We used to pack dried beans that way, but I was a young married then and I'm on Social Security now, so to say it's out of date is really understatement.

I have a 1982 canning book, and the pack then was par-cooked beans hot packed, so raw pack went by the wayside long, long ago.

Not to mention the raw beans absorb most of the liquid. So aside from the safety issues, what you're likely to be left with is half a jar of crunchy dry beans and no liquid.

So in short, forget those instructions. Don't even think about it.

(And why anyone would recommend cornstarch with a naturally starchy product like beans is beyond me.)

Carol

Agree - that is bad info. In addition all the reasons Carol mentioned the processing times are way off. They are even less than the processing times required for pre-soaked beans (75 and 90 min) when in fact they would have to be longer, a lot longer. At least 1/2 of the processing time would be spent just rehydrating the beans so that the heat could penetrate them. So with those instructions you'd end up with unsafe, under-processed beans.

Based on these instructions, I would not use any of the canning info found on that website.

Dave

The recipe just seemed wrong, which is why I asked about it. So far, I only BWB, no pressure canner, but I'm considering investing in one and recipes like these catch my eye from time to time. Normally, I stick with one of the Ball books or Small Batch Preserving. Thanks for the info.

Would it be safe to use the spices except the cornstarch, and use the nchfp guidelines for processing?

Yes adding dried herbs and spices poses no safety problems but take it easy with them as many can turn quite strong, even bitter, while on the shelf. Cornstarch doesn't fall into that safe category.

Dave