Hi Mark - first, are you familiar with the instructions for canning dried beans?

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html

<My idea is to prepare maybe three or four kinds for canning by doing a long soak, simmering each kind in separate pots, then keeping them hot in the oven as I fill individual jars to get a full canner load. >

No problem as long as you can make sure each jar gets enough liquid in it and you get the jars filled quickly.

< I've had success with canning baked beans in a pressure canner. Has anyone done this before? What difficulties, problems or bad ideas am I overlooking?>

Baked Beans are a little bit different.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_baked.html

Hope this answers your questions.

Dave

What variety of beans do you use to make baked beans? The can of baked beans I have just say "white beans" as one of the ingredients.

Technically you can use any variety of dried beans to make baked beans but white (aka Navy, aka Great Northern) are probably the most common variety used. But there are several other varieties of beans folks use too like Pinto, Adzuki, Pink Eye, etc. Just gives a bit of different flavor.

Dave

Yes, I understand the differences between canning baked vs. dried beans. The NCHFP is such a great resource. I was mostly just interested in hearing if there were any unforseen pitfalls in juggling multiple pots of beans (not literally, of course) in one canning session. I think you're right that just being set up so I can get the jars all filled and in the canner quickly and keeping everything hot are the key things. First time I try this I'm going to go relatively small scale, too.

<First time I try this I'm going to go relatively small scale, too.>

Or grab a couple of extra hands if possible. :)

Dave

I've been entertaining the idea for awhile now to make baked beans a winter canning project. I'm concerned about the beans turning to mush during all of the cooking and processing. Anybody have any experiences to share?

I think it would depend on the recipe you used and the bean type used. One reason why some prefer to use pinto beans is they supposedly stay more firm.

But baked beans by their nature are a soft textured food. I wouldn't call them 'mush' but definitely soft.

Dave