Red beans Organic

Do I have to cook them before eating?

No. Kazidomi red kidney beans come cooked in their 400 g tin: drain, rinse, then warm through if the recipe asks for it. That is what separates the tin from a dried kidney bean, which wants an overnight soak and a long boil. The list stops at beans, water and salt.

Red kidney beans or borlotti: which for a chilli?

The Kazidomi kidney bean is firm and thick-skinned and stays whole through a long simmer, which is exactly what a chilli needs. Borlotti, sold in the same aisle, are creamier and break down sooner, so they lean towards soups and a pasta e fagioli. Both arrive cooked in a 400 g tin.

Why should I rinse them?

The canning liquid holds the salt and the starch released during cooking: it clouds a dish and leaves a metallic aftertaste behind. A few seconds under clear water is enough to clear it off the Kazidomi red beans. The rinse also sharpens the texture in a cold salad or a grain bowl.

How do I cook with them?

In a chilli, a salad with sweetcorn and red onion, a thick soup, a curry, or forked into a tortilla filling. Already cooked, Kazidomi red beans go in near the end of a recipe: keep them over the heat too long and the skins split and the flesh turns to purée.

How do I store the tin?

Closed, somewhere cool and dry, until the date shown on it. Once opened, Kazidomi says to tip the red beans into the fridge and eat them within three days. The contents should never stay in the opened metal tin, exposed to the air and the damp of a fridge shelf.