Baked beans are a dish traditionally containing white common beans that are parboiled and then baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but are cooked through a steam process.

Canned baked beans are commonly made using navy beans (known as haricot beans in the UK), which originated in Peru. In New England, various indigenous legumes are also used, such as Jacob's cattle, soldier beans and yellow-eyed beans. while Bush Brothers is the largest producer in the United States.

Canned baked beans are used as a convenience food; most are made from navy beans in sauce. Traditionally served hot, they may be eaten hot or cold, and straight from the can, as they are fully cooked. H. J. Heinz began producing canned baked beans in 1886. In the early 20th century, canned baked beans gained more widespread use, particularly in the United Kingdom, where they are commonly served in a full breakfast.

Origin

thumb|right|Three beanpots used for cooking [[Cooking#Home-cooking vs. factory cooking|homemade baked beans. The small one is glazed with the letters "Boston Baked Beans".]]

The origins of baked beans are traced to the first peoples of the Americas who began preparing beans using the method of soaking and baking them during ancient history. Evidence of preparing beans in this manner date back to c. 1500 BC in the Maya civilization.

In the northeast of America various Native American peoples, including the Iroquois, the Narragansett and the Penobscot, mixed beans, maple sugar, and bear fat in earthenware pots which they placed in pits called "bean holes" which were lined in hot rocks to cook slowly over a long period of time. The bean hole cooking method later became a tradition in Maine that was practiced in logging camps where beans prepared in this way were served as every meal. They substituted molasses or sugar for the maple syrup, bacon or ham for the bear fat, and simmered their beans for hours in pots over the fire instead of underground. This variation likely resulted from the colonists receiving the dish from different Native peoples who used different native beans. It is possible that English colonists used their knowledge of cassoulet cooking to modify the cooking technique of the beans from the traditional Native American version, by soaking the bean overnight and simmering the beans over a fire before baking it in earthen pots in order to decrease the cooking time. However, this method of soaking and boiling beans was already in practice in the Americas during the Mayan civilization, and was already a known method of preparing beans in the cultures of the first peoples of the Americas prior to European settlement. The addition of onion and mustard to some baked beans recipes published in New England in the 19th century was likely based on traditional 17th century cassoulet recipes from Staffordshire, England, which utilized honey and mustard cured hams, beans, and onions or leeks. Keith Stavely writes that there is no evidence that Native Americans cooked beans using pots or holes in the ground, although it is possible that this method was employed, and so native bean preparation may have been an influence on American baked beans alongside the established English methods the settlers had brought.

The first mass-produced commercial canning of baked beans in the United States began in 1895 by the Pennsylvania-based H. J. Heinz Company. They began selling baked beans throughout the UK in 1901, and baked beans became a standard part of the English full breakfast. Heinz removed pork from the product during World War II rationing.

thumb|Baked beans on sourdough toast, served in a café in London, England

Originally, Heinz Baked Beans were prepared in the traditional United States manner for sales in Ireland and Great Britain. Over time, the recipe was altered to a less sweet tomato sauce with a mix of herbs and spices but without maple syrup, molasses, or brown sugar to appeal to the tastes of the United Kingdom. This is the version of baked beans most commonly eaten outside of the United States. Baked beans are commonly eaten on toast ("beans on toast") or as part of a full breakfast. The Baked Bean Museum of Excellence in Port Talbot, Wales, was dedicated to baked beans.

Recipes and use as food

While many recipes are commonly stewed, traditionally dried beans were soaked overnight, simmered until tender (parboiled), and then slow-baked in a ceramic or cast-iron beanpot. In the absence of a brick oven, the beans were cooked in a beanpot nestled in a bed of embers placed near the outer edges of a hearth, about a foot away from the fire. Today, baked beans can be made in a slow cooker or in a modern oven using a traditional beanpot, Dutch oven, or casserole dish. They are easily prepared and consumed, and can be served hot or cold directly from the can, making them handy for outdoor eating. This concession was criticised by heart specialists, who pointed to the high levels of sugar and salt in the product. Some manufacturers produce a "healthy" version of the product with reduced levels of sugar and salt.

See also

  • Baked beans pizza
  • "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit", a playground saying referring to the capacity for beans to cause increased flatulence
  • List of legume dishes
  • Refried beans

References

  • How are baked beans actually made? delicious, 3 December 2024