Per head of population, Great Britain consumes more cans of baked beans than any other country in the world. We love them. They first arrived in this country in 1901 courtesy of the Heinz canning business that was originally based in Pennsylvania USA.
There are other brands of baked beans but Heinz are by far the most popular. They sell around 50% of all baked beans in this country even though they have become the most expensive baked beans on the market. To me and many other Britons, non-Heinz baked beans just do not taste the same. Around one million cans of Heinz baked beans are consumed in this kingdom every single day.
Back in 1967 while sitting in a pub, a London advertising professional called Maurice Drake came up with a new jingle for the product: "A million housewives every day, open a can of beans and say Beanz Meanz Heinz". This clever slogan was so successful that even today everybody knows it and on the product label they still use "Beanz" with a zed (American: zee) rather than an "s".
At last Sunday's quiz, the tie break question was this: "According to the Heinz company, how many beans should you expect to find in a standard 415g tin of baked beans?" The correct answer was 465 - a figure which seemed rather too high to me so today I checked. I opened a tin and carefully counted 379 beans within!
This is not proof that I am crazy. Shirley and I were about to have a light lunch of beans on toast. This is a very popular option in The British Isles. However, fairly recently, I discovered that it is not really a thing in North America. I was surprised to learn that so in today's blogpost I am keen to promote the idea of beans on toast. Maybe it will take off across The Atlantic. I have no idea if it is a thing in Australia.
Beans on toast is a nutritious, quick and economical meal. Kids love it and I have never heard anybody say that they dislike beans on toast. It is also suitable for vegans and vegetarians. In my family, we tend to sprinkle some grated cheese on top before serving.
This was my lunch today. Beside it there was a mug of standard British breakfast tea with a spoonful of sugar and a glug of semi-skimmed milk. As John Gray in Trelawnyd, Wales would say - Bloody lovely!
Navy beans were the etymology of baked beans YP. White Haricot beans in tomato sauce. It's a staple English dish. A favourite of mine. Especially with brown bread.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you trump like Trump Dave! Just say, "I swear it was Bronte!"
DeleteProper English grub YP. None of that UK/ British stuff. I use to like the Heinz baked beans pizza.
DeleteHeinz Beanz are as English as a Big Mac.
DeleteMay I be the first to say that I loathe beanz on toast, yuk, yuk and thrice yuk.
ReplyDeleteWith time you may develop a more sophisticated palette JayCee.
DeleteI learn something everyday on blogs. Today I learned there was such a thing as beanz on toast. It amazes me almost as much as learning you chaps also eat beans with your breakfast. I guess baked beans has always been a stand alone supper side dish in my family and usually contains some added pork fat and molasses.
ReplyDeleteI dare you to eat beans on toast with a sprinkling of cheese!
DeleteI am not sure that if you weren't raised on beans on toast you will ever truly come to love them. Beans are great. Toast is too. But putting them together isn't something we regularly do here. I'm sure they are delicious, though.
ReplyDeleteUntil you mentioned this some time ago I never doubted that Americans would also be in love with beans on toast.
DeleteVery popular in Canada - and yes - it must be Heinz beans. But - they are a ridiculous prices now! Pre-pandemic I could pick up cans for around 89 cents - now they can go up to $3 a can! I wait for the sales - such as they are and stock up. We get a few different variety here and my favourite is with Maple Syrup. We don't get the Curry variety which I believe is popular in the UK and I would like to try that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the curry version in years Margie but it did exist... once!
DeleteI've never had beanz on toast. My oldest son who lives with me can't eat baked beans anymore as it hurts his stomach so we won't be trying this. I've never seen beans spelled with a "z" either. We used to have a rhyme "Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot" ;)
ReplyDeleteYou could have beans on toast without telling your son! The "z" at the end came directly from Maurice Drake's advertising jingle/slogan.
DeleteI have never had a tin of Heinz Beanz!
ReplyDeleteFlabbergasting! Perhaps America's greatest culinary invention.
DeleteMy favorite brand of beans is Bush's and they make a variety, most of which are not vegan since they are seasoned with pork. The vegetarian and onion varieties are vegan and they make a great hummus-like dip when processed with tahini, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, and coriander/cilantro.
ReplyDeleteWas the founder of this company George Dubya Bush?
DeleteBloody lovely
ReplyDeleteMy prediction came true!
DeleteHeinz beans are actually hard to find in the USA, the one's you buy are canned in England (there is an episode of Inside the Factory that features it.) Van Camps, Bush (not related to the former president) are much more common brands here. Serving beans for breakfast or on toast is very much a UK thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of canned beans to begin with, so beanz on toast sounds....well, not very appetizing. Sorry. More for you, right? :)
ReplyDeleteI USED to love beans on toast, for most of my childhood it was my favourite dinner. The tasteless hard little nuggets that pass for beans these days are a terrible thing to try and eat. Yes, even the Heinz brand! So I switched to SPC, and for a while they were...okay, but not now. Even the tomato sauce isn't as rich. I don't know what they are doing wrong, maybe the canning process is cut short (to save money and time) so the beans don't properly cook, but I haven't eaten baked beans in probably fifteen years.
ReplyDeleteI am not a huge lover of canned baked beans though I do eat them. On toast. Preferably sourdough.
ReplyDeleteI can't argue that they are convenient, cheap and pleasant enough. I'm pretty sure beans on toast would be a frequent option for lots of Australians and I know they show up frequently on the vegan facebook group I follow.
Add some hash browns and grilled tomato for a truly upmarket bean experience
I find any beans, with or without toast, no matter how they are served or which brand, quite revolting. I'm with Jaycee on this! They don't even look appetising in photos.
ReplyDeleteYes, we do eat them here. Lightly fried bacon, eggs and beans with toast are delicious. We always have a can in the pantry but probably only eat them about once a month. The late Australian cricketer Shane Warne always took cans of baked beans with him when he was playing in South Asia. Of all the wonderful food in the South Asia region...
ReplyDeleteI love beans and will gladly try the British breakfast of beans on toast, with cheese. Ellen D. gave one version of the bean ditty; there's another one a little less delicate that kids love to say because it contains the word fart which then brings howling laughter. Have a good day...tootles!
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, beans on toast is a nutritionally balanced meal, each compliments the other. Also, I have read that there are trials running for English grown baked beans which would make it a real British feast!
ReplyDeleteThe album cover for The Who Sell Out lp featured one of the group sitting in a bath of baked beans. At this distance in time I don't recall which one it was, and I believe that one of the jingle tracks on the album was about baked beans.
ReplyDeleteYum yum, delicious and nutritious!
ReplyDeleteI had a big mess of beans for my breakfast this morning but they were reheated refried beans, accompanied by flour tortillas, also heated in the microwave. Good!
ReplyDeleteI'll pass. My mum and her family loved them but not my thing. I'd eat them if I had to but would prefer not to.
ReplyDeleteI eat toast with baked beans, but with peanut butter on the toast. That Americanizes the beans-on-toast idea! Also, be sure not to accidentally buy the sugar-free Heinz Beanz because I've done it and they are sadly lacking.
ReplyDeleteI love them but eat them very rarely, as my staple food (when not cooking for us on weekends) is bread and cheese, or a bowl of salad (baby spinach leaves or Romana) with fresh yellow or red pepper, cucumber and sometimes feta cheese.
ReplyDeleteHeinz is a German name, so I guess the Heinz company has German roots somewhere down the line.