Home-made baked beans?

coffeehound

Has anyone managed to make their own baked beans that are something like the ones that come out of a can, please?

karcher

Nope...When they are so cheap to buy why bother?.

I use various types of beans in other recipes esp one with tomatoes..but baked beans out of a tin are just that and will always remain tin bought

ETA the only effort required is opening the tin, heating them up then eating...why make life difficult by trying to recreate your own

Pop_Up_Pirate

karcher wrote: »

Nope...When they are so cheap to buy why bother?.

I use various types of beans in other recipes esp one with tomatoes..but baked beans out of a tin are just that and will always remain tin bought

ETA the only effort required is opening the tin, heating them up then eating...why make life difficult by trying to recreate your own

Maybe because the tinned variety are full of added ingredients that noone wants to ingest?
Maybe because the quality of the ingredients is very low to begin with.
Maybe because they come out of a can which if its a coated can, its toxic or if its not coated you ingest too much aluminium.
Maybe because the amount of salt and sugar in tinned beans is not something kids should be having.
Maybe because they taste artificial.
Maybe because the OP would just like a wholesome diet that limits manufactured rubbish.

karcher

Pop_Up_Pirate wrote: »

Maybe because the tinned variety are full of added ingredients that noone wants to ingest?
Maybe because the quality of the ingredients is very low to begin with.
Maybe because they come out of a can which if its a coated can, its toxic or if its not coated you ingest too much aluminium.
Maybe because the amount of salt and sugar in tinned beans is not something kids should be having.
Maybe because they taste artificial.
Maybe because the OP would just like a wholesome diet that limits manufactured rubbish.

Maybe...But I like them

If you don't want to eat them don't..make something else bean based instead?

Each to their own as they say

jackyann

Yes - my parents disliked tinned goods, so the haricot beans I had as a child were cooked around a ham hock.
I did the same for my kids, but by then I had learned (in the very area it comes from!) how to cook cassoulet, and I used harcicot beans in lots of recipes, especially with ham hocks, belly pork and a few sausages added.

Lots of recipes on-line, look for what suits you,especially the American recipe 'Boston baked beans'. But bear in mind:

they need long slow cooking, this is only financially worth while if you use a slow cooker, in which case you need to boil for a few minutes for food safety (I usually do 10, although it is more than needed)or use a pressure cooker

commercial baked beans have a particular sauce (involves a lot of sugar and salt) which a lot of people really like (I don't) and that is more difficult to replicate that than the bean cooking!

any pulse absorbs flavour - you really need to ensure that you up the flavour - that why they are traditionally cooked with a hock, or with very tasty left-overs. Although it is not traditional, I cook with dilutedstock.

If you are cooking for kids, or the kind of person who can tell the difference between Heinz & own-brand at 50 paces, don't try to pass them off. Just say that it is 'bean casserole', 'hock & beans' or indeed, 'cassoulet', so it is judged by its own standards!

TravellingAbuela

Many years ago I made Boston Baked Beans. I seem to remember they took forever to cook and involved much faffing about! They were ok but I was never tempted to make them again. These days it's Branston beans in Casa Abuela!

Tiddlywinks

My nan had a saying: 'life is too short to stuff pasta'... Italian heritage so we ate mainly a freshly prepared Mediterranean diet... but nan bought pre-prepared tortellini and ravioli because she didn't have time for the 'faff'.

The same mantra applies to baked beans. Unless there is a really strong reason to make your own (allergies for example) then I'd be sticking with the tinned varieties.

Yes, they contain added salt and sugar. Yes, they come in a can. But, in the great scheme of things, there are other ways I can think of to use my time. Each to their own.

thriftwizard

I've made them, and will make them again, for much the same reasons as Pop Up Pirate suggests. They were delicious; certainly not cheaper than the canned variety, but very, very more-ish. It was a huge pot-full (it's a 6-litre SC) but it didn't last long!

As far as I remember I looked at a number of recipes, mostly American, and kind of averaged them out, and cooked them overnight in the slow cooker, knowing from my dear friend from Oklahoma that traditionally they're cooked overnight in a Dutch Oven dug into the embers of your campfire. Which probably gives a slightly smoky taste to the result, which I tried to emulate by using smoked paprika. I used ham stock, but we've also tried a vegetarian version so DD2 could join in, which was also very nice; I'll see if we can find the recipe again & will post a link later.

It's not a money-saver, but it is worth doing. Not sure if small children would appreciate the taste, though, if they're used to bland supermarket foods. As someone who's interested in how our ancestors ate, baked beans have a lot in common with pease pottage or pudding, and the idea may have come from a similar traditional recipe adapted to the ingredients available on the trail and/or easily carried. Spices & dried ingredients are easily carried, tins of stuff aren't!

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I have eaten home-made baked beans; far tastier than tinned ones but took a while to make. Tinned ones serve a purpose and are hard to beat for a cheap, comforting meal.

coffeehound

Thanks all, yes I love tinned beans but Pop Up Pirate put it better than I could. My health has gone downhill in the last year or so and junk food is part of the reason.

Great info, Jackyanne and thriftwizard thank you. I've been planning to buy a slow cooker anyway so that's good to hear it can be used for beans. I hope to bulk cook and freeze portions so that at least the effort is worth it.

Fruittea

Here's a pretty good recipe:
http://www.kitchentreaty.com/slow-cooker-youll-never-miss-the-bacon-vegetarian-boston-baked-beans/