Why Isn't Beans on Toast Popular in America?

Who eats plain canned beans? They're an ingredient in something else that don't taste very good plain.

Probably because it's like a side dish with a side dish to Americans.

It's beans in tomato sauce. Similar to Campbell's Pork and Beans but with no meat

It's a low class dish for low class people.

Perhaps if bacon were involved.

I don't eat them without toast, either, R3. Just not something I eat. If I make beans, I make beans. I don't use canned beans except in chili.

R4 then it would be perfect for the US

With my new pressue cooker, I am a convert to cooked beans from hard/dry state. No more canned. I would put some on toast, perhaps, but not out of a can.

i dont think its weird at all, sounds good to me.

Nothing better after a night at the pub. A nice wholegrain bread, good butter. Top with shaved cheddar. YUM!!

R10 That DOES make it sound more appealing. I visited Canada as a teen and was surprised to see they serve beans with breakfast. And tomatoes! Potatoes were not on the menu for the most part.

I lived in London for a while and while I don't love it, I understand how it came about as an easy meal solution. Heck if you use whole grain bread it is a fairly healthy meal. A lot better than mac and cheese, for example.

Due to our Anglo colonial past OP - Australia was a staunchly pro- beans-on-toast culture - tho’ opinions different as to which of the brands on offer were superior. Heinz here was just one of the players in the market.

It was a much bigger thing when I was a kid tho. As time has gone by - I think it’s kinda fading from popularity. There’s too many other good things to eat available now - people are spoiled for choice!

Until I saw your post - I hadnt thought about them for ages. It’s probably been a couple of years or more since I last had them. But I’m kind of feeling nostalgic now and think they’ll definitely be on the cards again sometime soon...

Gotta say tho - when I have them - I like to grate Parmesan on top. All the cheesy and tomatoey saucey umami flavour is hard to resist!

Sometimes I can find the Heinz beans in a local supermarket, in the "Imports" section. Usually $2+ a can, which is three times the price as UK (guess they have to pay import duties?)

Being from New England, I looooove baked beans. However, now I’m on a keto diet and they’re too carby. And the way I make them, with molasses, too much sugar.

We are them at cookouts as a side dish with hot dogs and burgers and potato salad. Also as a side with hot dogs for lunch or quick dinner. Never had them on toast, but it sounds good to me.

I miss those things.

Ugh. I saw this all the time when I lived in the UK. It made me gag every time. Could there be anything duller, blander, more lacking in imagination or aspiration? Even Marmite has a character of its own.

Nothing says 'dull and lazy' like beans on toast.

R15 yessss. They typically are cook-out/bbq fare. Nothing in the world goes better with a burger or dog and potato salad. I recently moved to Texas and was surprised to find the baked beans aren't really sweet here. Growing up in Maryland they were always prepared with brown sugar or molasses, which is the best IMO.

I eat it ALL the time!

R16 But did you ever TRY it? If not, you don't know what you're talking about.

R14 Really? They're always giving away cans of Heinz beans at the food bank my unemployed brother goes to. He's tried to pan some off on me before. I now refuse to take them. And I know I've seen them at The Dollar Store here in Southern California.

I find Heinz way too blah to eat. No flavor. I could eat Bush beans with toast. I like their Vegetarian flavor. Their Maple flavor might be good for breakfast.

R20 most likely giving away the Heinz PORK and Beans. It's different than the British version.

My mom always ate cold beans on bread (untoasted) and sometimes she would make a grease sandwich with the hardened hamburger grease from the night before on bread with beans.

R22 Oof. Was she a Depression child? I remember my mother telling me they used to eat turkey neck hash. How much meat can there possibly be in a turkey neck for a family of 7?

[quote] Why Isn't Beans on Toast Popular in America?

Because it sounds about as appetizing as getting a cup of hot water and restaurant ketchup packets to make tomato soup.

Sounds vile.

OP, probably because we have our native form - bean burritos

R18 For the love of all that is holy...open a damn window!

I like refried beans on toast for breakfast.

I top it off with sliced avocado.

It wasn't me r26!!!

No one wants gas after breakfast

Beans, beans, the magical fruit

The more you eat, the more you toot

The more you toot

The better you feel

Beans! Beans! For every meal!

Heinz beans eater here. I make my own hash browns and eat those with Heinz beans on the weekends. They're expensive but I don't eat any other beans. Healthy and delicious.

No, a little too young to blame it on the depression, r22. She was raised in the upper peninsula of Michigan though. Rural, not a lot of fresh options? I never really asked where she got that recipe.

My newly transplanted husband misses Heinz beans but they’re $2.25 here, making beans on toast less budget-friendly.

Because we have Kraft Dinner.

Because we (historically) could afford meat to go along with our beans. The British had to make do through two world wars with whatever was available.

People wince at you because you are a revolting, smelly cunt. Has nothing to do with the beans.

refried beans on a tortilla is common Tex-Mex

Chalupa: Fried corn tortilla, smear of refried beans, cheese, chopped lettuce, diced tomato, salsa. Delish

Tex- Mex "beans on toast"

R38 Ugh you had me until you used the very frau "delish"

Why eat beans on toast when you can have creamed chipped beef on toast?

I like the combo of beans and toast, but not beans on toast as a meal in and of itself. instead, I prefer it as a part of a BBQ meal.

That said, I'm more curious about why Europeans seem so obsessed with why Americans don't live our lives the same way you do. There's always a post on here along the lines of 'Why don't Americans do/say/act/like [insert something inane] like [insert European nationality]?' Why would we do/say/act/like the same things you do? Why do you care? Are you just as curious about why Australians, Canadians, or citizens of other countries within your continent aren't behaving the same way as you?

r36

Actually, when they first were offered they were considered quite chic and expensive. This was over 100 years ago however. I'm fine with them in England.

R41 OP is American.

Why doesn’t the rest of the world love Vegemite?

OP, because it's disgusting. Some things you just have to be a Brit to eat - like black pudding.

You eat Beans on Toast? He isn't repulsive but not really my type. How is he?

R38 Reminds me of seeing a Tex-Mex version of the Full English.

Because it is beans. And toast.

Not to derail this thread, when i was in London I had a "full English breakfast" at a neighborhood place and I could NOT believe how expensive it was! This was not a fancy place at all, and it was something like 15 pounds, plus another 3 pounds for coffee --with no free refill!

The baked beans in the UK is not the same as you’d expect here. The standard sliced white bread is different too, less sweet and more texture. The butter is also different - I had no idea our butter was different from the rest of the world. Their butter isn’t whipped, it’s pure butter. It all goes together to make a tasty lunch which we can’t really replicate with American products.

Grew up in small-town Wisconsin and my mother served this every once in a while. We kids loved it!

R45. I'm an American, and I love Vegemite (and Marmite, too).

[quote]Their butter isn’t whipped, it’s pure butter.

I don't eat whipped butter.

I loathe all legumes. The texture is foul, like poo wrapped in paper.

R50 Within the last couple of years, the Full English goes for around £4.50 at the cafe in EastEnders.

Oh my word, OP. 1975 called, they want their council estate kids' meal back.

R51, do explain to R54 and myself what on Earth is meant by “whipped butter”.

Brit here, I eat this a lot, usually with a poached egg on top. It's cheap, filling and a good source of protein and fibre. R57 you are right, it was and still is a staple meal for a lot of poorer British families. Not ashamed of that. I suppose it's similar to rice and beans that poor people eat in other countries.

When I eat beans on toast, I tend to add scrambled eggs into the equation.

I hate baked beans for breakfast though - eggs and bacon are fine, but all that other muck they include in the "Full English Breakfast" is too much.

" . . . Have you ever had beans on toast?"

Ewwwww! As IF!

I like beans and ketchup on my hot dog in a toasted, buttered New England style roll.

Back in the old days of meatless Fridays, my dad made us beans and elbow macaroni for lunch, with a pinch of black pepper and real butter. We still love it as adults.

It used to be a very common dish in New England, but I doubt younger generations eat it much. New Englanders used to make baked beans on Saturday--i mean like every Saturday. I remember hearing older women saying, "It wouldn't be Saturday night without beans." I still have one of my grand aunt's ceramic bean pots. I remember my grandfather eating Saturday's leftover beans on toast for Sunday night supper.

Pork n beans are involved? I could eat them right now, if I had them.

I would try it if you let me make the beans and let me add plenty of horse radish. Plus, I don't want yuppie bread. This is something that would need the sweetness of cheap white bread to compliment the tang and bite of the beans.

Oh, and I'd need some french press coffee to go with it. I want an oil slick on top.

Can I have some 'A1 Sauce'?

Sudsy beans au chocolat!

Tonight I added a can of white beans to a can of Progresso clam chowder. But instead of a spoon, I scooped it up with these big round, chili-flavored corn chips and ate it.

Does that count?

It sounded intriguing when Lionel and Jean had it.

Beans on toast used to be my go to dish when i was ill and wanted comfort food.

On top of heavily buttered toast - YUM!!!!!

R69's cankles tomorrow morning:

[quote]The butter is also different - I had no idea our butter was different from the rest of the world. Their butter isn’t whipped, it’s pure butter.

Is that why all the butter on USA cooking shows is white, not yellow?

My mom's childhood friend is still not living down having baked bean sandwiches as a girl. I have seen black beans as an alternative starch to potatoes at restaurants for breakfast.

Beans cooked in broth on buttered toast is a good comfort food. Any kind of sweetener in beans is repulsive, though.

Genuine Heinz on artisanal toast. Lets put pop-up restaurants everywhere!

Our beans prefer the covering and support provided by tortillas, not bread.

Selfridges had a pop up restaurant in their basement food hall last spring which served Heinz's baked beans.

Selfridges has not allowed us in since the "incident" and we're still denied entry ten years on (we don't dwell on specifics).

I was inspired by this thread and made beans and toast for dinner tonight. Scrambled a few eggs on the side. Really tasted great!

Bush’s makes a decent vegetarian baked beans, but it’s a little sweet for my tastes. Unfortunately so many other brands put some animal fat in their baked beans, even if it’s not explicitly called “pork & beans,” so I have to be careful. Are the British Heinz beans vegetarian?

Dunno, R80. But you can get Heinz Vegetarian Beans made for the US market at many Walmarts. I like those and the Bush's vegetarian you mentioned. The Heinz variety is more tomato-y and slightly less sweet.

The Brits call 'em beanz. They are wack.

Martha Stewart had a segment on her baking show about the differences between European and American butters. Has to do primarily with (1) what the cows are fed, and (2) the fat content. It's higher in European butters, which means there's less water. You can buy American-made "European Style" butter in most stores these days.

JFC, will you morons at least google the history of canned baked beans? They were not trashy food back in the day. and are not like Bush's. Such a small world you live in.

Beans and toast became popular during the First and Second World Wars, because it was cheap and provides a complete protein.

This is why people eat rice and beans and other grain and beans. Or lentils and grains are good too.

Beans of all kinds are very good for you but the gas effect stops most people from eating them. Combine a bean with a grain and you can eliminate dairy, cheese and meat as it's a complete protein and they are cheap

Coz it's gross

R84 I heard that. You can more or less live on beans on toast (or rice and beans/daal and rice, etc) with a few fruit and vegetables on the side, and be pretty healthy.

Americans are too busy eating "grits" and "biscuits" and swilling their godawful coffee.

Vegemite on the toast and topped with Coon cheese (yes, the Aussies are that racist) and you have Down Under haute cuisine.

Beans are great. Toast is great. Beans are not meant to be eaten first thing in the morning. The very thought is just disgusting. Beans on toast is like something fed to prisoners, or eaten by explorers who are low on rations, or by really poor people. And think of all that bowel gas! The Brits who eat this shit must propel themselves to work every day by sheer wind power.

r64 such sweet memories......

Americans never had the real food rationing other places had. I love old time radio and you hear George and Gracie, Jack and Rochester and the Great Gildersleeve and Birdie and a host of others and their conversations were like, 'You can't eat meat, well eat chicken.'

This is because meat was essentially beef while chicken and fish and cheese were not rationed or in some places lightly rationed. Europeans were very limited in actual food, where in American it was TYPES of food and even then the rationed products were there, they were simply being fed to American troops on bases or overseases.

I love beans and lentil and such and they are excellent sources of fiber and virtually no Americans get the amount of fiber they need. So yes, eat them all three meals a day. Your body will thank you.

It's the canned beans.

I adore Beans On Toast.... Esp at breakfast..... along w/sautéed mushrooms & tomatoes.... A very healthy way to round out a heavy, or full breakfast. White beans puréed with cold butter are delicious on toast or breadsticks too; you can add thyme, marjoram, parsley, or sage to make them more interesting. Beans are not only the ideal carbohydrate, they're packed with protein and fibre too. All the naysayers just don't know how to fix them properly. Wholesome and nutritious foods that happen to be inexpensive are not deemed "low-class" by the British.

R80 British baked beans are vegetarian. Just navy beans and tomato sauce, no pork fat and not as sweet as the vegetarian baked beans you get here. The bread isn’t as sweet either. We’ve got a whole load of sugar / syrup additives in our food that really don’t need to be there.

I too fondly remember the New England tradition of serving baked beans on Saturday. I also recall the 'brown bread' which came in a can and was served alongside. If I remember right the popular local brand during the 50's and 60's was 'B&M' . The meat course was either hot dogs, 'Mapleleaf' brand, or burgers, served alongside without a bun. Condiments included French's mustard, Howard's Piccallili or Cain's relish. Afterwards my six siblings and I would gather round the tv and as the evening progressed one would occasionally be entertained by the sounds of passing gas, followed by a chorus of boos. Those were the days !

Good memories R95! I'm a fan of that bread from a tin too.... Hard to find now, but Date nut bread with cream cheese brings back childhood memories of my mum's best friend from Boston!

At [R96]. [R95] here. Yes ! I recall that too. How sweet it all was.

What’s not to like about things on toast? Beans, mushrooms, cheese, Marmite, peanut butter, sardines. All cheap and cheerful. Nothing wrong with that.But you have to have decent salted butter for it all to be really tasty.

The snobbery about food in this thread is hilarious. Most of the best recipes originated from poor people doing inventive things with food. Where do people think pasta, gnocchi, bread and so on originated ?

Molletes

"Melty," r99?

Right on R98! Nowadays, if it doesn't rightly qualify as "fancy" it's somehow a low class travesty!

I love creamy mushrooms on toast. It's a perfect brunchy thing.

This sounds kinda tasty for some reason, I'd definitely try it. It's just so overly carb proficient.

Melty is as good a word as butteriest and craviest.

Melty is a perfectly cromulent word.

My DH adored your recipe for beans on toast!

I did make a few adjustments - I used melba toast. Instead of beans, I put a little sturgeon roe on top of chopped boiled egg.

Yummers!

Saying that all Americans like grits is like saying that all Canadians are busy swilling down Mae West and Pepsi's.

I heard beans on toast will be the main entree for the state dinner for Trump at Buckingham Palace

R98 is right. Would anyone eat shark fin soup if they were allowed to eat the rest of the shark? Peasant food is where the most inventiveness is found.

[quote] Combine a bean with a grain and you can eliminate dairy, cheese and meat as it's a complete protein and they are cheap

R84 - The idea of a complete protein and complimentary proteins was put forth by Frances Moore Lappe. She was mistaken and corrected her mistake in the 10th edition of the book Diet for a Small Planet. Vegetarians don't have to chase complimentary programs.

r110 My proteins never say nice things about me.

The word you were looking for is COMPLEMENTARY.

If you care who wins the next election you should care what millenials and every other generation thinks.

And what do millennials think about beans on toast r112? Will the Brits and Aussies stop eating them if the US election is decided by millennials? Will the next election be decided on British style Heinz beans or Boston baked beans?

[R112] here. Oops ! That's what I get for bopping between two threads. Sorry. Please continue with your beans !

Jesus Good, OP, the war is over. Rationing has been gone since the early 50's. Eat some proper food and stop wasting our time.

Jesus, God, I meant 'Jesus, God'. Don't crucify me, DL, it was fucking autocorrect.

R111 - a spelling error spell check won't find in an anonymous post on a website. Horrors of horrors. It seems you understood what I wrote - so who cares?

Does anyone understand what r117 wrote?

It's probably not something that you could buy on it's own without bacon or sausage in a Cafe or Diner in The UK now as people are aware that it would only cost around 30p (40c) to make. The last time that I saw it on a menu was in British Home Stores for £2 and that included a choice of mushrooms, hash browns, bacon or sausage included.

The only place that I have had It outside of The UK is in former Colonies of Malta and at Raffles in Singapore.

One serving of beans and toast is probably more fiber than most Americans get in a whole week. I'm no fiber queen, either. I could only eat this if I had nothing to do but sit home and fart afterwards.

R118 - i bet you're adorable in real life.

This is gonna sound very "Mary!" but baked beans out of a can is one of those things I find gross because of the texture, not the taste. I do better with freshly prepared baked beans, but even then

[quote]If you care who wins the next election you should care what millenials and every other generation thinks.

I care about spelling "millennials" correctly.

You can't find British style baked beans in tomato sauce here. Just that nasty bbq beans with ham bits.

Here in Oz back in the day, nothing was better than baked beans on toast or if you ran out you could always have dripping on toast. Pecks fish paste on toast was also a culinary delight.

Dear Unobservant R124. I've been able to find Brit Heinz Baked Beans in the US in several stores, including Kroger and Cost Plus/World Market. I also encounter them in many Indian groceries. They are available from Amazon and various online retailers. There is a curry beans version that I have not tried. The Canadians have their own version of these, which I've also never tried. They probably have the taint of maple.

They used to have it at the Tesco-owned West Coast chain "Fresh and Easy," along with other British specialties. (Or "specialities," if you prefer.) But they went out of business a few years ago.

R95, yep, that was the standard Saturday night menu. If you had company, it might be dressed up a little with ham instead of the hot dogs and some other veg or two in addition to the beans. If we had brown bread, it was usually from the can but once in a while homemade.

Bacon & Eggs, sourdough bread, fried mushrooms, baked beans and coffee on a Sunday morning at a breakfast cafe in Oz.

Heinz Beans are packed in a syrup to stop the beans from drying out.

But that syrup is about 50% sugar!

And salt. Eat the low sodium version and they taste awful.

The closest I get is when I go to my favorite Cuban restaurant, get the black beans and take the soft white bread with butter and dip slices of it into the beans, it's amazing. Basically same thing I guess with different beans.

R130 the amount of sugar in processed foods is being reduced in the UK. It's already happened with salt. It takes a bit of getting used to but the taste buds soon adapt.

GMTA r89.

Toast is good. Baked beans are good. Baked beans on toast is foul.

A bean is NOT a complete protein. If you only ate beans for your protein sources you would die. A grain (wheat, rice etc) is not a complete protein if you only at that for protein you would die.

If you eat BOTH you will get a complete protein and you don't need any other source. You are wrong to say vegetarians do not have to eat them both. You don't have to eat them together but you MUST EAT BOTH. Only blood, milk, eggs and meat are complete proteins and a genetically modified soybean which has been modified to be complete are full complete proteins for humans.

Non-GMO soybeans contain all of the essential amino acids—they’re a complete protein; or if you mix up your legumes, of course. It’s not hard to get your proteins from vegetarian sources. You can be short of B12, though, if you don’t get enough green, leafy vegetables.

Exhibit A in “why the British drink rather than eat”

R134 some people keep the beans and the toast seperate. No need to put the beans on top of the toast if you don't want to.

Not a big fan of Heinz beans, but this recipe is good if you want to make your own beans...

Are those curry beans R126 mentioned any good?

r51, thank god.

Canned beans were a post WW2 staple in the UK. The UK was brutalized in the war and took decades to recover from bombings.

The US just went back to work, fucked out plenty of crotch-droppings, went to college and started the American Rat Race. The UK was cobblestones and America was Formica!

It is not an every week thing but I do like it. And as others have pointed out it is in breakfast tortillas. Next time I cannot find a snack I will have this, Good fiber is important Toot toot! Beep beep!

In case anyone's interested, someone started this thread on "The British Fry Up" last Friday:

Does anyone else think Provolone cheese smells like ass?

I had never heard of beans on toast before reading this post this morning. We are sharing an apartment in Australia with two people from England. Tonight one of them had beans on toast for dinner.

Inspired by this thread I had white beans on toast. It was only okay.

R125 -

Oh god! Pecks Paste! Lightly slathered onto heavily buttered pappy white sliced bread or toast...bliss!

Loved this so much as a kid! (In Sydney suburbs during the seventies)

I remember we being so disappointed when I last had it though - didn’t taste quite the same/as good.

And I read on the label that it had to be refrigerated after opening and only kept for like a week or so -

When I was a kid I’m sure mum kept in in a kitchen cupboard - and certainly for much longer than a week!

Suspect they’ve radically lowered the salt content in recent decades. Would explain the blander taste and the lack of longevity once opened. I remember the vegemite people had - over the course of several years - gradually lowered the salt content of it to make it “healthier” - but finally reached the lowest they could go - as with any lower, it would turn mouldy.

So many things we had then taste different now. Don’t get me started on lollies!

[quote]bliss!

Ugh. "Bliss!" queen.

[quote]Don’t get me started on lollies!

Oh, go ahead. Then "pressies!" Then "ressies!" You fucking idiotie.

White beans on toast is not the same thing as Heinz.

R146, Nxt time throw equal parts beans and cold butter in a cuisinart, add salt, white pepper, thyme, sage, or marjoram, and parsley.... Plain white beans have little flavour.... Especially tinned.

From the US here, and when I first heard of "beans on toast" it really didn't appeal to me because it just sounded too starchy overall. Kind of like how a "chip butty" (based on what I saw Gordon Ramsay make) wouldn't really appeal to me - it's starchiness on top of starchiness. That said, I do love stuff like Potato & Onion Pierogi, or Beans & Rice. I'm half Italian (my mom's side of the family is 100% Italian and my grandparents immigrated here from Italy). A simple inexpensive meal I can eat anytime would be just some pasta with tomato sauce. It was especially good when we made it with my grandparents own canned tomato sauce. I think the issue is that some of us prefer something acidic to be paired with something starchy.

British Heinz beans in tomato sauce is available at the little locally owned neighborhood market where I live in a small Northern California town. It's a tiny little store but still manages to sport a British food section where I could also buy Marmite and Byrd's Custard Powder if I were so inclined.

And I like baked beans on toast, though I might go years between eating it. Growing up, my mom would do the beans and franks with canned brown bread dinner every month or so, followed by beans on toast for breakfast. It's now a comfort food for me.

If Heinz beans are too bland for your taste, fellas, why don't you add something to season them?

Is that so hard?

Well, I suppose for some of you . . . . . . . . .

When I was younger, we went to the Boston area for vacations. We frequently stopped at Howard Johnson's for meals, and my favorite meal was hot dogs & baked beans, with brown bread on the side. They sold cans of their brown bread, and we always got a few cans to go.

And don't forget the ice cream cones after dinner.

Why do they have to be Heinz beans? Doesn't someone make a knockoff or a store brand equivalent?

I'm seriously thinking of getting an instant pot. Wouldn't making your own baked beans in one of these devices be ridiculously easy, as opposed to having to buy a commercial product?

It’s just the dominant brand r156. Every U.K. supermarket had its own brand and there are loads of other brands.

What's for tea, mum?

We always had Campbell's pork and beans and franks.

R156 I eat Sainsbury own brand, very nice and half the price of heinz. A lot of British people don't buy brands like heinz any more, suoermarket own brands are just as good and much cheaper.

Hummus?

Yeah, R162, it wouldn't seem to be all that different from hummus on toast.

And Walmart's website indicates they will deliver those Heinz Beanz (with the blue label) to my local store for free pick up. (Cost $2.18)

It sounds so dry, but I love hummus on warm toast/bread.

I get the BIG can of baked beans @ Aldi for $1.39.

And the hummus ( 4 or 5) varieties for $1.99.

[italic] Beans, Beans, Good for the heart

The more you eat, The more you fart

The more you fart, The better you feel

⛽ So eat your beans at every meal

Rarely do beans from scratch, all that soaking, ya' know. Yet LOVE Bush's tall cans of baked beans , buy on sale 4 for $5. Often will open a can and eat cold from can, using my very silver and fancy long iced-teaspoon. Because of this thread I've tried beans on toast. LOVE 'EM .... my new thing.

Is it common to butter the toast before adding the beans ?

Can I substitute Beanee-Weanee?

"Beans, Beans, Good for the heart

The more you eat, The more you fart

The more you fart, The better you feel

⛽ So eat your beans at every meal"

We had a variation on that growing up:

Beans, beans, the magical fruit

The more you eat 'em, the more you toot

The more you toot, the better you feel

Beans, beans for EVERY meal!

Most Americans don’t eat it because it looks like diarrhea

One should always butter the toast, or if you prefer, butter the *hot dog roll, with genuine House of Windsor Countryside Butter.

*Known in the Castle as "Bean Dogs"

So do Sloppy Joes, yet Americans eat that. So do the insides of a some burritos and refried beans, but we eat that.

R170......We referred to beans as the "Musical Fruit"

Let's not forget authentic Greek Sauce.

"Tootin Putin" loves to visit England for beans and toast.

In the U.S., we had meat on toast. Examples include SOS and creamed chipped beef. Beans are for poor people, a reminder of 1920s - 40s austerity.

Oh, yes! The flatulence after helps mask other odors "down there."

Hot turkey sandwiches, hot roast beef sandwiches, meatball sandwiches . . . . . In the U.S. we love meat and gravy on our bread. We love practically anything on bread.

Care for a Fluffernutter ?

We don't eat French fry sandwiches. I've never heard of a lasagna sandwich myself. There is soup served in a bread bowl, which I suppose could be a sort of sandwich?

Is a can of Spaghetti O's with a side of bread and butter similar to beans and toast?

[quote]Hot turkey sandwiches, hot roast beef sandwiches, meatball sandwiches . . . . . In the U.S. we love meat and gravy on our bread. We love practically anything on bread.

I had a Turkey Devonshire tonight: toast points, sliced turkey, mornay sauce, bacon, diced tomato. Side of cole slaw. Absolutely wonderful.

Beans on toast has also been known as the professional chef's Christmas dinner for a long time. After weeks of turkey, glazed chestnuts and smoked salmon the boring, wholesome taste and ease of preparation brings welcome relief. But it HAS to be Heinz baked beans, good quality and really fresh (but nothing special) bread, and smothered in a really excellent butter, something like from God's Green Earth pastures. It's perfection.

Dear R126, I'm sure you can find them at non-mainstream or specialty retailers, but you can't find them at regular grocery stores like Safeway, etc. As for online, you can by crack cocaine and heroin online, if you know where to look. Flake chocolate and Marmite can be bought on eBay and Amazon, but I wouldn't be able to buy them at my local mainstream grocery store, which is where most Americans shop. Consequently, they have no fucking clue what 'baked beans on toast' is.

Interesting, R181 - In the US we call that a "Kentucky Hot Brown" sandwich.

We are in Pittsburgh, R184.

[quote]The butter is also different - I had no idea our butter was different from the rest of the world. Their butter isn’t whipped, it’s pure butter. Is that why all the butter on USA cooking shows is white, not yellow?

The real difference between European and American butter is that their butter is cultured They add bacteria before churning that helps develop a richer. more complex flavor. I use American butter for cooking, but buy Kerrygold at Costco to put out on the table. Much better flavor than American butter, although even Land O'Lakes is now selling "European Style" butter. You can also make your own with heavy cream (preferably not ultra pasteurized) by adding a few tablespoons of full fat yogurt or cultured buttermilk. Let it sit overnight (in the fridge if you're squeamish), and then whip it on max in a stand mixer until the cream releases its liquid. It takes about 10 minutes. You're left with butter clinging to the whisk. Scrape it off, add some good sea salt, and it's the best butter you will ever have.

I tried Kerry Gold, but didn't like it. Too milky tasting.

Pittsburgh is not America, R185. I'm from there.

And the Hot Brown sandwich was first. Some yinzer ripped it off.

[quote]And what's with the royal "we?"

I was mirroring r184. Obviously, I should have used quotation marks.

In Pittsburgh, R188, you can get a Crab Devonshire as well. And Kim Davis doesn't live here.

They have that sandwich with coleslaw and french fries in Pittsburgh. Parmanti or something.

It's been a big thing in Pittsburgh to put fries on sandwiches.

Lasagna is a hot pasta sandwich with cheese, meat, and sauce.

I think that the answer to the OP's question really comes down to cost.

In the US bread is around double the price that is is in the UK and baked beans cost three or four times more (plus the butter isn't very good)

So beans on toast in the UK would cost around 50c per serving and in the US about $2.00 per serving, if you could find the baked beans.

Doesn't seem like the same 'Cheap, Great Value' meal?

Think beans on toast is good, OP? Take two slices Mother's Pride white bread, butter them, cut into cubes, line a bowl with the cubes, and pour Heinz Cream of Tomato on top.

Also tinned tomatoes on toast is delish, but the toast must be quite burnt.

Kerrygold? For the NorAid faux Oirsh market in North America I assume. Lurpac (Danish) and Noissy (French) are the best mass market Euro butters. If you want a true quality butter go for a Brittany butter with sea salt, or one made with the milk of Jersey cows.

Don't like it ?

Don't eat it !

A datalounger's butter must be FARM FRESH.

Americans go for Bean Dip on Fritos

We can still buy Fresh butter where I live in the UK. None of the packet rubbish.

Isn't that what they call 'shit on a shingle'?

^^^No.

R201 It is Whey Butter which you can only buy in Lancashire, Somerset and Devon. It is slightly lower in fat and the taste varies by batch.

I quite like it.

Why eat beans on toast when red beans and rice is an option? Or why not what Latin Americans eat for lunch in practically every country south of the US of American border: rice and beans.

I agree with R204 (just had beans and rice for dinner). I have beans and rice at any meal: breakfast, lunch or dinner.

R204 The average rice consumption per person in the UK is one of the lowest in Europe (less than half of the US) despite curry being pretty much our national dish and all of the immigration from India and Pakistan. It's too much effort to make properly.

I hate beans

r206 They don't sell rice cookers in the UK?

You mean you don't all churn your own butter at home?

R208 We eat home-made rice so infrequently that it's easier to buy the pouches or cartons at the supermarket and microwave them (it's also very cheap at about 50p). It generally just comes from the takeaway.

I haven't eaten rice for about 2 months, never been a something that I enjoy.

Of course they do r208.

[quote]Lasagna is a hot pasta sandwich with cheese, meat, and sauce.

R193, when you pick up your whole serving of layered lasagne casserole with your hands and chomp into it, and hang onto it as you finish it off to the last bite while playing cards, THEN you can call your wet sloppy casserole mess a Sandwich!

Because war rations ended in the US in 1946.

Baked Bean sandwiches for the school lunch was always a bad idea.

Soggy as all hell by the time lunchtime rolled around.

I liked an orange sunnyboy as an accompaniment.

I have a rice cooker that’s easy as pie to use. And a “rice” setting on my microwave that times the interval from start to the first burst of steam off the rice to calculate the cooking time, and it comes out perfect every time. Making rice is as easy as making toast.

In America we just grew our own. We weren't stupid enough to give into Hitler and then have to beg America and the Soviet Union to save us.

^^^ Damn, son!

Beans are poor people food.

Beans are rationing food.

Nobody WANTS to eat them.

Speak for yourself R218..... J'adore Flagolette, Cannelini, Navy, Pinto, Cecci, Lupini, Haricots Ver, Limas, and Blacks. Kidneys and Favas are the only two I'm not keen on.

J'aime quand les pauvres mangent des haricots., r219

You can’t make a cassoulet without beans.

Vous etes assez hautain, monsieut R220! Oiu mon ami affectueux de haricot! R221

Are you a hobo?

R58 or R59, it’s when butter is taken from the fridge and softened for easier spreadability. My UK friends have said they prefer putting hard butter on toast, as that’s the way they know. For much of North America, it’s softened butter by letting it hit room temp for the meal. Or in a restauaranr perhaps, by adding some oil or fresh garlic to it. Most often, it’s done by ‘whipping’ butter with the beaters from a cake mixer . Restauarants often use the soft funnel gadget (forget what they’re called), to give it a uniform presentation in an individual serving butter dish.

I like beans on toast accompanied by a nice gelatin salad.

I just remembered, more impoverished areas of Mexico (like El Paso) have a Mexican analog of beans on toast. They call it (with various creative misspellings) a "Beanie Weenie" burrito. Beans and franks rolled into a flour burrito. Not as vile as a Chico's Taco, but close.

[quote]I just remembered, more impoverished areas of Mexico (like El Paso)

Do you really think El Paso is in Mexico?

I'd rather have a bacon sarnie.

My 6pack of Heinz Beans arrived today from Amazon. Just had two slices of whole grain bread, French butter, topped with the beans and grated sharp cheddar. OMG it was so good!

You should also try it topped with a poached egg r229.

Wow, sounds like you went all out R229! The cheese is nice w/that piquant tomato flavour. Hope you used a good English cheddar!

As a poor veggie, I have eaten many refried bean sandwiches.

My Italian Mother frequently made pasta dishes with canellini beans, especially during lent on meatless Fridays. She also made a great soup with bow tie pasta, Italian sausage, and canellini.

I'd love to try a traditional English breakfast with beans and toast.

R233, Your mum would have enjoyed my dinner the other night then: Canellini beans, Broccoli di Rapa, Ilalian sausage, and lots of olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.....

[quote] I have eaten many refried bean sandwiches.

Fun fact: "frijoles refritos" does NOT mean "refried beans." Anyone want to guess what it really means?

Cold beans

^^^ Well-cooked beans; thoroughly-cooked beans.

My dad used to eat leftover baked beans from the fridge with milk and sugar over them.

You are talking about people that call fries chips and chips crisps for Heaven's sake. We aren't savages OP, that's why.

Chips vs Crisps..........I don't care what you call 'em, as long as you keep 'em coming.

R239, I love your dad !

I'd love to have breakfast with him !

I think the beans on toast I'm having right now probably cost less than Plumpy'Nut, the peanut, milk, sugar and vitamin paste so popular in Darfur. Listen up, Oxfam.

Leave the Orphan alone, r243.

Or we'll have to "deal" with you.

Never in my wildest dreams would a silly post about beans on toast garner 244+ responses.

Ghosts and roasts can't stay away from posts about toast, host.

I 💟 You, OP.

You've introduced my taste buds to a world of gourmand delights beyond my imagination.

I'm italian (born bred and living in Italy, not italo-american). The very concept of canned beans poured on a slice of bread sounds like sci-fi to me. If you crave those two foods, why not make a proper bean soup with a bruschetta? It takes 10 minutes, it's really good and it doesn't look suicide-inducing.

Because we don't want your proper Italian bean soup, made in TEN minutes. Doesn't sound very proper to me.

We're happy with our proper English full breakfast that includes beans and toast.

[quote]I'm italian (born bred and living in Italy, not italo-american). The very concept of canned beans poured on a slice of bread sounds like sci-fi to me. If you crave those two foods, why not make a proper bean soup with a bruschetta? It takes 10 minutes, it's really good and it doesn't look suicide-inducing.

Oh shutta upppa R248

🐵 You stink like garlic r248

r249 probably says broo-SHET-tah.

I like cold pizza for breakfast.

I've even eaten leftover cold lasagna. It was so good, I didn't want to take the time to reheat it.

cold pizza and cold lasagna are great, R253 (especially if homemade).

R253 I love both of those as well.

Bush baked beans rock

OP, how do you know it's not popular - did you take a fucking poll? Conduct a survey?

Oh gosh, now people are angry about beans.

Could we have kippers for breakfast?

You don’t know beans about beans.

Headline about the Drunk Vicar ... Don't let this happen to you!

[quote] why not make a proper bean soup with a bruschetta? It takes 10 minutes,

No one wants to eat your "proper" 10 minute bean soup

R253 - Cold is good. But room temperature is even better. Leave the pizza out overnight. Same for the lasagna. Also works for Chinese food.

[quote]No one wants to eat your "proper" 10 minute bean soup

I'd MUCH rather eat a proper bean soup (don't know about the 10 minute part).

Nothing better than an old fashioned plate of baked beans on toast and a cup of Bushells instant tea powder.

The real question is: "Why is 'Beans on Toast' popular ANYWHERE?"

Because I can think of a thousand better things to do with both beans and toast.

....

R149, lollies are what we call candy in Australia

I had organic beans on glutenfree, wholemeal, sourdough toast with beano and as well as my face coming out in whiteheads like a teenager, the farts are volcanic.

There must be some seriously nasty shit in there.