Why are they called navy beans?
Why are they called navy beans?
Navy beans are small and oval and cook relatively quickly (which, as Aliza Green notes in The Bean Bible, has made them popular with commercial baked bean manufacturers).
Known as Boston beans, the white coco, pea beans or alubias chicas, navy beans are perfect for dishes that don't need the full bean shape to shine: purées, soups, stews and baked beans.
Navy beans get their name because of their role as a staple food for the U.S. Navy. The beans were first mixed with molasses and canned in 1875; Heinz introduced canned beans with tomato sauce in 1895.
Cooking with dried beans requires a little forethought; before cooking, they must be soaked for at least an hour in boiling water or between four and eight hours in cold water. Then, they take at least an hour to cook.
On the other hand, they're inexpensive and can be seasoned in a multitude of ways during cooking. (Think ham hocks, fresh herbs and aromatic vegetables.) Plus, the texture of cooked dried beans is firmer and more substantial than typical canned beans.
Still, we keep our pantry stocked so that we always have ready-to-eat canned beans to add protein and texture to weeknight pastas, salads, soups, stews, chilis and burritos. Be sure to select a good brand to ensure that the beans have a firm texture, clean flavor and no added salt. (Inferior canned beans tend to be mushy and loaded with sodium.)
Cooking dried beans is one of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen tasks. Canned beans are convenient but are usually loaded with salt, making home-cooked beans healthier. And while it's true that it takes longer to cook beans than to open a can, cooking beans requires only about 5 minutes of active time.
You can soak beans overnight in cold water or soak them for an hour in boiling water if you're pressed for time. Legumes such as lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked at all before cooking, just quickly rinsed to clean off any dust.
Otherwise, any bean that would ordinarily need to be soaked overnight can get the quick-soak treatment, including lima beans, chickpeas, black beans, white beans, red beans, pinto beans, cranberry beans, navy beans, kidney beans, fava beans, pigeon peas and mung beans.
To cook beans, cover them with water and simmer slowly for about 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked. Adding cured pork or aromatics like bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley stems and vegetables such as carrots and onions to the cooking liquid adds flavor and character to a pot of beans.
