Looks very mushy, I would worry also. by the time you heat to boiling for 10 minutes, all you would have is mush and meat. Not my idea of beans. The pic doesn't show too well whether it is 'sloshy' or how much.

Thanks myfamilysfarm. They are not very sloshy which is my concern. I guess I could make a smooth bean dip after cooking for 10 minutes.

It would make a bean dip, but wait til others chime in. I'm not as familiar with the newer guidelines, but have canned for many decades. I always boil any of my veggies, even commerically canned food.

I need to look up the recipes for canned beans, my store has pinto beans bulk for 79 cents per pound, if I can find enough jars.

Marla

Does look thick and mushy - maybe overprocessed? I didn't see ham and beans, but here's baked beans with a little bit of ham/bacon - says 75 minutes for quarts.

I wonder how much ham is in there? Meat is 90 minutes, so looks like neighbor used that time and the beans got overdone? I can see that creating a density issue.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baked beans

These were soaked overnight and cooked all day before canning.

Sounds like they were mush before going into the jars.

'Soak overnight, heat and can the next day' as a hot pack works good.

Looks like she used the meat processing time rather than the bean processing time. That result is one reason why the guidelines recommend against canning beans with ham = mush. But unfortunately the guidelines mean little to some folks.

So even though it isn't recommended many do it anyway using the old outdated "process for the longest ingredient" rule. Much better results come from canning beans correctly and canning the ham separately and then mixing the two at serving time. Adding 1 pint of coarse chopped canned ham to 1 quart canned beans is just about perfect.

Is that jar safe to eat? Most likely as it had maximum processing. Granted it is overly dense and the quality most of us would want is gone but you could cook and eat it if you wanted to.

Dave

PS: is the neighbor open to learning new methods?

Here is a link that might be useful: Canning dried beans and peas

I would be comfortable discussing it with her. They are good people and always asking about my garden and I try to share as much as possible with them back and forth.

I do ham and beans (soaked but not cooked) together, 75 min @ 10 psi for pts, 90 mins @10 psi for qts, the end product is somewhat thick, but a tad of water added to them when heating it up on the stove makes for some really good bean 'liquor' to sop the cornbread with.

I think it is just a BAD recipe and the outcome does not look very appealing either. But otherwise everything is overcooked and over processed , on the stove,in the canner, so there shouldn't be a health safety concern, in my view. BUT I wouldn't care for eating anything like that regardless.

I don't understand ; WHY JAR/CAN BEANS IN THE FIRST PLACE. overnight soaked beans will cook in a short time, just about the same time as opening a jar/can and warming it. Maybe a little longer. In my understanding you can something that is perishable otherwise, IF YOU DON'T, it will be spoiled and wasted.

Canning is not like brewing wine that it will get better by age. Why can potatoes and keep it two years and eat it instead of fresh potatoes?
IMHOJust a personal perspective.

I don't understand ; WHY JAR/CAN BEANS IN THE FIRST PLACE...

For convenience. Period. And, my home canned 'soup beans, beat Bush's or Progresso's hands down. Canning pinto beans is a wintertime project, don't you know? :-)

Agree. Convenience and - for potatoes, to have when fresh aren't available as can often happen for many of us.

Home canned beans can be seasoned as you wish and are ready to go on the spur of the moment with no soaking. Plus you can grow and can all sorts of varieties that aren't available in stores.

The culture of conserving, canning and pickling foods goes back to the time when there were no fresh vegetable and fruits available in the winter and most people lives on the farm.

Do you realize just how much that is all still true for a great deal of the population in this country? As of the 2010 census approx. 24% of the US population was classed as Rural (not urban or suburban). They don't have a category for those of us who are rural to the rural (aka boonies) :) who live in towns with populations of 350 or less and where it is 50+ miles to the nearest grocery store.

Dave

I totally agree with sid and Dave as well as knowing what I am eating. Fresh product isn't available here from about now until spring. Grocery store produce isn't fresh, is full of preservatives and who knows what other chemicals. Not what I want for my old body if I can help it.

I starting canning majorly when I was diagnosed with a health problem that caused me to have NO salt, and at that time, NO Salt veggies wasn't available. We had the space for a big garden, and with 3 growing boys, it saved us many dollars. I had the experience, jars and canning equipment, along with knowledgeable people nearby to help me.

I buy beans in a jar now, but have considered canning my own, mainly for the time-saving. To get a good pot of beans, it takes hours; with already canned beans, a few minutes.

Now we are on a fixed income, supplement our income with buying veggies from local farmers, with the excess going into jars for our use, along with our kids' families. I am also teaching another generation HOW to survive, if you can't afford the grocery store prices. Have land, will survive, IF YOU HAVE the knowledge. They will know how to grow their food and how to preserve it, including meat.

I am the original poster and my question was folks thought about the density of the ham and beans the way they were processed. Like myfamilysfarm, I want to teach my kids how to store their own food and enjoy a great pastime of gardening and eating good food. Canned beans around here are a staple for making quick meals. My wife and I both work a lot of hours so our canned goods come in very handy. Thanks everyone.

This post was edited by dirtguy50 on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 12:07

I recently made the beans with ham from the Ball blue book - followed it exactly. Was going to add extra ham, but Dave stopped me. It turned out looking a lot like the picture, but not quite as mushy. With mine, you can see more "bean shape" but it really is quite dense. Surprised me.

I have nothing to say about the safety or otherwise of the OP's product but if it is deemed safe by the experts I'd be inclined to put it in the blender and whizz it up further since it already appears to be mush. Maybe thin it with a little stock or milk and call it a hearty soup.

floral, that sounds like a great option. Thanks.