Yes, it helps keep the beans preserved for long shelf life, but the liquid is mostly starch and salt which may impact the texture or flavor of a finished dish.
Many people wonder if they need to drain and rinse canned beans, and the answer is, “it depends.” It's fine to add the bean liquid to many recipes, but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium, it's best to drain and rinse canned beans.
If you're a relatively healthy person though, enjoying canned beans without draining or rinsing them first is fine.
Rinsing beans for flavor and health reasons
That salt and starch content is why you should rinse and drain canned beans before using them in your recipes. The salt and starch can change the characteristics and texture of the dish, especially if you are making a casserole, and will increase your sodium intake.
If you're the impatient, bean-hungry type, you can cook your beans from dry without any soaking at all. Here's the thing: Beans that have not been soaked ahead of time will always take longer to cook, but they will, indeed, cook.
Unless the recipe tells you to keep the canned beans in their liquid, you should drain your can and give the beans a good rinse before using. This will improve the flavor and texture of your finished dish.
Soaked beans are firmer and fewer beans will burst or split open while cooking. The dish will taste way better. And here's a fun fact - soaked beans are easier to digest! Bigger varieties like kidney beans contain 'oligosaccharides' - complex sugars that our bodies cannot fully break down.
Pre-packed dried beans are usually more reliable. Canned pre-cooked kidney beans present no problems. Some come packed in water, which is thickened by starches naturally produced by the beans, but it can also contain preservatives, so this should be rinsed away.
The slimy liquid on beans is safe to eat. It is the cooking liquid from the canning plant, where the beans were cooked.
So the starchy liquid that lives in the can? That's your bean broth. Use that broth to thicken soups, help dips hang together—all the ways you'd use the broth with beans you cooked yourself. So stop throwing it away!
For canned food products such as fruit and vegetables with Proposition 65 warnings for BPA, drain and rinse the contents before eating, if possible. This may reduce the amount of BPA in the food.
Rinsing beans after they are drained ensures that all residual sodium adhering to the bean's surface is removed and results in the highest reduction. All brands and all classes of beans tested demonstrated significant reductions in sodium by either draining or draining and rinsing.
Draining and rinsing canned beans can reduce their sodium content by more than 40%. But taking just a few extra minutes is key to getting the most benefit. First, drain beans in a colander for two minutes. Then rinse the beans under cool running water for 10 seconds.
The reason that beans are safe to eat straight from the can is pretty simple: They're already cooked. According to Epicurious, beans are blanched before being canned with water, salt, and other additives — all of which help keep the shelf-stable beans fresh for long periods of time.
Canned beans are already cooked. They cost a little more than dried beans, but are still a great buy because they are fast and convenient. Just remember to rinse them first to wash away some of the sodium (salt) or buy canned beans with no added salt.
Eating raw or undercooked kidney beans can lead to food poisoning, including symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Only a few beans are needed to cause poisoning. Kidney beans, or red beans, contain a natural protein, Lectin, that is found in many plants, animals and humans.
Finally, soaking beans helps them to cook up in about half the time. So after the beans have soaked for a while, the soaking water now contains these elements that you are trying to eliminate by soaking the beans in the first place. And this is why the bean water is discarded.
But most people can enjoy more beans with less gas with the help of these tips: Soak beans overnight in water, then drain, rinse and cook in fresh water. This decreases the oligosaccharide content.
Overconsumption of kidney beans may cause cancer, heart, and brain damage. Kidney beans are rich in hemagglutinin which may cause diarrhea, nausea, or abdominal pain if not balanced properly.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommends eating about 3 cups of legumes—like pinto, kidney, or black beans—per week. If you eat about ½ cup of beans every day, you'll meet the weekly Dietary Guidelines for beans.
Soaking beans overnight, discarding the water, then cooking them in fresh water can help reduce the amount of anti-nutrient compounds. As an added benefit, it can reduce the complex sugars in beans that are linked with gas and bloating.
Beans soaked longer than 12 hours can absorb too much water and lose their characteristic texture and flavor. If you plan to cook beans for dinner and you want to use the long-soak method, start soaking in the morning. To cook beans for lunch, you'll have to soak them overnight.