Splodge them into a Stew (Tesco Value Red Kidney Beans)

Member Name: flutel

Product:	Tesco Value Red Kidney Beans
Date:	14/06/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: excellent quality and value for money

Disadvantages: Can't think of any......ugly tin

This is another basic staple of your cupboard.

Contents and nutritional information
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Red Kidney Beans, Water, Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride).

In a single serving of these beans you will get 8.3g of protein, 21.4g of carbohydrate, 4.3g sugars (this is a natural sugar found in the bean) and 7.4g of fibre.

It is interesting to note that the protein content is higher than the fibre (what beans are mostly associated with). Because I am a vegan, so many people ask me, "What do you eat for protein?" A closer look at beans show that protein is really not a problem.

Appearance
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Tesco value kidney beans come in the regulation white value can with the blue striped value flashing and the other red bits. The can states that it weighs 400g but in reality the contents weigh 240g (clearly stated on the can). When opened with a tin opener (no ring pull) a reddish liquid is seen containing the fairly smallish kidney beans. When these are drained and rinsed (they look much better after a quick spruce up), they look much the same as every other cooked kidney bean on the planet; deep red and glossy.

Cooking with kidney beans
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I often cook up a hasty concoction which I lovingly call 'splodge'. This is when I have run out of ideas and am tired but I want to eat something that is healthy and makes me feel good because of it. Typically, this is after a long, horrible day at work.

Cue convo in our house:

"What's for tea?"
"Splodge."
"Oh."

These beans are great to sling into a sauce with onions, peppers, carrots, garlic and tomatoes. You can even (obviously) chillify the splodge with the addition of some chillis or chilli sauce. Flavour this well and it is great with cous cous or brown rice. It is very likely that you get all of your five-a-day in one go. The splodge always goes down better than people think it will. If everybody ate 'splodge' we would be a healthier nation. Maybe I should start a campaign, 'Eat splodge for health!'. I digress. Other interesting ideas to explore are mashing them up and adding flavours and some bulking agents (like breadcrumbs) to make kidney bean burgers.

Taste
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The beans are firm on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. because of the great texture, tinned beans are much easier to add to food than preparing dried beans. Hydrating dried beans for hours and then boiling them for what seems like hours rarely makes kidney beans feel as soft on the inside as the ones in the value tin.

Cost
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A tin of value kidney beans will set you back 25p. The non value Tesco (no added sugar or salt) brand is currently selling at 55p as it is on offer from the usual price of 61p. This shows that the value brand of beans is less than half the price of the regular beans - even when they are on offer. The value brand tin does not have any sugar or salt in it anyway. However, I must note that the non value brand tin is ever so slightly larger at 420g. That might be three extra beans!

Conclusion
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With this particular product, it is difficult to see why anyone would fork out for the more expensive brand. They defiantely are excellent value for money.

Summary: Have some standby cans in the cupboard.