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Baked beans
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Baked beans is a dish consisting of beans, baked (or, despite the name, usually stewed) in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as Navy Beans - a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris - and sold in a sauce.
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Baked beans is a dish consisting of beans, baked (or, despite the name, usually stewed) in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as Navy Beans - a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris - and sold in a sauce. In the United Kingdom, tomato sauce is most commonly used. A similar dish is pork and beans.
Baked beans are cheap to make and buy. British supermarkets may sell store brand baked beans for less than twenty pence a tinned can although some premium organic brands may be as expensive as £1.50. Baked beans are a classic example of a "loss leader", 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 bacon, or as a pizza topping.
History
According to alternative traditions, sailors brought cassoulet from the south of France, or the regional bean stew recipes from northern France and the Channel Islands.
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.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the term baked beans refers almost exclusively to canned beans in a tomato sauce, which form an integral part of the modern Full English Breakfast. As the top selling brand of baked beans, historically Heinz has become synonymous with them, although the growing popularity of other brands has reduced this to an extent. Heinz Beans were first sold in the UK in the upmarket Fortnum & 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.
The Heinz company markets their product in the UK under the name "Heinz Beanz" (before July 2008 as "Heinz Baked Beans"), in reference to a 1960s advertisement campaign which used the slogan "Beanz Meanz Heinz". The 'strapline' for this campaign is likely to have emerged from an earlier market research report authored by . The principal finding of that market research report was that consumers associated the Heinz brand with baked beans, and little else. This finding was subsequently adopted by Heinz' advertising agency.
Their low price and wide availability has lead to baked beans becoming a staple food in the United Kingdom, especially popular among students and those on a tight budget.
Globally
In the United States, Bush's is the top producer of baked beans, and the company produces several flavours. Most of these products are in a very sweet sauce with little tang. By comparison, home-made baked beans are considerably tangier.
There are substantial differences between the Heinz baked beans sold in the UK and the nearest equivalent US product (Heinz Premium Vegetarian Beans). The US beans contain brown sugar where the British beans do not, and the US product contains 14g of sugar per 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 colour than their UK counterpart. For several years, the UK Heinz Baked Beans have been available in the US, either in different sized cans than 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.
In New England baked beans usually are sweetened with maple syrup, and are traditionally cooked with salt pork in a beanpot in a brick oven for a full day.
In southern states along the eastern seaboard of the US, the beans become tangier usually due to the addition of yellow mustard. Ground beef also becomes common alongside bacon in these beans. They take on a flavor similar to Cowboy Beans, a similar popular dish.
In Poland, with addition of bacon these are known as Breton Beans (fasolka po bretonsku).
Many unusual dishes are made with baked beans including the baked bean sandwich. These are slices of bread topped with beans and other additions, such as melted cheese.
Traditional cuisines of many regions claim such recipes as typical specialities, for example:
Health
In 2002 the British Dietetic Association 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 specialists who pointed to the high levels of sugar and salt in the product. Some manufacturers produce a "healthy option" version of the product with lower levels of sugar and salt. Baked Beans are known to cause a considerable increase in flatulence following consumption.
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