English beans on toast?

[DonShirer]

I like to read British mysteries. Strangely, the food most often mentioned
in this genre is "beans on toast", evidently an everyday item used for
breakfast lunch or dinner (at least according to the authors).

Being a lover of (Boston type) baked beans, I tried some on wheat toast.
Didn't seem to be different enough to make it worthwhile.

Am I missing something? Did I use the right kind of beans or bread?
Could some chowhound Brits fill in the blanks here?

Don Shirer
Westbrook, CT.

[Querencia]

Beans On Toast, here's how you do it: 1) Toast a slice of whole wheat bread. 2) Butter it while it's hot. 3) Over it pour the contents of a can of whatever style of pork & beans (in England, baked beans) you like. The beans should be very hot. 4) Eat this with a knife and fork (it doesn't pick up well) and with a pickle on the side. 5) If you drink a mug of hot strong tea with it the whole thing is called A Bean Tea.

[pikawicca]

I've had numerous servings of beans on toast over the years in England, and all were on white toast, and none contained pork.

[cathodetube]

White toast tends to be served in greasy spoon cafes. I like mine on granary toast. But pork and beans are certainly not traditional. Pork in the form of bacon or sausage can be served on the side, usually at breakfast.

[gembellina]

Prok is definitely non-traditional, as is pickle (whether we're talking about Branston-type pickle/chutney, or American dill pickles). I've never heard the phrase "bean tea" either! Where in the UK does that name come from?

[Harters]

There may be something historical in "pork & beans" - during the Great War, tins of pork and beans were issued as rations to British & Dominion troops in the trenches. Food during the war is a current interest of mine. There is little information available but it seems the issue started with Canadian troops and internet sources suggest the British Army sourced the supplies via the Canadian Pacific Railway. However, I've been unable to find satisfactory evidence to confirm this.

That said, in terms of the modern, or fairly modern, British baked beans, pork doesnt feature as an ingredient. Generally speaking, that is. Heinz do make a product that includes sausages in the beans.

[cathodetube]

Have you ever heard the expression 'bean tea' because I haven't and I live here. Maybe it's specific to a certain region. It's always been just beans on toast wherever I have been.

[gembellina]

The Heinz tin has unpleasant, slightly gritty-textured sausages - and best not to ask why, given what we know now!

[sunshine842]

Heinz beans from Britain also taste different than Heinz beans from the US -- they're sweeter and more tomato-ey (technical term, that).

[Gr8Grumpy]

Beans on Toast is, indeed, an old favorite from the heyday of polite mystery fiction. Another curious combination from that era was spaghetti on toast - i.e. the tinned (canned) variety ala Chef Boyardee. The beans referred to usually meant the Heinz vegetarian version with the blue and white label. This was a popular late-night supper after the pubs shut.
When pizza made its debut in the UK one of the toppings offered was baked beans. I don't think it survived more than a decade.
Boston baked beans on wheat doesn't compute all that well. Boston beans are very flavourful but not loose enough and white bread toast is the only way to go.

[Ruthie789]

Seeing lots of references to Heinz beans, does the brand of Libbey`s still exist?

[Harters]

Wikipedia indicates that Libby's was bought out by Nestle in 1971. I wouldnt know if they still use the name where you are, but they don't here in the UK. They used to produce fruit juice in my region (north west England) but that factory closed some time ago.

[sunshine842]

the jingle in the US was "When you see LIbbys, Libbys, Libbys on the label, label, label - you will like it, like it, like it on your table, table, table -- so look for Libbys, Libbys, Libbys on the label, label, label!

Yes, it was as annoying as it sounds.

Libbys is still a viable brand name in the States.

[tonifi]

This particular thread just got topical, and a lot funnier for me. The husband just told the story of the can of Heinz beans that he and his boss (also a Brit) had absolutely hoarded for just the longest time...waiting for the day they really felt they needed proper beans on toast. Can you guess? They waited a bit too long, when the can opener pierced the can the can exploded and sent beans flying all over the kitchen. I can't help picturing Anne Margaret in 'Tommy'. That was beans, wasn't it?

[FrankJBN]

"I like to read British mysteries. Strangely, the food most often mentioned
in this genre is "beans on toast""

I also read British mysteries. Lots. Strangely I have not come across any reference to beans on toast that I recall.

Just read a collection of Rumpole stories in which food is often used as a sidelight. No beans on toast. Jeeves and Bertie Wooster? Poirot? Wimsey?

[Harters]

Reggie Jeeves would never permit baked beans into the flat. Although they started out as a premium product in the mid 1880s, by the time of Jeeves & Wooster, that was long gone. The food most mentioned in those stories, IIRC, is Bertie's breakfast bacon and eggs.

Poirot, of course is very faddy about his food - what with him being a frankophone Belgian.

[Gr8Grumpy]

Check out LPW in The Five Red Herring - - believe beans on toast was victim's breakfast (or part thereof). Also, you might find Ngaio Marsh or Dorothy Allingham mentioning these.

[chefathome]

Whilst I do not enjoy beans on toast, I sometimes eat them on jacket potatoes. On some of our trips to England we have had beans on toast at B&B's but not for a couple of years now.

[Ruthie789]

Homemade are good chefathome!

[chefathome]

Yes, I do that here in Canada as well.

[Ruthie789]

My Dad loved beans on toast. He is a simple eater nothing too complicated. As a little girl I enjoyed this as well. It is good when the toast is hot and the beans are hot otherwise lukewarm mediocre. It is practical meal and for someone like my Dad who went through the depression comforting as it probably was a reliable source of food when very little was available.

[Bacardi1]

I must admit that English "Beans on Toast" is a running good-natured joke between me (love to cook) & my UK friend (hates to cook). I keep telling her that "Beans on Toast is one step up from prison food - no, it's more like a lateral step".

[Harters]

"Beans on Toast is one step up from prison food "

I've no experience of prison food, so havn't got an opinion on that.

[Bigfatreddawg01]

I actually now prefer Bush Vegetarian Baked Beans over the Heinz Baked Beans :). Have not found a substitute for English sliced bread sadly :(. My mouth waters when I see a Brit tv show and they are eating it...it even sounds different when you eat it toasted, and a sandwhich....oh my goodness...lol

[Harters]

Just to tempt you......

.......sliced white bread..............fried smoked back bacon..............brown sauce.

[Robin Joy]

Try them on Marmite toast John. Great stuff.

Edit: Ah.....Just spotted that Cathodetube has already suggested this.

[Harters]

Can't stand Marmite, Robin. But I can see how it would work :-)

[gembellina]

The first thing I'm eating when I go back to England at Xmas is this exact meal. I can't wait!

[pikawicca]

Was in England a couple of weeks ago. No one had decent toast. It was all of the Wonder Bread ilk. Big disappointment. Has Hovis gone the way of the dodo?

[Robin Joy]

You must have been very unlucky. Almost every outlet here in the UK offers a wide variety of toasted bread. Probably not high-end artisan products, but usually granary, wholemeal and plain white at the least. Hovis (original and several variations) is on the shelves of all supermarkets.

Off topic a bit, but IMO generic soft sliced white does actually have its uses. Roast beef or peanut butter sandwiches, for example.

[cathodetube]

And, even Hovis does a few versions of a white loaf.

[cathodetube]

Do you mean hotels and their toast at breakfast?

[pikawicca]

Yes. But back in the day, their toast was usually a thick slice of Hovis.

[Harters]

This lunchtime, I had the misfortune to eat the French version of beans on toast.

LIke the British version, this came in a tin.

Like the British version, it was beans in a thin tomatoey sauce.

Like some of the British versions, this had vile tasteless Frankfurter sausages in it. And some bits of fatty pork.

Like the British version, it had come recommended. By a guy in the supermarket (Carrefour @ Calais).

Unlike the British version, this was called cassoulet.

Unlike cassoulet, this was nothing like cassoulet.

[BobB]

;-)

[buttertart]

Travesty!

[gembellina]

Thick brown toast, thickly buttered. Supermarket own-brand beans, cooked til thick. Add lots of black pepper and worcestershire sauce. Fried egg on top, or cheese underneath. Cup of tea.

I think if the OP is looking for something "different" he might be missing the point - it's a quick, cheap, comforting, filling, and reasonably nutritious meal, made entirely of things one tends to have in the cupboard.

[Musie]

Or a meal you make when you really can't be that bothered to make anything.

[chef chicklet]

My mom, not English but French, born and raised in New York, loved beans on toast. She had a huge aversion to mayonnaise or butter on bread (huh?) and yeah, I'd be so grossed out seeing her eat that on most mornings when she was having a quick breakfast. Always with tea too. I'm really sad now that I never asked her why and how she got started with this.

Actually now I rather like the idea of beans on toast and would welcome most any kind of bean on toasted bread. mmm making me hungry.

[laliz]

so help me. Mrs. Cox ~~ Home Economics. 7th grade. "Saucy Boston Beanwiches"
Broil toast on one side, turn over and cover w/baked beans; a slice of tomato, and two strips bacon. Broil until bacon is crisp.
top w/cheese sauce

I came home and made it for the family to rave reviews. It became a staple for many years.

NW PA

[Antilope]

I'm born and raised in California and beans on toast don't seem odd to me. Of course I like Van Camps Pork n Beans on a slice of white bread with mayonnaise, so maybe my opinion shouldn't count. ;-)

[cathodetube]

Try spreading some Marmite thinly on buttered toast before topping with baked beans. I have recently discovered this. Also good with grilled or fried tomatoes on top.

[Harters]

For "posh" beans, fry an onion and/or celery then add the beans. Add any or all of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard.

[cathodetube]

Sounds like bbq baked beans. Could add molasses or treacle. Good with hotdogs.

[Harters]

I seem to recall it was a "recipe" in a British BBQ book (not that our climate really gives us much opportunity to cook outdoors)

[smartie]

BBQ in England and the USA mean different things Harters. In the UK it means cooking on a coal or gas grill outside, known as grilling in the US or having a cook out.

[buttertart]

Actually barbecuing is used in that sense (cooking foods over charcoal outside) in some parts of the States and Canada too.

[Harters]

Ah, that's interesting. Are the parts of the States that use the word that way up north?

American BBQ is a subject I'm determined to learn more about. On our last trip, I'd hoped to follow a BBQ trail through North Carolina but it didnt come to pass. We will be back in Dixie in a couple of years.

[cathodetube]

I am from the Northern US and you can use the word to mean the flavour of something cooked outside as well. We also use the word cook-out as in cooked outside.

[buttertart]

North and Midwest. I don't recall what was in usual use in Northern California.

[sablemerle]

Yes, in New England a barbecue just means cooking outside on a grill, usually hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and in my family's case (Gawd help us), chicken pieces doused in bright magenta Ah So! Sauce.

[thursday]

I grew up in Virginia just out of DC, lived in Chicago for a time, and have been in Los Angeles for over ten years - and being invited to a barbecue has always meant, in my experience, that there will be hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. I'm not denying that it means other things elsewhere at all, just mentioning that apparently the "cookout" sense is a bit spread out over the whole country; either that or I happen to gravitate to people with my same vocabulary everywhere I go... =)

[smartie]

I'm down South! well kinda - S Fl has some Southerners. But if you say BBQ here it means Southern BBQ.

[Jaylah]

In Iowa, "Barbeque" usually refers to a large cut of meat cooked outdoors, "low and slow" over either charcoal, wood, or gas, long enough for it to get that distinctive smokey barbeque flavor.

When cooking things like chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, steaks or chops on a grill outdoors, we usually refer to that as "grilling" or "cooking out." (As in, "Let's have a cook out tonight."

[buttertart]

Where in IA? Family in the Quad Cities area uses barbecue as in cookout.

[Jaylah]

Central.

We may use "barbeque" in that manner although -- as I said -- if so, it would imply that one was cooking larger cuts of meat in the "low-n-slow" method.

So, for example, if I said, "We're having a barbeque this weekend, would you like to come?" you would be perfectly justified in assuming we would be serving brisket, pulled pork, ribs, whole chickens, etc.

[buttertart]

That surprises the stuffing out of me.

[cathodetube]

I had a tin of beans last night alongside a 'Cornish' pasty made in London. This was after going out and buying 4 packs of 4 Heinz beans. I am stocked up for a while. Really good with a poached or fried egg too.

[Harters]

I make pasties from time to time - and baked beans are the perfect accompaniement, IMO.

[viperlush]

It's a nostalgic dish for me. When I lived in England as a child this was the only hot breakfast that we were allowed to cook when the parents were still sleeping. We always added a layer of canadian bacon.

[Muskrat]

A month or so ago, I spent a relative fortune at Cost Plus for a can of Heinz baked beans, imported from England. Could've had the same taste for what is costs for a can of store-label American beans.

Also: beans on toast tastes exactly as you'd expect it to. So if that doesn't sound appealing, don't bother. If it does, go with whatever's on sale.

[cathodetube]

Just buy the Heinz Vegetarian beans as mentioned above. Don't need to buy imports.

[Fromageball]

ha...I did the same thing for my mom a few weeks ago...she's been watching BBC comedies and was having beans on toast, so I bought her the heinz to try and she said it tastes the same to her as veg bushes...

[Harters]

Fans of Brit beans (and Brit greasy spoon caffs) will enjoy this blog

http://russelldavies.typepad.com/eggb...

[cathodetube]

Great blog, thanks. Shame he has closed the comments section.

[GraydonCarter]

Heh, when I stayed at the Luxembourg Hilton the buffet breakfast spread was extensive, and I was surprised to lift a chafing dish and see a tray of beans. I suppose placed there for the English tourists.

[Harters]

Probably. It's a fairly recent addition to the concept of the "full" cooked English breakfast - say last 30 years or so. You wouldnt find it offered in "good" hotels in the UK which would tend to keep their offerings to sausage, bacon, fried eggs, mushrooms and, perhaps, grilled tomatoes and fried bread (and black pudding in certain parts of the country).

[grayelf]

We stayed in a B&B on the south coast for several days ten years ago. The first morning, the owner noticed I snarfed down all of my full English save the grilled tomatoes. He kindly offered to substitute baked beans the next day. I was hooked. That is a breakfast that will keep you going till dinner (or should I say supper?) time. Still have it occasionally at home in Vancouver.

[Harters]

Supper, dinner or tea. Depends partly where in the UK you come from and your social class.

Posh southerners might have supper. Working class Scots might have tea. Most of us have have dinner (except those who've called it tea - in which case they have dinner at lunchtime.

Most cafe "full English" offerings will be either tomatoes or beans (occasionally both). I can't take to tomato at brekkie - although Mrs H is quite happy with just bacon and tomato.

[cathodetube]

I've been making fried green tomatoes this week with my eggs and beans. Have had for lunch and dinner. Thinly sliced, salt and peppered, dipped in cornmeal, both sides and then cooked in pan prior to cooking eggs. Delicious. Local farmer at market had a huge amount he was selling off cheaply.

[BobB]

Interesting linguistic quirk - when I was growing up (on the US side of the pond) we ate supper. Nowadays it's mostly dinner, and supper strikes me as somewhat lower class. I'm not sure whether that's really a class difference or just a generational difference here.

[Grosso]

Funny you bring that up, Bob, I grew up in NYC and supper always sounded "classier"--go figure!

[cathodetube]

Over here in the UK, at least down in the South, saying "do come for supper" is middle to upper.

[pj26]

But it's not necessarily referring to 'dinner'.

[Harters]

An invitation to "supper" is invariably an invitation to "dinner" in the UK, as indicated by cathodetube.

[buttertart]

"Supper" is sometimes used here in posher circles for a late-night collation.

[Harters]

Whereas a late night supper in the UK would be a snack just before going to bed. Not something you'd invite anyone to. Unless, ahem, things other than food were on your mind, if you get my drift.

[buttertart]

The "come up and see my etchings?" kind of supper...

[cathodetube]

pj26,

Eh?

[cathodetube]

Don't forget to pronounce it suppah as opposed to supp-er.

[pikawicca]

Ah, fried bread, freshly sliced off a huge Hovis loaf. What a blast from the past.

[cathodetube]

I like mine with lots of freshly ground black pepper and French's mustard. Crusty sliced toasted bread with butter is the perfect base.

[LBJR09]

Beans on toast remind me of being at university on a food budget...always favoured Branston over Heinz although both much improved through adding a little curry powder or hot paprika and eating on thick white toast :-)
If having with English breakfast I like to cook in frying pan until the sauce thickens and you have to shake off the spoon

[buttertart]

That reminds me (in a sort of combo answer to this and to the thread on tastes changing with age) - my English grandpa who served in India in WWI days and retained a fondness for curry all his life used to add a whole *tin* of curry powder to his pork and beans (SW Ontario appellation) toward the end. He commented it just didn't have the same kick as it used to.

[soyarra]

In California (and I think Arizona) Heinz Baked Beans are readily available at all Fresh 'N Easy stores (which are owned by UK supermarket giant Tesco). They also have British/Irish style back bacon, and treacle pudding in cans.

[susans]

I saw them at Stater Bros in Long Beach, CA; they may be in all Stater Bros markets.

[just_M]

My Nana (child of Irish immigrants) loved beans on toast. Actually its the only thing besides butterscotch pudding I can remember her cooking. Nana used Van Camps pork n beans but took out the pork, she said the taste was closest.

[mamaciita]

My (Aussie) neighbor says to add corn.

[pikawicca]

That is just wrong.

[smartie]

we love everything on toast - eggs, tinned spaghetti, Heinz tinned Macaroni Cheese, beans, sardines, cheese, marmite, jams, pates.

[Harters]

Beans on toast is one of my favourite Sunday breakfasts - and I prefer supermarket own label to Heinz.

A recent taste test by the Consumers Association put Branston's beans in first place, followed by own label from Asda and Morrisons. Heinz came in 4th. Heaven knows where Sainsbury's own brand came in - but I'm still going to be buying it - nice thick sauce, decent texture to the beans, just the right sweetness (a dollop of English mustard or shake of Lea & Perrins perks it up nicely)

[JMF]

I just tasted the English versions of Branstons and thought them only ok, and the English Heinz were blah. I think the American vegetarian Heinz much better than both.

But the New England Look's beans are fantastic for a mild bean. The soldier beans are my fav.

Sweet and strong Boston and bbq style beans don't cut it for beans on toast, although I like them as a side dish .

[EWSflash]

Tinned mac &cheese? Where can I find it? It's probably awful but I do have to try it.

[buttertart]

Holy cow! taste memory flashback! Canned macaroni and cheese. I think it was made by Chef Boyardee (in Canada) and it was very odd (in a tasty sort of way).

[BobbyG]

I'm guessing it tasted a lot like ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, and spaghetti o's. LOL Why does everything Chef Boyardee taste the same?

[buttertart]

The pasta, yes, the cheese sauce was sort of thinnish lumpy-ish. No tomato or meat, not as dogfoody-smelling.

[sablemerle]

Oops! How could I forget? It was Franco-American who made the canned mac and cheese, not French's

[sablemerle]

Don't know about Canada, but in New England it was French's who made canned macaroni and cheese. I have very fond memories of bringing it nearly every day in a thermos during the winter I was in first grade (we went home for lunch during the spring and fall). I get the impression it was a regional thing, because I moved to Maryland in third grade and it was no longer to be found. They discontinued making it completely since then.

I still remember those long, fat, wormy noodles in thick white sauce. My brother was horrified at the sight of it.

[buttertart]

It definitely was a foodstuff onto itself.

[smartie]

I don't know in the USA but Heinz make it in England.

[GretchenS]

This is indeed a staple of British eating -- when I lived there in the 90s, the canteen at work had it available for breakfast and lunch every day and it was quite popular.

Also while I lived there the Brits switched over to metric weights in canned goods and the newspapers did this huge "exposé" of the fact that there were something like 23 fewer beans in the new cans -- they had actually counted the beans in a bunch of cans -- LOL.

[Akitist]

Yes, Virginia, there are bean counters.

[EWSflash]

Clearly somebody tapped into the OCD victims' market.

[Robin Joy]

6 year bounce......We used to make errant juniors in the office count them. Any guesses for a standard (14 ounce/400g) tin?

[wowimadog]

yes, after spending a bit of time in england, i got hooked on this dish and recreated it when i got back. the heinz vegetarian beans are the best. you can find them in major supermarkets. have a complete traditional british breakfast and serve your beans on toast with grilled (basically fried in olive oil or butter) tomatoes and sautéed mushrooms. sooo good.

for a visual cue when shopping for your beans: http://tinyurl.com/fomk8

[shortchef]

We recently visited Montreal and when we ordered a full breakfast (eggs, meat, potatoes) it always came with a little dish of those beans, and they're really good. The place, by the way, is called Eggspectation and it's great. They open at 6 a.m. and close at 4 p.m., so breakfast and lunch are available. We didn't go there for lunch, but they had an interesting menu.

[q44]

I am an Australian living in Montreal, and the beans you get here aren't actually what we call baked beans. They are feves au lard, sweeter than UK style, and served with, you guessed it - little lumps of pork. Not great for veggos! But good with breakfast, and the non-fussy amongst us are often content to just fish the little lard chunks out!
We have a brand named "Clarks" here, whose beans in tomato sauce are the closest approximation of heinz baked beans I have found. Even the fancy, deluxe-style Heinz brand cans are not quite right - I suspect they have been adapted for a North American market.

[JMF]

Having an English mom who can't cook, I grew up on beans on toast. I still have it a few times a year. This is pretty amazing since I am a spice and chile pepper addict and into big bold flavors, while this is a mild dish. Somehow the flavors work quite well.

In the US the beans are the ones labeled Heinz Vegetarian beans. To make the dish properly you need to add a fat pat of butter to the beans while heating and you need to use decent regular white bread, toasted and heavily buttered. Butter is the key to this dish. For easy eating that doesn't require a knife I cut the buttered toast up into 1"x1" squares before pouring on the beans. Another improvement is adding 1-2 ounces of water to the beans before heating. This increases the "gravy" so the meal isn't dry.

[cathodetube]

Agree about the bean advice. My English mother would always buy these. I do prefer thickly sliced granary heavily buttered bread if you have that type in the US. Every time I go there I find supermarket sliced bread way too sweet. Someone else recommended Gulden mustard. I use French's.

[JMF]

B&M bacon and onion beans work really well with this. Of course always with a pat of butter added.

[pikawicca]

If your supermarket has an international aisle, try looking there for authentic British Heinz beans.

[Kagey]

Just to clarify, it's Heinz baked beans in the blue tin--in "tomato sauce." The same ones served in English breakfasts. They're not the same as the brown-sugary ones that Americans often associate with baked beans. I don't remember seeing these very often in American shops, but I know they sell them at Kalustyan's in New York--along with Marmite and PG Tips tea and other British items! Beans on toast isn't exciting, but it is a British staple.

[katielp]

Kagey has it right -- you need to make sure to buy Heinz baked beans. They're much less sweet than the Boston variety.
This may be a simple dish but it can be very comforting. Pile the beans on a couple of slices of thickly buttered toast. Brown HP sauce is my preferred accompaniment. You can probably buy that in the same shop as the beans. You can make the dish more substantial by topping with a fried egg or some grated cheddar.

[tastesgoodwhatisit]

That's interesting, because the only thing I could find when I was in the US were the canned beans with tomato sauce, and the baked beans I was used to were made with molasses and salt pork.

[Passadumkeg]

You obviously were not in New England!

[tastesgoodwhatisit]

No, it was California. I grew up in Western Canada, but my Dad was from Southern Ontario, and he made the most amazing baked beans, with the molasses and salt pork. Mmmm....

[Passadumkeg]

So did my dad in NJ! Now I'm a pinto man.

[Lettucepray]

A favorite of mine...add a dab of Gulden's mustard

[marymac]

I like it with a little mayo and onion.

[Pat Hammond]

Yes, Heinz. They're good as a topping for baked potatoes, or "jacket" potatoes, as they say over there.

[Robert Lauriston]

Heinz Baked Beans.

http://www.shopenglandonline.com/hein...

[boogiebaby]

That's all it is -- baked beans on toast. English food tends to be hearty, and somewhat bland IMO.

[pdxgastro]

They started eating this during the war, as a cheap form of protein. And never stopped. (Groan)

And why do they still make faucets with separate hot & cold water taps? Makes no sense to me.

[Harters]

"why do they still make faucets with separate hot & cold water taps?"

Simply so we can irritate foreigners

[cathodetube]

Old sinks still have the separate taps (faucets) so replacements are needed would be one reason.

What is your problem with baked beans? Great with an egg for a protein rich and economical meal.

[pdxgastro]

Is this an invitation for me to list more? :o) Does a country of people REALLY think wiping dishes gets all the dish soap off? Of course, nobody's died from it.

[pj26]

I'm sorry, you say an entire nation only wipes dishes to get the dish soap off? Can you clarify just where you got this amazing insight from on the washing habits of 62million people?

[cathodetube]

Ha, ha, great reply. I rinse all my hand washed dishes in hot water. It only takes one sip from a cup with the taste of detergent to make sure it doesn't happen again. I always pester anyone helping me to do the same.

[pdxgastro]

Look, I'm not the only one who's noticed it-> http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandque...

[Harters]

Nope. Never rinsed anything after washing it. Goes straight from sink to draining board.

Never occured to me that anyone would think there was anything odd about it until reading this thread. Certainly won't be altering my practice of several decades of washing.

I also never pre-rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher - I recall a thread from a couple of years back where I was in a minority there as well. I suepct it;s just that Americans tend to be more hygienic that we Britons. In fatc, I'm surprised that with our poor crockery hygiene practices that we havnt all died out years ago.

[buttertart]

Hear, hear. There is such a thing as being too clean.

[sunshine842]

You'd have LOVED my ex -- there were a few soap bubbles on the *bottom* of a skillet in the sink...he proceeded to throw a hissy fit, accusing me of causing a case of diarrhea before it happened. (It never did happen, by the way).

Yeah, there's a lot of reasons why EX is the key part of that sentence.

[tonifi]

I gotta say, the practice of just pouring water over the backs of the soapy dishes horrified me when the guy I was seeing in London did it twenty-five years ago, and it still horrifies me when my in-laws do it now....I've just never learned to appreciate the soap bubbles in my coffee, sorry.