305475 Thu Jun 29 00:03:45 -0700 2006 18 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1717750 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. Thu Jun 29 00:03:45 -0700 2006 11791 DonShirer 1 1717794 That's all it is -- baked beans on toast. English food tends to be hearty, and somewhat bland IMO. Thu Jun 29 00:23:08 -0700 2006 1717750 12384 boogiebaby 1 1717797 Heinz Baked Beans. http://www.shopenglandonline.com/heinbakbean.html Thu Jun 29 00:23:27 -0700 2006 1717750 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 1717801 Yes, Heinz. They're good as a topping for baked potatoes, or "jacket" potatoes, as they say over there. Thu Jun 29 00:28:00 -0700 2006 1717750 10087 Pat Hammond 1 1718041 A favorite of mine...add a dab of Gulden's mustard Thu Jun 29 03:06:15 -0700 2006 1717750 11852 Lettucepray 1 1718319 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. Thu Jun 29 08:31:07 -0700 2006 1717750 14139 Kagey 2 1718388 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. Thu Jun 29 12:37:54 -0700 2006 1718319 12075 katielp 1 1718402 If your supermarket has an international aisle, try looking there for authentic British Heinz beans. Thu Jun 29 12:51:22 -0700 2006 1717750 11995 pikawicca 1 1718416 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. Thu Jun 29 13:01:17 -0700 2006 1717750 10732 JMF 1 1736690 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 Mon Jul 10 20:58:58 -0700 2006 1717750 13941 wowimadog 2 1751200 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. Tue Jul 18 15:04:02 -0700 2006 1736690 15555 shortchef 3 5353806 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. Tue Jan 26 22:13:36 -0800 2010 1751200 1143795 q44 1 1751835 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. Tue Jul 18 18:35:44 -0700 2006 1717750 13756 GretchenS 1 5353992 we love everything on toast - eggs, tinned spaghetti, Heinz tinned Macaroni Cheese, beans, sardines, cheese, marmite, jams, pates. Wed Jan 27 04:52:53 -0800 2010 1717750 22559 smartie 2 5355756 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) Wed Jan 27 14:30:51 -0800 2010 5353992 154102 Harters 3 5358241 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 . Thu Jan 28 13:22:43 -0800 2010 5355756 10732 JMF 1 5358893 My (Aussie) neighbor says to add corn. Thu Jan 28 17:45:14 -0800 2010 1717750 48876 mamaciita 2 5359051 That is just wrong. Thu Jan 28 18:45:13 -0800 2010 5358893 11995 pikawicca 1 5359385 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. Thu Jan 28 21:51:56 -0800 2010 1717750 279577 just_M