Baked bean traditions steeped in history
Atlantic Canadians can't get enough of this regional favourite
Every time Lois Parnham makes baked beans, fond memories of her childhood growing up in Goshen, Guysborough County, come rushing back.
“We always had a crock of beans on Saturdays, along with homemade bread, biscuits and either sugar cookies, or molasses cookies,” says Parnham, who now lives in Green Creek, Colchester County.
Nowadays, Parnham can be found making baked beans on any day of the week, depending on when she, or her husband, Ken Parnham, have a craving. With the air redolent of sweet and savoury beans simmering in her slow cooker, a sense of comfort always bubbles to the surface.
“The smell takes me back to being a little girl at home, or visiting my grandmother,” she reminisces, adding it’s been meaningful to maintain a sense of continuity with the past by
culinary sharing this celebrated tradition with her family nearby.
Elva Towell, of Kentville, Kings County, N.S., feels the same. Recently, the retired nurse cooked a crock of beans that were devoured by her husband, Garland Towell, who’s a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, along with their daughter, Carolyn Benvie and grandson, Jasper Benvie.
“What I most like about baked beans is the taste,” Elva says, adding she uses Jacob’s cattle beans, navy beans and soldier beans, with bacon as her preferred choice for meat.
Having grown up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Garland recalls how baked beans warmed him up on many long and harsh winter nights.
“We had them all the time,” he reckons, mentioning he was one of 12 children, so his mother would make them in a roasting pan.
Katherine MacKenzie, a real estate agent who spent her formative years in O’Leary, P.E.I. also cherishes memories of the regional specialities her mother relished preparing. She remembers how the delicious feasts she enjoyed were an indispensable part of life in her community.
“We’d have baked beans on Saturdays and I guess we kind of took it for granted. It was just a thing; like Fish Fridays and large Sunday dinners. We’d always have company and we’d usually have meat pies.”
BELOVED BEANS
Baked beans have their roots in Native American cuisine. Made from beans indigenous to the Americas, Native Americans would mix beans, maple syrup and bear fat in earthenware pots, which they’d place in pits called bean holes. Embedded in hot rocks, the baked beans would cook slowly over a prolonged period of time.
British colonists in New England were the first westerners to adopt and adapt the dish from Native peoples in the 17th century. They substituted molasses or sugar for the maple syrup and bacon or ham for the bear fat; simmering their beans for hours in pots over the fire, rather than in bean holes.
Each colony in America had its own regional variation of the dish, with navy beans used in Massachusetts; Jacob’s cattle beans, along with soldier beans used in Maine; and yellow eye beans used in Vermont. These defining characteristics likely resulted from the colonists receiving the dish from distinct Native peoples who all used different beans.
Prior to and following the American Revolutionary War, which resulted in the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, thousands of New Englanders moved to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, lured by the promise of free land. Among the possessions they carried with them were prized recipes for baked beans. Cookbooks published in the 19th century helped to popularize baked beans further into Canada and into other regions of the United States.
The tradition of having baked beans on Saturdays stems from New England’s puritanical past. Work of any kind on Sundays was considered sinful, so Sunday’s meal would always be cooked on Saturday. With the succulent aroma of baked beans wafting through the house, it was difficult to resist temptation, so a simmering pot of wholesome goodness was habitually indulged in on Saturday nights and a custom caught on.
SATURDAY BAKED BEANS REVIVAL
That Saturday tradition is one MacKenzie has been eager to restart with her husband, farmer Donald Johnstone.
The newlyweds live on an enchanting farm in Long River, P.E.I. and creating a warm and welcoming environment has been important to MacKenzie. Recently, she purchased a sixquart cast iron Dutch oven.
“I just decided I was going to try to revive the Saturday baked beans and brown bread
tradition. I also knew that Donald, his uncle and his neighbours would like that, too.”
As for sharing secrets on how to make mouth-watering baked beans, MacKenzie dishes out the following advice: “The more sauce, the better. I don’t skimp on ketchup or molasses and I think a bit of maple syrup makes the beans delicious.”
She also acknowledges that,
while many people gravitate toward pork, she uses bacon, which she cooks before putting in with the beans. She’s also found that kidney beans haven’t turned out too well for her, admitting navy beans are OK and that she especially likes yellow eye beans.
And although pork, bacon and wieners are all commonly used, Benvie encourages people to put a healthy spin on baked beans.
“I make a vegetarian version in my slow cooker. The beans have a smooth and creamy texture and I like that they’re full of protein, fibre and iron.”
She says knowing her threeyear-old, Jasper, and 16-yearold, Noah, both enjoy baked beans makes preparing meals less stressful.
“I know they’re getting good nutrition,” she adds.
And if anyone’s concerned
emitting about the probability of foul odours following a truly hearty meal of baked beans, Parnham has just the perfect remedy to keep the farts at bay.
“Don’t forget to add dry mustard; it’s said to do the trick.”
Laughing, she shares, “Growing up, I remember my father going around the house joking, ‘Beans, beans, the musical fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot.’ Oh, the memories,” she says with a smile.