CAN I USE CANNED BEANS?

Q. “Hi, Bill. I have a wonderful NY Times recipe for black bean soup. It calls for a pound of dried beans and two quarts of chicken broth. Even when I soak the beans, it takes hours and hours for them to cook. I want to use canned beans. So what's the equivalent of one pound of dried beans to how many cans of cooked beans? And then, how much broth do I add? Thanks.” Sandra D.

A. Many cooks look down their noses at using canned beans or, worse, at any other cook who does. Well, pshaw, sez BSJ. (I love saying “Pshaw.” Who wouldn’t?) Most good-quality canned beans are in a state of stasis, just as are the dried beans that you cook at home and keep in the refrigerator for, say, a week or so before using them in a recipe. (Canned beans are “preserved” by having been both cooked and sealed in with a bit of salt. Just like your own. Also, better beans come in metal cans that’ve been lined.)

I think canned beans are just fine, especially for other “wet” preparations such as soup or stews where they’ll go through some additional breaking down. Certainly for dips or purées such as hummus. They’re not the best for cool salads like the famed “Three Bean Salad” or some such. For those, you could definitely cook your own dried beans and use them straightaway.

Using heirloom or other high-quality dried beans truly amps up the flavors, aroma and texture of the cooked beans. I am partial to those from Rancho Gordo, out of Napa, CA. You’ll find them both online and, increasingly, at many grocers.

For the NYT recipe, I’d make these adjustments if you wish to use canned black beans. Note that 1 pound of dried black beans equals 6 cups of cooked black beans, or 4 15-ounce cans of the same, drained.

• Drain the beans, keeping back the liquid and reserving the drained beans. Add enough chicken broth to the saved liquid from the cans to equal 2 quarts.

• Add the oregano and bay leaves to the step that begins the cooking of the onions and carrots.

• Add everything from Steps 2 and 3 to the 2 quarts of liquid and cook, simmering gently, for 1 hour.

Proceed with the remainder of the recipe as written.

Do note, however, that Julia Moskin makes a very worthwhile point in the public “Cooking Notes” section about how dried beans may have difficulty softening in a liquid that contains acidity, as this recipe’s does given its use of red wine (and, I would add, especially reduced red wine). Heed her suggestions and you might be able to use dried black beans after all.