Product: Bush’s Best Garbanzos Chick Peas
Description: Prepared chick peas sold in 16-ounce cans and contained in water, salt, and calcium chloride.
Preparation summary: Ready to eat or can be added to stews, soups and other recipes.
High points: You say “garbanzo,” I say “chick peas,” and some Italian chef with a sexy accent pronounces them “ceci” beans. However they’re called, not all canned varieties of these high-protein legumes hold equal appeal.
Of the six brands we tried, which included S&W, Simple Truth, Goya, and Good & Gather, the garbanzos by Bush’s Best rivaled them all.
Reason No. 1: The slight coating of slime you normally rinse off garbanzos after opening the can wasn’t present anytime we brought them. The water inside was thinner and clearer compared to other brands.
Reason No. 2: They’re the plumpest, meatiest, and most tender. Nary a hard, under-cooked bean in the bunch surfaced.
Reason No. 3: These are neither the lowest or highest in salt, but just enough to adequately enhance their flavor. A single 5.3-ounce serving contains 480 milligrams of sodium.
Reason No. 4: Surprisingly, they’re not too gassy.
Low points: They’re not good enough to make a convert out of a bean hater.
Average retail price: $1.69
Availability: Major grocery stores
I have a garbanzo story. As a child, we ate garbanzo and fava beans roasted and salted.- like peanuts. Once, when I was 7 or 8, I spent the night at a friend’s…an equally Italian friend…and we ate so many of these nut/beans that I spent most of the night vomiting them. I have not been able to eat a garbanzo since…nearly 70 years later. For me, there is no such thing as a good garbanzo.