I am currently working in France as part of my university degree, and despite the fact that I love French food – the bread, the cheese, the pastries… (I haven’t yet been brave enough to try snails or frogs’ legs!) – I miss some of the English home comforts that I take for granted. Last weekend, I was very lucky as my boyfriend came to visit me and he bought with him the ingredients for my favourite English meal: sausages, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand, baked beans are generally disliked by the rest of the world… Perhaps this is why it is so difficult to buy them whilst abroad! My English friends who are also living abroad this year have told me they are missing baked beans too! As a result, I think it is important to tell you all why you should try them – even if it just when you are visiting England!
1. They are quick and easy to prepare. Seriously, you put the beans in a bowl, place it in the microwave for two minutes and there you have it, a delicious meal! What’s more, it’s not even necessary to heat them - you can eat them cold too! A little bizarre perhaps, but I assure you it’s very nice, and even quicker, especially if you have a few cans in your kitchen cupboard already.
2. The sauce is very tasty. You can eat beans with nearly anything and the sauce adds a lovely flavour to many meals. It is particularly nice with potatoes cooked in all ways (boiled or mashed, or as chips or jacket potato), and even better with two slices of buttered toast and grated cheese.
3. And thirdly, believe it or not, but baked beans count as one of the five fruit and vegetable portions that it is recommended to eat each day. They are a cheap and cheerful food and a great vegetable replacement if you find that your carrots have gone mouldy before you got a chance to eat them!
So, I hope I’ve given you enough good reasons as to why you should give beans a chance. Oh, just one more for luck: baked beans have such a long expiry date on them; it’s always useful to have some in the house.
I look forward to hearing feedback on your ‘baked beans experiences’!
Have you ever tried baked beans? If so, do you like them? If not, would you like to?
