the individual pulses.

Theres a few which are mainly lentils and dried peas, is that what you mean or did they have other beans in them?

Also pearl barley which is fab in soup😀

There are hippy shops where you can fill a bag with as much or as little as you want, and pay by weight. They're not the cheapest, but they are usually organic and still cheaper than buying tins.

If you really want dried, I agree with a pp that you should look out for those "no waste" shops.

However, I personally would stick with tins or jars. there's a huge variety in quality of these. Those (quite expensive) large jars of chickpeas (and I think they do beans as well) are really lovely. I see Belazu is doing them now - just did a quick online search - and I generally find it's a brand that is reliable (their Tahini is fantastic!).

waitrose does do 500g packets of dried pulses but I'm not sure how wide a variety they have.

Oooh -don’t know why I didn’t go here first - Morrisons

I'm a bit surprised you can't buy dried beans, chickpeas and lentils in your local supermarket. Maybe they're stored under health foods?

I cook legumes in winter 2-3 times a week and detest tins, the flavour is not the same.

Dried beans don't need soaking, but need time and be cooked slowly. Green/brown lentils are fast - not soaking and 1/2 hour only of cooking time.

Dried chickpeas depend a lot from the country of origin. If available I prefer Spain's ones as they rarely peel off. They do need soaking overnight though.

Indian grocers, or supermarkets with an Indian section. Otherwise health food shops.

Holland and barrat probably. Or a “no plastic” health food shop.

I'd be surprised if you can't find 500g bags of dried beans in Tesco or Asda. You won't get anything smaller than that, because most people who use dried beans will be using them in bulk and would want larger sizes.

However, if you're looking for good prices you're simply in the wrong country. Dried beans are an absolute rip-off here. Virtually everywhere else in the world the price differential between dried and tinned is enormous, which is why big bean consuming nations tend to go for dried. Here the difference is almost immaterial once you factor in the energy costs.

I buy the 500g to 1kg bags from the supermarket, cook them and freeze them in portions.

You want Hodmedods. Their dried beans packets usually start at 500g (which is reasonably the smallest amount one might want).

Hodmedods

https://hodmedods.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOopy9pZAqZEIMlLdEaZH9tofk1ONcRY7ZmvO7K09p3EdFJSM3b0x

Dried pulses last for ages though. I decant them into an airtight jar and keep for a few months.

@InveterateWineDrinker - I think there’s still a pretty good price difference.

A kilo of chickpeas is £2 in Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and it’s the equivalent of 8 tins. Tesco’s cheapest own brand tins are 49p, most are 65p.

(I pay less because I have a large Asian supermarket nearby)

I should add they’re far better value bought in bulk!

I can find 500g bags but not butter beans for some reason, there isnt a good range of dried beans I find

But even then 500g will take me ages to get through and then I dont get a variety of different beans.

The freezer is constantly full of batch cooking anyway so I dont want to add more necessarily although there is always bits I freeze

I did the sums when energy prices rocketed. It's still way cheaper to soak and cook dried beans. But it depends on the type of beans how much you save. On chickpeas the difference isn't so great, but with something like black beans, which are about £1.50 in a tin for some reason, cooking your own is a fraction of the cost.

Of course even with tinned beans you are spending much less than people who are buying meat or ready meals.

BTW it's true that you don't need to soak lentils, but they cook quicker if you do. An hour is more than enough, soak too long and they'll start to ferment.