What Kind of Beans do the English Eat for Breakfast?

Posted by DavidJOHNSON on July 9th, 2019

Baked beans, in many parts of the country, are a typical component of the Full English Breakfast. They may be an American creation, but the baked beans you’re being served back there, in no way compete with the English version.

Where did the dish “baked beans” come from?

When the Brits settled in America, they came across the navy bean, which was a vital part of the American Natives’ diet. Navy beans were an important source of protein for them – containing almost three times more than rice and wheat. The tribes used to bake their beans with bear fat, venison and maple syrup, techniques that they passed on to the arriving Europeans.

The pilgrims who first arrived in “New England,” weren’t allowed to cook on the holy Sunday, so the baked bean dinner from last night was kept warm as a stout and consumed as breakfast the next morning. Baked beans then evolved into stewed beans with pork and molasses. It was this stew that was first tinned during the 1860s US civil war for the American soldiers.  

In 1886, the Heinz company started exporting them back to the Kingdom, but along the way they began to adapt it to the local taste of the British, making it distinguished from the American version. The original baked beans made room for a new and lighter version with no pork, lesser sugar, and a thinner sauce.

The bean, the sauce,and the cooking

The beans you find in the tin are usually navy (or haricot) beans. Many recipes that you’ll find, however, will suggest you use pinot or broad beans, or a bigger version called cannellini beans. When preparing baked beansyourself, it is recommended to use the dried type. It is more time-intense as you need to soak them in water overnight, but there is less chance that you overcook them, and it’s also cheaper.

As for the sauce, there are as many versions out there as there are recipes. Typically, you would have tomatoes as the base (some use puree), adding some vinegar, sugar, and spices, which then essentially gives you ketchup with extra tomatoes. Some of the recipes only use tomatoes; othersadd onion, garlic, celery and carrot for extra flavor.

Even though, the dish is called “baked” beans; they are actually being stewed as we have learned in the above little history lesson. You don’t want to add the sauce too early, because that makes the beans all mushy. A lot of recipes suggest cooking sauce and beans separately and only adding them together towards the near end.

Whether you are having the tinned or the homemade version, combine them with toast and sausages, and you won’t have anything else for your breakfast anymore. So yummy, it makes you ignore the fact that beans make you fart.

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DavidJOHNSON

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DavidJOHNSON
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