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Once you have cooked a large batch of beans or chickpeas, you are probably looking to store them someway. The fridge will keep them fresh for a couple of days, but if you have a lot of beans, then the best option is the freezer.
It's quite perfect to cook a large batch of legumes and then freeze batches that you can grab whenever you need some. If however, you just pour the beans in a large container and then freeze it, you will end up with a large block. Then, in order to defrost them, you'll need to bring out the whole container and use all the beans. That's fine for most of the time when you want to thaw a large batch. But what if you want to grab just enough beans out of a large container without using them all?
How To Freeze Individual Beans
This is a very simple solution for any kind of food that you need to freeze separately such as fruits and berries as well as beans and chickpeas. Once the beans are cooked, simply spoon them out evenly (without any liquid) on a sheet pan. Place the whole sheet pan in the freezer for a few minutes (anywhere from 5-15 minutes).
At that point, take the sheet pan out of the freezer and scrape all the beans together and place them in a container or in a bag. Put back in the freezer. Now they are separated and you can easily crab a cup or two of beans out of a large batch.
| Thu Mar 05, 2009 7:55 am Name: Sandy | Comment: Perfect - this was just the info I was looking for. I love to cook dried beans but then we end up eating them for days. This way, I can freeze them and use only what I need, when I need it. Thanks! Fri Apr 10, 2009 12:37 pm Name: Brian | Comment: Thank you!! Thu May 14, 2009 12:37 pm Name: Coleen | Comment: being single has pros and cons - and mealtime can be a challange when cooking for one. thanks for this tip, as being half of italian descent, i love all kinds of beans - but then you wind up eating beans for most the week,and well that can get old. this helps keep the legumes in the diet without being a slave to the quantity. Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:25 pm Name: Lisa | Comment: YAY! I just made a whole pound of chick peas, and three batches of hummus, and STILL had lots left over. This is a very helpful hint! They are on a sheet pan in the freezer as we speak!
p.s. being of Italian descent myself, I HATE to waste anything :D Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:32 pm Name: Heather | Comment: Thanks for the tip! Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:04 am Name: maria | Comment: Great idea. I've been wanting to stop buying canned beans but liked the convenience. Thx!
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