I wonder how many tins of baked beans (Heinz or other brands) are eaten in households throughout the world on a daily basis? Hazarding a guess, I'd say it must run into the millions. (If not billions!)

And did you ever meet anyone who *DOESN'T* like baked beans? I've been racking my brain all day, and I can't come up with anybody of my close personal acquaintance!

Baked beans are included in the staple diet of nearly everyone, and I bet there are a couple of tins nestling in most people's kitchen press right now. I know that in our household they are a staple in our weekly shop.

I've always eaten baked beans, for as far back as my memory goes, and will most likely continue to do so until they cart me away in the wooden box. I simply love baked beans and will take them anyway I can get them. On toast; in baked potatoes; as a vegetable with my main meal; to flavour chips and potatoes. With cheese, sausages, rashers, (that's Irish for bacon!) chops, and steaks. In fact, anyway they come is just fine by me.

My own personal favourite is baked beans on toast, but I do have a little peccadillo here, as I actually prefer them cold from the tin, rather than heated. If you throw in a fried egg and a dollop of really mature cheddar cheese on the top, then I'm in seventh heaven.

Baked beans even came up in the conversation the night I first met my wife when she was on a touring holiday of my native Scotland nearly 30 years ago!
I asked her, "How are you enjoying Scotland?",
She replied, "Do you Scots eat bloody baked beans with every meal?".
"Pardon?" I replied, quickly checking that I hadn't been farting uncontrollably.
"Well, I've been here for a week now, and every Bed and Breakfast we've stayed in has served up baked beans with the breakfast fry up!"
Seemingly she found this unusual for some strange reason, although some twenty odd years later I have long since made her a convert to the joys of a few beans with the old brekky fry up.

So why are they so popular with so many people?
Kind of a silly question, to be honest, with a very obvious answer. They just simply taste delicious, are cheap and inexpensive to buy, are quick and easy to prepare, can be used in so many different ways and as a compliment to so many different foods, and our kids adore them with a passion.

What are they made out of?
Well, again it's fairly obvious. They're haricot beans in a tomato sauce. They're described as having no artificial colours or flavouring, and no preservatives, and as being a rich source of fibre. (That's what keeps your bowels regular!!)
Who will ever forget the totally hilarious scene from director Mel Brooks western comedy, "Blazing Saddles", where the assembled cowboys join in a communal "fart-in" round the camp fire after digesting a fibre rich meal of the old beanies.

They come in tins, and in all sorts of different sizes, from small, to medium, large, and even catering pack size.
Likewise, the prices vary from place to place and from brand to brand, (but they are universally inexpensive) and Heinz still seem to manage to retain their position as the market leader in this sector. I have to say that this is probably because they taste just that little bit better than some of the cheaper and "supermarket" own brands, but a lot of their success is probably down more to good advertising on their part than any other reason.
I know that I will usually pick up a tin of Heinz Beans as my first preference, without even thinking about it, but having said that, I wouldn't be too perturbed or upset if I had to make do with Bachelors or some other brand. At the end of the day, baked beans are baked beans, whoever happens to make them.

One last important point in our household. Heinz also manufacture "sugar free" baked beans, which is the variety that we usually buy, as my teenage daughter suffers from diabetes. One small tin is almost exactly "one exchange", which is the way we measure her intake of sugar with each meal. So beans are an incredibly useful food from our point of view.

I would usually finish by suggesting that if you hadn't tried them yet, to go and do so. But do *YOU* actually know anyone who hasn't ever eaten baked beans??

© KenJ