Beans, Beans, the musical fruit

[oscar]

I like a good baked bean but don't eat too much of it. It gives me,. . .  well you know.
How did the cosie hydrate beans while on the trail? Did he have a bucket with a lid so he could travel and keep water on the beans? and what kind of beans did he have? Questions, Questions.

Oscar,

[Delmonico]

Good question, I've read about them being soaked overnight, but beyond that might be another thing to check,  I think it would vary with the cook, a dutch oven would work well and they'd be ready. 

As for types, the good answer is what ever was grown in the region or shipped in.  Many of they types used are not common today, but pinto, red beans, navy and Great Northern were all around at the time.

Slim, you had a bean website a few months ago and I lost it, can you produce it again?  It was exellant.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Dis?
http://www.foodsubs.com/Beans.html

Slim

[Delmonico]

Thats it, I told Oscar last night when he was in the store buyin' boots how useful you are on searches.

BTW the one they call Christmas Lima is the one I know as Calico Lima and I mentioned in my Christmas article in The Shootist.

[Terry Lane]

Howdy all,
don't remember where (not that unusual) but I seem to have read that cosies kept beans soaking all the time (even when traveling) in crocks or Mason jars so that they could be ready when needed. Take care.

[Delmonico]

That sounds right to me, but my memory don't quit have the details.

[El Peludo]

A little curiosity on the subject of beans; I don't remember just where I heard of this, but it seems I heard that if you soaked your beans with a dab of baking soda in the soak water, it made the beans less prone to be "musical".  I have never done this, as just soaking and changing the water several times over 24 hours of soak seems to de-fuse them pretty well; different varieties are different in their results, though - some just cain't be quieted, it seems.  If the soda business has any validity, do you suppose that a Cosie, if he kept a crock of beans soaking all the time, would have used some tactic such as this?  I suppose that on the trail, away from polite society, it might not have made much difference to the "pokes", but the vision of a bunch of Cowboys a'saddle and being jiggled and shook like that -  - might sound like the "prairie philharmonic" out there. 

[Trinity]

CLICK TO LISTEN TO BEANS AT WORK!   

[oscar]

Yes the crock or mason or dutch sounds like that's the way it was. As a staple they probably did have to be ready to be heated at a moments notice.

Oscar,

[Singing Bear]

CLICK TO LISTEN TO BEANS AT WORK!   

Ooooh, that was nasty.    Some of them sounded down right... "juicy". 

[Delmonico]

Good to see you back Singing Bear, was about to come over there lookin' fer ya.

[DArchangel]

That sounded worse than the compfire scene in blaseing saddles.

[Delmonico]

I think it was the campfire scene from Blazing Saddles.

[Trinity]

It was.  You hear ol' Slim Pickens at the end. 

[Delmonico]

I know, I hered him.  Delmonico takes off his hat and looks skyward, I sure do miss him.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Slim Pickens was a good one.

Slim