I can't imagine why that would be so, Tammy. Some things do get treated with anti-sprouting coatings, but I doubt that would apply to dried beans.

The one thing to be aware of is that most (if not all) commercial dried legumes are bush varieties. That's because bush beans are much easier to work with when using mechanical planting and harvesting equipment. So if you're looking for pole beans, the grocery store isn't the place.

I can get heirloom variety pole beans from my grocery store, I suggest that you go ahead and try a few different beans, there should be no problem with them at all, see what works for you and what grows in what way.

They sell them to be eaten, and I am sure that they are perfectly safe to eat. I have planted many seed from grocery store produce, just this year a super crop of blackeyed peas, most of them from the store's dried bean and pea isle.
They were delicious, have fixed several messes of them and have some in the freezer. Not feeling any ill effects yet! ":^)
Bill P.

{{gwi:318056}}

lol Funny Bill! I'm glad to know you are ok. And your beans look beautiful! Is that a pic of the black eyes?

Thanks everyone. I really can't remember what it was I heard about "cooking bean/grocery store beans" versus "planting beans". That was before I started gardening and many years ago. I just remember reading, hearing, or seeing something about it.

I will hunt down some organically grown pintos if I can find them and go from there. Ain't nothing better than a bowl of FRESH pinto beans and cornbread!!!!!!!

Tammy

If you can find em, rattlesnake beans tend to be very similar to pintos'but slightly better tasteing, they may even be considered a type of pinto, all I know it that they are good.

Yeah, them are black eyed PEAS.

I am with you on a good bowl of pinto beans and cornbread. I can make a meal of them.

I think that there is an art to cooking good ones, but I do not know what it is. Sometimes the ones my wife cooks are excellent, sometimes less than that. I also know that all pinto beans are not created equal, for some reason. We bought one bag at the grocery store and wound up throwing about half of them into the compost pile. You just could not cook a good pot of them. They were real dark and just did not taste very good.

I have known a few people that could consistently cook them just about perfect for my taste, (one guy cooked huge posts of them at the city jail daily), light color with the juice or soup just right. Wish that I knew that secret.

Brendan, you make those Rattlesnake beans sound interesting. How do they differ from Pintos ?
Bill P.

Woops! Sorry, didn't mean to call your peas - beans.

Gonefishin, I know that sometimes, dried beans can turn out not so good if they are old. So, perhaps the beans you bought and cooked from the grocery had been around for a while? Or were you referring to beans that you had grown from the grocery?

I too, would like to hear more about Rattlesnake beans! Brendan, if you have more info, please share. I haven't run across this type any where else.

"I have known a few people that could consistently cook them just about perfect for my taste, (one guy cooked huge posts of them at the city jail daily)"

That must have been during your misspent youth, Bill. Seems like you've been keepin' out of trouble lately.

Jim

When next I go to that particular grocery store I'll pots some pictures of the packaging and pull out some beans to send off, email me if you are interested and I'll send you an adress to send a SASE too, I'll probably make it to the store on by thursday, so I should have pictures then.

Thanks Tammy, nope, they were just a bag of dried beans that I bought to cook. Some of the best ones ones that I have found in the past year or two were bulk beans over in the Mexican food section, that you scoop up with a scoop and fill a bag yourself. Perhaps they do not have time to get old.

Yeah Jim, I have been in the various Jails around here way too many times to count in my younger days, but it was on the "right" side of the bars. At one time our downtown beat included the place where the jail was located and we made many prisoner transfers, many of them to the county hospital for medical attention or treatments etc. I guess that you could say that I was a frequent "visitor". Both the city and county really put on a first class feed on Christmas and New Years. Many of the homeless, vagrants, wineos etc. were looking for ways to go to jail for some shelter and a good meal on those particular times of the year. Honestly.
But those cooks were outstanding at that paticular time and era.
Not quite like Tom T. Hall's song about spending a week in a little ol country jail and having hot baloney, eggs and gravy..
Bill P.

gonefishin, your comment about the "huge pots" got me to thinking... I once worked at a deli where we made everything from scratch. We cooked HUGE pots of pintos regularly and we never, ever soaked them over night, or did the quick soak method. We just put them in the pot with some seasoning and cooked those suckers for 10-12 hours. They were always delicious and had that perfect flavor and quality. Maybe that is one secret? Never really thought about it before, but those beans (which I myself cooked at the deli) were always better than what I cook at home using small pots and pre-soaking or quick soaking... Just a thought.

brendan, I'll be looking forward to your pics and next post!

Hey G-Fish .....you made it! Ive seen that pic before! I remember that one!

Also...now that ya got my attention...can ya use any dried beans from the store?

I just found a description of rattle snake beans:

Rattlesnake (Phaseolus Vulgaris) beans are a new hybrid of the Pinto Bean. The name is derived from pods; which are tightly curled like a resting snake. Rattlesnake Beans are a small bean, about 3/8 inch long, wild a mild flavor and delicate texture, the markings are the same on the pods as on the beans themselves. The color and pattern on the bean is similar, if not identical to the Pinto. Rattlesnake Beans are differentiated from the Pinto by their slightly square, blunt shape.

Suggested Use: The Rattlesnake Bean is very common in Southwestern cuisines, including Mexican food. The Rattlesnake Bean can be used in casseroles, stews and dips.

How about a blast from the past???? I found this thread educational and entertaining - so - BUMP!! :-))