L. from Washington writes: "I do a lot with beans and prefer the canned bean texture to the dried bean texture. Any suggestions on how to get my dried beans to be softer and more like canned beans?"

OK, Readers, what do you think? Is it the salt in the beans that give it the perfect texture? Is there a machine that cooks the beans perfectly?

My personal experience is that my husband likes beans best soaked overnight and cooked on the stove nearly two hours. What works in your house?