super basic question: why do canned beans need to be rinsed?

[noya]

TIA!

[noya]

thanks everyone! I buy Eden Organic BPA-free sodium-free canned beans, and as was mentioned below, some recipes work better with the liquid (in this case seaweed). Just wanted to make sure there weren't any good reasons not to.

Thanks!!

[LauraGrace]

Whether or not I rinse depends entirely on the dish I'm cooking. Sometimes I want the extra starch (salt's not an issue as I buy no-salt-added beans 90% of the time) in the dish and sometimes I don't. For anything that's sauteed, salads, certain soups where I don't need the extra thickness, any dips, I rinse. For stew-like things where the beans are the centerpiece I don't rinse (or I start from dry beans to get a nicer-tasting bean "liquor") -- black beans and rice or red beans and rice. But finding a good-quality canned bean where the liquid's not an oversalted viscous mess really matters there.

[redfish62]

I rinse green peas to get rid of the added sugar, but never rinse beans. I exercise a lot so I need all the sodium I can get.

[sunshine842]

I have yet to find a good reason why I should consume the slime and salt that is the liquid in a can of beans.

[vircabutar]

Noya, i think it's primarily to rinse excess starch that leeches out of the beans. If you want a thicker soup/stew, then using them is okay (granted that you're using sodium or preservative-free canned beans). For salads, on the other hand, unwashed canned beans would be really slimy and goupy (again bc of the starch). It really depends what you want your final products to be.

[ipsedixit]

They don't "need" to be rinsed.

People rinse to rid themselves of the sodium.

[todao]

Open a can of beans and taste the liquid from the freshly opened can. I think that will answer your question.

[wyogal]

Because they will taste better, IMO. Some people don't rinse them, but I do, until there is no foam, and the water runs clear.
I usually replace that liquid with stock or other flavorful liquid.