Bulk Dried Beans

[Bkworm]

Hello everyone,

Finally purchased a replacement freezer so excited to order some bulk dried beans so I can once again cook my own dried beans. Does anyone else purchase bulk dried beans, such as 25 to 50 lbs at a time? If so, who is your favorite vendor? I know Dr. And Mary McDougall discussed where they purchased dried/dehydrated items but those prices are too rich for our budget. Might consider ordering some dehydrated potato slices from that vendor as I have not found those anywhere else.

Have done a bit or research online looking for a good vendor. Just wondering what other WFPB eaters recommend.

Thank you in advance for any input.

P.S. Had a really hard time getting into make a new post. Requested to update my password but don’t know if that really happened or if I am just signed in under the password they sent me. Just too late and too tired tonight to deal with it any further. Will figure it out tomorrow. Just went back and it indicated I would need to go to Profile to actually change the password. Have been a member since 2013 and this is the first difficulty I have encountered signing in. Oh well, will be more alert tomorrow. Night all, sweet dreams.

[Plumerias]

Well, no one else has answered, so........And sorry if I'm rambling, I'm not really awake yet.

Last time I ordered a 25 pound bag of dried beans was decades ago, from our local co-op. So if you have one of those and you're a member, see what kinds of options you'd have there. In the RV there isn't room for the kind of stock you're looking at, although if you're talking total volume, as in multiple smaller bags, yes. Across the country I have found the most cost effective places to buy dried pulses are ethnic grocery stores. When we were in the Orlando area (no longer the case) we shopped at Patel Brothers, an Indian grocery. I got their SWAD brand products, in four pound bags, which is the limit of our storage containers. I think they may carry some items in larger packages, but I never look at the bottom shelf, which is where they'd likely be. (They do have an online presence, although I can't imagine the cost to ship.) Another fascinating option is a Hispanic grocery. Wow! So much fun! Again, I know the larger bags are on the bottom shelves. The last option that comes to mind is to see what Whole Foods Market can order, but you'll pay their higher prices, and maybe they'll get the order right.

In our new home in Portland, Oregon, I found some local farms that grow dried beans, so I got some new ones to experiment with. They are indeed more expensive, but I like supporting the local guys, and I can do a pre-order pre-pay and just pick it up at the farmers market.

When we visited southwestern Colorado, we came across a company, Adobe Milling, that sold extremely cost effective products in the local grocery stores. Sometimes we still order cornmeal from them. Again, I suppose the shipping might be a deciding factor. https://www.anasazibeans.com/

[Bkworm]

Thanks, Plumerias,

Due to the difficulties we have had securing dried beans from our local grocery stores during the stay-at-home period, my husband thought we should just purchase dried beans in bulk from an online source. I usually keep at least 2 lbs packages of various types of beans in the pantry - black beans, pintos, baby Lima’s, etc., but even those have been difficult to secure over the past six weeks. While a meat shortage would not be a problem for us, a dried bean shortage would be a problem. Also, have not been able to cook dried beans in bulk since purchasing our instant pot. Looking forward to trying that out. Have cooked delicious pots of spicy black beans, plus pinto beans and baby Limas just to eat over brown rice. Just haven’t had freezer space to cook large quantities of dried beans to keep in the freezer.

Used to cook dried beans with no spices whatsoever in a slow cooker and divided them up into 2-cup increments to use in other recipes. Taste so much better, even when cooked with no spices, than any canned brand we have found. And so much more cost efficient.

The dried bean shortage actually surprised me because I did not think there were many people left who even know how to cook dried beans much less that many who eat them. Also do keep some canned beans in the pantry when needed quickly but they do take up a lot of shelf space in the pantry.

Thanks again,Plumerias. Sounds like you are enjoying your transition from the RV to a house.

[Bkworm]

Also Plumerias,

Believe I have been to Patel Brothers several times. Is it located across from the Florida Mall at the corner of OBT and Sand Lake Road? Due to our age and the fact that I deal with RA I have not been shopping since March 10. Only leave the house to go walking. My husband is still working at Advent Health in Engineering at 70. So far, no employee in Engineering at Advent Health Orlando has tested positive for the virus. So far, he has only had to go up where patients are once. He drives straight to work and back most days. However, he does occasionally stop at Whole Foods at Lee Road and 17-92 which is right on his way. Our wonderful son has been doing all the shopping.

Will check out Adobe Milling and Patel Brothers online sites and see what I can find out. Until the current situation developed, I always tried to purchase locally, too. But have had to make some adjustments.

In Lake Mary we do have an Indian shop where I purchase some items but I am not aware of any Hispanic grocery close by. Thanks for the ideas.

Stay safe.

[Plumerias]

Yes, that's the Patel Brothers store I mean. There are/were a few others on OBT, but since they put that median in, getting anywhere there is a pain. We went to one across from the Woodlands restaurant a few times, don't recall its name. A store here in Portland was/is taking orders online, with free delivery within a specified area. We're too far from them, so we had to pick our order up. Perhaps one of your local Indian grocers is doing that?

With respect to the omnivores buying all "our" foods, we don't watch the news much at all, as it offends us. So we weren't keeping up with the rapid changes. We were just driving across the country for the last time, taking our time, allowing for the weather. We were in Sacramento visiting with some friends and went to a local Safeway store. The entire beans and rice aisle was empty, I mean totally decimated, something I've never ever seen. And Safeway's prices are higher than Publix's. This was mid-March. We left early, the day their governor shut down the state, saw that headline on our way out of the RV park. A few days before that we tried to buy rice, without success. So we took a day trip up to the Lundburg warehouse store, where we bought a couple of 25 pound bags, where they had limits because people were trying to buy entire pallets. Strange times.

And I know some people really take exception to shopping at Walmart, but the one we used (192 and Lake Wilson) had decent stocks on dried goods. As to whether or not that's still the case???? Walmart does do a curbside pre-order thing, although we've not tried it our friends have, and they've been okay with it. Is Publix doing any of that?

Another company I've heard discussed, favorably, is Rancho Gordo. They do heirloom beans, prices reflect that.

Here in Portland, Bob's Red Mill, yes, you find their product in grocery stores all over, has been sold out of everything since we got here.

As for the transition from full time RV life to a house, it's been a roller coaster of a ride thanks to the present situation! We had to scramble quickly to find a place to live, clean out the RV and take it to the consignment dealer, and make furniture out of U-Haul boxes, as we hit here as this governor was closing things down! But, it's been a spectacularly lovely spring here, my goodness do they celebrate spring blooming, which helps with the transition. DH is doing all the shopping, bless him.