Baked beans is a
dishA dish in gastronomy is a specific food preparation, a "distinct article or variety of food", with cooking finished, and ready to eat, or be served.A "dish" may be served on dishware, or may be eaten out of hand; but breads are generally not called "dishes"....
containing beans, sometimes
bakedBaking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a
sauceIn cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
. Most commercial
cannedCanning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of
Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a
tomatoA tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
and
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
sauce is most commonly used. In the United States there are multiple styles, Boston baked beans use a sauce prepared with
molassesMolasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
and
salt porkSalt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...
, the popularity of which has led to the city being nicknamed "Beantown". Beans in a tomato and
brown sugarBrown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
, sugar or
corn syrupCorn syrup is a food syrup, which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor...
sauce are a widely available type throughout the US.
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
-style beans often use
maple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
. Canned baked beans are used as a
convenience foodConvenience food, or tertiary processed food, is commercially prepared food designed for ease of consumption. Products designated as convenience foods are often prepared food stuffs that can be sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or...
, shortening cooking times for a meal, or may be eaten straight from the can, in camping or emergency settings as they are pre-cooked.
Baked beans is a
dishA dish in gastronomy is a specific food preparation, a "distinct article or variety of food", with cooking finished, and ready to eat, or be served.A "dish" may be served on dishware, or may be eaten out of hand; but breads are generally not called "dishes"....
containing beans, sometimes
bakedBaking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a
sauceIn cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
. Most commercial
cannedCanning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of
Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a
tomatoA tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...
and
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
sauce is most commonly used. In the United States there are multiple styles, Boston baked beans use a sauce prepared with
molassesMolasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
and
salt porkSalt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...
, the popularity of which has led to the city being nicknamed "Beantown". Beans in a tomato and
brown sugarBrown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
, sugar or
corn syrupCorn syrup is a food syrup, which is made from the starch of maize and contains varying amounts of maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor...
sauce are a widely available type throughout the US.
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
-style beans often use
maple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
. Canned baked beans are used as a
convenience foodConvenience food, or tertiary processed food, is commercially prepared food designed for ease of consumption. Products designated as convenience foods are often prepared food stuffs that can be sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or...
, shortening cooking times for a meal, or may be eaten straight from the can, in camping or emergency settings as they are pre-cooked.
History
The beans used to make baked beans are all native to
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and were introduced to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1528 and to
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by 1547. Beans, squash and
maizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
were grown together by Native Americans using the
Three SistersThe Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans ....
method of farming. The dish of baked beans is commonly described as having a savory-sweet flavor and a brownish or reddish tinted white bean once baked, stewed, canned or otherwise cooked.
According to alternative traditions, sailors brought
cassouletCassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....
from the south of France, or the regional bean stew recipes from northern France and the
Channel IslandsThe Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. Most probably, a number of regional bean recipes coalesced and cross-fertilised in North America and ultimately gave rise to the baked bean culinary tradition familiar today.
While many recipes today are stewed, traditionally beans were slow baked in a ceramic or cast-iron
beanpotThe Beanpot refers primarily to a men's ice hockey tournament among the four major college hockey schools of the Boston, Massachusetts area, held annually since the 1952-53 season. The tournament gives the winner bragging rights over its cross-town rivals, and the quest for this highly sought-after...
. There's a tradition in
MaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
of "bean hole" cooking, considered originated by the native Penobscot people and later practiced in
loggingLogging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
camps, where by a fire would be made in a stone-lined pit, allowed to burn down to hot coals, and then eleven pounds of seasoned beans in a cast iron pot would be placed in the ashes, covered over with dirt and left to cook overnight or longer. These beans were a staple of Maine's logging camps, being served at every meal.
CannedCanning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
beans, often with pork, were among the first convenience foods. Canned salt pork and beans with stewed
tomatoThe word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es was supplied to the US Army during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in the 1860s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated in 1996 that "It has for years been recognized by consumers generally that the designation 'beans with pork,' or 'pork and beans' is the common or usual name for an article of commerce that contains very little pork." This is typically a piece of
salt porkSalt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...
to add fat to the dish.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the term
baked beans refers almost exclusively to canned beans in a tomato sauce. Many people regard baked beans as integral part of the modern Full English Breakfast, including beans on toast. As the top selling brand of baked beans, historically the
H. J. Heinz CompanyThe H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
has become synonymous with them, although the growing popularity of other brands such as Branston Baked Beans, own brands, and
HP baked beansHP Foods Limited, formerly based in Birmingham, United Kingdom was best known as the producer of HP, Lea & Perrins and Daddies sauce brands. It was also the UK licensee of Chinese food and condiment brand, Amoy Food....
(later purchased by Heinz), has reduced this. Heinz Baked Beans were first sold in the UK in 1886 in the upmarket
Fortnum & MasonFortnum & Mason, often shortened to just "Fortnum's" is a department store, situated in central London, with two other branches in Japan. Its headquarters is located at 181 Piccadilly, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason...
store in London as an exotic import at a high price. Although they are now a staple food, and arguably a downmarket one, the store continues the tradition of selling Heinz Beans among its more expensive wares. Up until the Second World War cans of Heinz Baked Beans were produced with a piece of pork - this was removed from the cans due to rationing and never made it back in again.
Baked beans are also considered to be a staple food of students, as they are typically easily heated in a microwave and are very cheap. British supermarkets may sell
store brandStore brands are a line of products sold by a retailer under a single marketing identity. They bear a similarity to the concept of House brands, Private label brands in the United States, own brands in the UK, and home brands in Australia and generic brands...
baked beans for less than thirty pence a tinned can although some premium
organicOrganic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
brands price at 79 pence Baked beans are a classic example of a
loss leaderA loss leader or leader is a product sold at a low price to stimulate other profitable sales. It is a kind of sales promotion, in other words marketing concentrating on a pricing strategy. A loss leader is often a popular article...
, a product sold by supermarkets for an abnormally low price, often less than cost. Baked beans have recently begun appearing in conjunction with other foods, such as a filler inside sausages, as a sidedish with
baconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, eggs and toast as part of a
full breakfastA full breakfast is a meal that consists of several courses, traditionally a starter , a main course, tea with milk, toast and marmalade or other preserves. Many variations are possible....
, or as a
pizzaPizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
topping.
UK style baked beans are also popular in Australia and New Zealand.
United States
In the United States, Bush's (
Bush Brothers and CompanyBush Brothers and Company is a family-owned corporation based in Knoxville, Tennessee, best known for its baked beans and more than forty other related products. It operates plants in Augusta, Wisconsin, and Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.-History:...
),
Van Camp'sVan Camp’s is a brand of canned beans currently owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Their products typically consist of beans stewed in a flavored sauce...
, B&M (Burnham & Morrill Inc.), Allens, Inc., the
H. J. Heinz CompanyThe H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
, and the Campbell's Soup Company are well-known producers or brands of packaged baked beans. B&M specializes in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-style baked beans often sold in beanpot shaped jars, and canned brown bread, a traditional regional accompaniment to baked beans. Whereas Bush and Van Camp produce multiple flavor varieties of canned beans, some styles using cured
baconBacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
to add its flavorings to the products.
In the
New EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
region baked beans are flavored either with
maple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
(Northern New England), or with
molassesMolasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
(Boston), and are traditionally cooked with
salt porkSalt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...
in a
beanpotThe Beanpot refers primarily to a men's ice hockey tournament among the four major college hockey schools of the Boston, Massachusetts area, held annually since the 1952-53 season. The tournament gives the winner bragging rights over its cross-town rivals, and the quest for this highly sought-after...
in a brick oven for six to eight hours.
In
southern statesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and along the
eastern seaboardThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
of the US, the beans become tangier usually due to the addition of yellow mustard. For example the baked beans of
TennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
based
Bush'sBush Brothers and Company is a family-owned corporation based in Knoxville, Tennessee, best known for its baked beans and more than forty other related products. It operates plants in Augusta, Wisconsin, and Chestnut Hill, Tennessee.-History:...
include mustard in most of their varieties of beans.
Ground beefBeef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
may also become common alongside bacon in the home versions some of these bean styles. They may take on a flavor similar to
Cowboy BeansCowboy beans is a bean dish popular in the United States. The dish consists of beans and ground beef in a sweet and tangy sauce. The flavor is similar to baked beans but with a southwestern twist...
, a home mixed stew, somewhat similar to a
chiliChili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
but made instead with sweet baked beans.
Heinz baked beans became very successful as an
exportThe term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
to the UK, where canned baked beans are now a
stapleA staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
breakfast food, in America the H. J. Heinz Co. continue to sell baked beans, however they are not always as widely distributed as competing American brands. Despite their international fame there are currently substantial differences between the Heinz baked beans produced for the UK market (descended from the original American recipe) and the nearest currently equivalent American product (Heinz Premium Vegetarian Beans). The American product contains
brown sugarBrown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
where the British beans do not, and the US product contains 14g of sugar per 16 oz tin compared to 7g for the British version (equating to 140 vs 90 calories). The US beans have a mushier texture and are darker in color than their UK counterpart. This has resulted in a situation where the product is now imported to the brand's home country. For several years, the UK Heinz Baked Beans have been available in the US, either in different sized cans from those sold in the UK or in a 385 gram can (the same can as the 415 gram can in the UK) with an "export" label with American English spelling and the word "baked" dropped from the title on the label. These are sold in many US specialty stores, such is the popularity of baked beans and their appeal to expats.
Bush, Van Camp, B&M, and Heinz all produce pork-free baked beans labeled as vegetarian beans, making this American dish available to people who abstain from pork for religious, dietary, or ethical reasons.
Elsewhere
Traditional cuisines of many regions claim such recipes as typical specialities, for example:
- In Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, with the addition of bacon and/or sausage these are known as Breton Beans (fasolka po bretońsku).
- Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
bean crock
- Boston baked beans
Boston baked beans are a variety of baked beans, typically sweetened with molasses or maple syrup and flavored with salt pork or bacon.Native Americans had made corn bread and baked beans. The Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony learned these recipes in the early 1620s, and likely added barley to the corn...
- Pork and beans
Pork and beans is a culinary dish that uses pork and beans as its main ingredients. Numerous variations exist from Fabada Asturiana to Olla podrida to American canned pork and beans.-American canned pork and beans:...
, which despite the name often contain very little pork
- Guernsey Bean Jar
Bean Jar is a local dish of the Channel Island of Guernsey. The traditional Guernsey Bean Jar has been around for centuries, and still proves popular today. It is a cassoulet-type bean dish.- History :...
- Spanish Fabada
- French Cassoulet
Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....
- Feijoada
Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical from Brazilian Cuisine, is also typical in Angola, Mozambique, Goa, India and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered by many as the national dish...
- Fassolia
- New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
baked beans
- Quebec-style
Quebecs traditional cuisine is today being rediscovered and is as rich and diverse as Quebec itself. The historical context of 'traditional' Quebec cuisine is from the fur trade period and many dishes have a high fat or lard content...
baked beans are often prepared with maple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
.
- Bean-hole beans, traditionally from Northern New England and Quebec, cooked in a covered fire pit in the ground for up to two days
- British cuisine
English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, largely due to the importation of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China, and India...
claims beans on toastToast is bread that has been browned by exposure to radiant heat. This browning reaction is known as the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread and makes it firmer, so it holds toppings more securely...
as a teatimeTea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes, depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However, in those countries where the term's use is common, the influences are generally those of the former British Empire...
favourite, the combination of cerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
and legume forming an inexpensive complete proteinA complete protein is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the dietary needs of humans or other animals...
; compare rice and beansRice and beans is a very popular dish in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in communities of Latino, Caribbean or Sephardic...
. Variations of "Beans on Toast Deluxe" can include extras as such as eggEggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, grated cheeseGrated cheese is a type of cheese that has gone through the process of being grated. Typically, aged hard cheeses are used for this purpose. A hand grater can be used to manually grate the cheese, or cheese can be bought already grated...
, marmiteMarmite is the name given to two similar food spreads: the original British version, first produced in the United Kingdom and later South Africa, and a version produced in New Zealand...
, tunaTuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
etc., and baked beans sometimes form part of a full English breakfastA full breakfast is a meal that consists of several courses, traditionally a starter , a main course, tea with milk, toast and marmalade or other preserves. Many variations are possible....
.
- Beans cooked in barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...
(or a similarly flavoured sauce) are a traditional side-dish in an American barbecueBarbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
.
- "Franks & beans", a recipe wherein hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s are cut up and cooked in the same sauce as the baked beans. In Canada, this recipe is more commonly called "beans and wieners".
- In Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
baked beans are also popular: black beans (frijoles negrosFrijoles negros is a nutritious dish made with black beans, prepared in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and several other nations in Latin America. The black bean, a legume of the species Phaseolus vulgaris, are usually purchased in either canned or dried form. 1 cup of dried black beans yields...
) and pinto beans (frijoles pintos) are the most common.
- In the Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, they are known as Prebranac.
- In Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, they are known as Tomatbønner
- In Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, they are known as Bakaðar baunir
Many unusual dishes are made with baked beans including the
baked bean sandwichThe baked bean sandwich is a meal, in its simplest form consisting of baked beans between two slices of bread.- Origins :Recipes for a baked bean sandwich can be traced from as early as 1909 - one book entitled "Cooking For Two" by Janet Mckenzie Hill suggests such a recipe as a "substitute for...
. These are slices of bread topped with beans and other additions, such as melted cheese.
Health
In 2002 the
British Dietetic AssociationThe British Dietetic Association is a professional association and trade union for dieticians in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1936 and became a certified union in 1982; it is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.The BDA was established in 1936...
allowed manufacturers of canned baked beans to advertise the product as contributing to the recommended daily consumption of five - six vegetables per person. This concession was criticised by
heart specialistsCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
who pointed to the high levels of
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and
saltIn chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
in the product. However, it has been proven that consumption of baked beans does indeed lower total cholesterol levels and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, even in normo-cholesterolaemic individuals. Some manufacturers produce a "
healthy optionA healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve general health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of...
" version of the product with lower levels of sugar and salt.
Flatulence
Baked beans are known on occasion to cause a considerable increase in
flatulenceFlatulence is the expulsion through the rectum of a mixture of gases that are byproducts of the digestion process of mammals and other animals. The medical term for the mixture of gases is flatus, informally known as a fart, or simply gas...
following consumption; this is due to the
fermentationFermentation is the process of extracting energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. In contrast, respiration is where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen,...
of
polysaccharidePolysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules, of repeated monomer units joined together by glycosidic bonds. They range in structure from linear to highly branched. Polysaccharides are often quite heterogeneous, containing slight modifications of the repeating unit. Depending on the structure,...
s (specifically
oligosaccharideAn oligosaccharide is a saccharide polymer containing a small number of component sugars, also known as simple sugars...
s) by
gut floraGut flora consists of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of animals and is the largest reservoir of human flora. In this context, gut is synonymous with intestinal, and flora with microbiota and microflora....
, specifically
Methanobrevibacter smithiiMethanobrevibacter smithii is the dominant archaeon in the human gut. It is important for the efficient digestion of polysaccharides because it consumes end products of bacterial fermentation. Methanobrevibacter smithii is a single-celled micro-organism from the Archaea domain. M...
. The oligosaccharides pass through the upper
intestineIn human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
largely unchanged, and when they reach the lower
intestineIn human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
,
bacteriaBacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
feed on them, producing copious amounts of flatus. This condition is the basis for the children's song, "
Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit"Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit" is a schoolyard saying and children's song about the capacity for beans to contribute to flatulence. The song is also variously known as "Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit", "Beans, Beans, the Miracle Fruit", and "Beans, Beans, the Wonderful Fruit"...
".
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