Calorie Count of Cooked Beans: Understanding Changes During Cooking

Question
I bought a package of dry "small red beans". On the package, it says, 1/4 cup dry equals 60 calories, which is 1 serving. Well, if I cook that 1/4 cup dry beans, it makes 1/2 cup cooked beans. What is the calorie content of it then? Would it still be 60 calories since I only added water to the beans? Thank you!

Answer
Kristy,

Since water doesn't have calories, theoretically cooking in water doesn't add any calories to the beans. However, your body gets much more calories out of cooked foods comparing with raw and dried ones because calorie availability increases as a food gets softer and juicier.

= TZ