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 Baked beans in tomato sauce | |
| Region or state | Various |
|---|---|
| Serving temperature | Heated or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | Whitecommon beans (usuallynavy beans) |
| Similar dishes | Fèves au lard,refried beans |
Baked beans is adish traditionally containing whitecommon beans that areparboiled and thenbaked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period.[1] Canned baked beans are not baked, but are cooked through a steam process.[2]
Canned baked beans are commonly made usingnavy beans (known as haricot beans in the UK), which originated inPeru.[3] InNew England, variousindigenouslegumes are also used, such as Jacob's cattle, soldier beans and yellow-eyed beans.[4]
Beans in abrown sugar, sugar, orcorn syrup sauce (with or without tomatoes) are widely available in many countries.Kraft Heinz is the largest manufacturer of canned baked beans in Europe,[5] whileBush Brothers is the largest producer in the United States.[6]
Canned baked beans are used as aconvenience 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.[7]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 afull breakfast.
The origins of baked beans are traced to thefirst peoples of theAmericas who began preparing beans using the method of soaking and baking them duringancient history. Evidence of preparing beans in this manner date back to c. 1500 BC in theMaya civilization.[8]
In the northeast of America variousNative American peoples, including theIroquois, theNarragansett and thePenobscot, 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.[9][10][11] 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.[9] A fire would be made in a stone-lined pit and allowed to burn down to hot coals, and then a pot with 11 pounds of seasoned beans would be placed in the ashes, covered over with dirt, and left to cook overnight or longer.[12][9]
British colonists inNew England were the first westerners to introduce their version of the dish to the area, and were quick to adapt the Native American version because it was very similar topease pudding and because the dish used ingredients native to the New World.[10][13] 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.[10] Each colony in America had its own regional variations of the dish, with navy or white pea beans used in Massachusetts, Jacob's Cattle and soldier beans used in Maine, and yellow-eyed beans in Vermont.[4] This variation likely resulted from the colonists receiving the dish from different Native peoples who used different native beans.[4]
While some historians have theorized that baked beans had originated from thecassoulet or bean stew tradition in Southern France, this is unlikely as the beans used to make baked beans are all native to North America and were introduced to Europe around 1528.[14] 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.[15] 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.[8]
A dish similar to baked beans, beans and bacon, was known in medieval England.[16][17][18] The addition of onion andmustard 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.[15] These ingredients are still often added to baked beans today.[15] Nineteenth-century cookbooks published in New England, spread to other portions of the United States and Canada, which familiarized other people with the dish.[15]
InTurkey,kuru fasulye is a similar white bean stew in a tomato sauce.
The modern recipe for American baked beans originated in the late nineteenth century as part of an effort to create a story of a National cuisine descended from the time of thePilgrim Fathers, when it was supposedly communicated to them by kindly natives. In reality, there is no evidence sweetened baked beans existed before theVictorian era and the recipe was influenced by sugar andmolasses being newly available in abundance then.[19] 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.[15]
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Canned beans, often containing pork, were among the firstconvenience foods, and were exported and popularized by U.S. companies internationally in the early 20th century.[20] TheU.S. Food and Drug Administration stated in 1996: "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." The included pork is typically a piece ofsalt pork that adds fat to the dish.[21]
The first mass-produced commercial canning of baked beans in the United States began in 1895 by the Pennsylvania-basedH. J. Heinz Company.[6] Heinz was also the first company to sell baked beans outside of the United States, beginning with sales limited solely toFortnum & Mason in 1886, when the item was considered a luxury.[22] They began selling baked beans throughout the UK in 1901, and baked beans became a standard part of the Englishfull breakfast soon after.[6] Heinz removed pork from the product duringWorld War II rationing.[23]
Originally,Heinz Baked Beans were prepared in the traditional United States manner for sales inIreland andGreat Britain. Over time, the recipe was altered to a less sweettomato 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.[24][20][23] 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.[20] Heinz Baked Beans remains the best-selling brand in the UK.[25] TheBaked Bean Museum of Excellence inPort Talbot, Wales, was dedicated to baked beans.[26]
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 393 kJ (94 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21.1 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 7.96 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 4.1 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.37 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4.75 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 72 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated usingUS recommendations for adults,[27] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from theNational Academies.[28] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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-ironbeanpot.[4] Originally baked beans were sweetened withmaple syrup by Native Americans, a tradition some recipes still follow, but some English colonists modified the sweetening agent to brown sugar beginning in the 17th century.[17] In the 18th century the convention of using American mademolasses as a sweetening agent became increasingly used in order to avoid British taxes on sugar.[17] The molasses style of baked beans has become closely associated with the city of Boston and is often referred to asBoston baked beans.[29]
Today in the New England region, baked beans are flavored either with maple syrup (Northern New England), or with molasses (Boston), and are traditionally cooked withsalt pork in a beanpot in abrick oven for six to eight hours.[29] 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 aslow cooker or in a modern oven using a traditional beanpot,Dutch oven, orcasserole dish.[15] Regardless of cooking method, the results of the dish, commonly described as having asavory-sweet flavor and a brownish- or reddish-tinted white bean, are the same.[10]
While initially a New England regional cuisine, baked beans have become a common item in many countries, and are now a staple item served atbarbecues andpicnics.[30] They are easily prepared and consumed, and can be served hot or cold directly from the can, making them handy for outdoor eating.[7]
Canned baked beans (plain or vegetarian) are 72% water, 21%carbohydrates, 5%protein, and contain negligiblefat (table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), baked beans supply 393 kilojoules (94 kilocalories) offood energy and 4 g (0.14 oz) ofdietary fiber. They are a rich source (21% of theDaily Value, DV) ofzinc and a moderate source ofcopper andsodium, with no othermicronutrients in significant content (table).
In 2002 in the UK, manufacturers of canned baked beans were allowed to advertise the product as contributing to the recommended daily consumption of five to six vegetables per person.[31] This concession was criticised byheart specialists, who pointed to the high levels of sugar and salt in the product.[32] Some manufacturers produce a "healthy" version of the product with reduced levels of sugar and salt.[33]
Broad beans were a major field crop in medieval England. Presumably they were eaten fresh in July and August, being boiled with bacon as they were up to the mid-twentieth century." ,""Drawn beans cook as in the first recipe, adding a large onion and a pinch of saffron"
