[darlingchick]

I was opening a can of kidney beans today, when I glanced down unsuspectingly at the ingredients, horrified to see all kinds of syrups and sugars. I didn't think there was anything besides, well, BEANS in most cans, but that thick liquid I was draining made me wonder. Needless to say, I checked the various cans in our cabinet. The navy beans, black beans, and garbanzos were cleared but the chili beans are now a no-go for added sugar, cornstarch, etc. Who knew there was so much crap added to the legumes in that can?
That was my little revelation. The moral? Check the casing on your magical fruits!

[Barb0522]

I buy canned beans without added sugar if there is a choice. One brand of black beans has sugar but another one doesn't. But I can't find kidney beans without added sugar so I just make sure that I rinse the beans really, really well. I'd probably be better off using dried beans but I just don't have the time.

[Suzanne 3FC]

It could be worse. We once opened a can of green beans and were face to face with a gigantic caterpillar! When I saw the title of your post, I thought he had a long lost brother

But I agree, they don't need to put sugar in beans. I also try to buy unsalted veggies, they'll get plenty of the right seasoning when I prepare them.

[Sheba's Mom]

The only black beans I have found that don't have sugar in them are Bush's Black Beans. I found Kidney Bean without sugar in them also but I don't have a can of them right now. I think the brand name was something like canellio but not sure.

It is truely amazing what "they" hide in our food when we aren't looking.

[darlingchick]

Yeah, I rinsed the kidney beans really well. My one attempted at dried beans turned out disasterous. I plugged in the crockpot, where I was going to soak some pintos, and i threw the bag in there because I wasn't ready to start yet. Soon I smelled something funny and realized the crockpot had been unplugged while it was still set on "low" and the plastic had all melted into my crockpot. It was a mess and the beans still turned out terribly underdone after my attempts. Yeah, and one time I was putting beaters into a hand mixer that had been unplugged while it was still on, and I nearly lost a few fingers! But I'm digressing.
A caterpillar? That's awful! I would have written a definate letter of complaint and at least got some free coupons from the company. One time my dad, brother, and I made milkshakes with some ice cream and discovered there was BROKEN GLASS pieces all in it after we had started drinking them. Oh, the horror!
Wow, I haven't mentioned beans once. Anywho, yes, no sugar and no salt added is preferable. I rarely add salt to things, I'm a bit sodium-paranoid, but I love pepper and cavender's!

Bush's black beans are great.

And now I shall conclude what has probably been the most random and ecclectic post so far today. ^^

[Ruthxxx]

Whew! I think I'll close it in case some newbie decides to add to it and talk about bean yoghurt! Too funny!