Process for canning dry beans and other legumes

A process for preparing canned beans, comprising the steps of:

• preparing a heated aqueous mixed salt solution capable of imparting quick cooking properties to said beans, said solution containing about 1-3% by weight sodium chloride and a mixed carbonate/bicarbonate buffer to maintain the solution at a pH of about 8 to 9.5;
• soaking said beans in said salt solution for a time of about 1/2 to 4 hours that is equal to between about 7% and about 30% of the time in said solution that would be necessary to render said beans fully quick-cooking and maintaining said beans in said solution while allowing said salt solution to cool, wherein a fully quick cooking bean is a bean that may be cooked for the table in boiling water in 20 minutes or less;
• placing said soaked beans in a container with a liquid different from said salt solution and sealing said container;
• and
• thermally processing said beans in said container in a still retort until said beans are cooked and commercially sterilized.

A process of preparing canned large lima beans, comprising the steps of:

• preparing a heated aqueous mixed salt solution capable of imparting quick cooking properties to said beans, said solution containing about 1-3% by weight sodium chloride and a mixed carbonate/bicarbonate buffer to maintain the solution at a pH of about 8 to 9.5, said solution having a temperature of about boiling;
• placing said solution in a vessel capable of maintaining a vacuum;
• soaking dry large lima beans in said aqueous mixed salt solution in said vessel for a time of about 1/2 to 4 hours that is equal to between about 7% and about 30% of the time in said solution that would be necessary to render said large lima beans fully quick-cooking, wherein a fully quick-cooking large lima bean is a lima bean that may be cooked for the table in boiling water in 20 minutes or less;
• periodically applying and releasing a vacuum in said vessel over the soaking beans for at least a part of said soaking period;
• hermetically sealing the soaked beans, together with a liquid different from said salt solution, in a container;
• and
• thermally processing the container of beans in a still retort until said beans are cooked and commercially sterilized.

A process for preparing canned small white beans, comprising the steps of:

• preparing an aqueous mixed salt solution capable of imparting quick cooking properties to said beans, said solution containing about 1-3% by weight sodium chloride and a mixed carbonate/bicarbonate buffer to maintain the solution at a pH of about 8 to 9.5;
• soaking dry small white beans in said aqueous mixed salt solution for a time of about 1/2 to 3 hours that is also equal to between about 7% and about 30% of the time that in said solution that would be necessary to render said beans fully quick-cooking, wherein a fully quick-cooking bean is a bean that may be cooked for the table in boiling water in 20 minutes or less;
• hermetically sealing the hydrated beans, together with a liquid different from said salt solution, in a container;
• and
• thermally processing the container of beans in a still retort until said beans are cooked and commercially sterilized.