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Bean broth?

I was reading this recipe for Drunken Beans from my favorite food porn radio show, The Splendid Table, and I got myself all confuserlated.  It calls for four cups of cooked beans, in their broth.  I guessed correctly that the broth means “liquid you cooked the things in, dummy,” but was confused by the absence of any sort of quantity.  I guess whatever fills in the cracks of 4 cups of beans.  But I wasn’t sure, so I did some Googling.

And came across this fascinating article about bean broths or bean stocks on a site called Culinate.  The article takes the idea of a bean stock to a more elevated level, suggesting that perhaps you add in some carrots, onions, bay leaves, and the like to the beans while they cook, as if you were making a more conventional vegetarian stock.

This is a real win, guys.  A twofer.  While you’re making beans for a recipe, you can add a few more ingredients (with no extra work), and end up with more flavorful beans, and a delicious, useful, and unknown byproduct!  Fantastic.  Again, measure out the stuff into bags and freeze for later.

I’m going to have to start reading Culinate, I think…

In the words of Pepin, Happy Cooking.