A friend who's fairly knowledgeable about food thinks the beans that
Heinz use in their baked beans are cannelloni (sp?) beans. Can anyone
confirm, or definitely state otherwise?

If it's so, can they be grown in the UK, and where would one get
seeds/plantable beans?

Thanks,

Brian Mitchell

HI Brian

On Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:13:04 GMT, brian mitchell
wrote:

A friend who's fairly knowledgeable about food thinks the beans that
Heinz use in their baked beans are cannelloni (sp?) beans. Can anyone
confirm, or definitely state otherwise?

Well - in the spirit of 'I read it on the 'net so it must be true' g

Most commercial tinned baked beans such as Heinz are made from haricot
beans, also known as Boston Beans or Navy Beans, a variety of
Phaseolus vulgaris,

so says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans

there's a few references to growing the beans here
http://www.google.ie/search?q=growin...GGL_en___IE232

(if the link doesn't work then try a google search on
growing baked beans)

Some USA references - but also some from the UK

Seems that growing he beans is the easy part - getting the recipie
right so's they taste like the ones out of a tin is more difficult !

HTH
Adrian

If it's so, can they be grown in the UK, and where would one get
seeds/plantable beans?

Thanks,

Brian Mitchell

Hienz use a White/Navy (Haricot) bean, but I am sure they have their own specific strain. I believe Cannellini is a variant.

An American friend of mine used to grow her own here in the UK and would bake them with brown sugar, salt and her own special Barbeque sauce.

As for where you can buy them, I'm afraid I don't know...

In message , brian mitchell
writes
A friend who's fairly knowledgeable about food thinks the beans that
Heinz use in their baked beans are cannelloni (sp?) beans. Can anyone
confirm, or definitely state otherwise?


I think you mean Canellini Beans ?

I thought that Heinz BB used Haricot beans, but I'm not sure there is
really any great difference. Canellini Beans are small creamy/white
beans and Haricot are small creamy/white beans.... I guess both are just
different varieties of French Beans - though Canellini are 'Italian'
beans.

If it's so, can they be grown in the UK, and where would one get
seeds/plantable beans?


French Beans are easily grown in the UK. Any seed suppliers will have a
variety of them. Just choose a variety that gives the required type of
bean - Lots are dwarf beans - which are low growing and don't require
supports. We prefer to grow climbing ones - they need support, but get
much better yields per area. We've grown the variety Blue Lake has small
white Haricot type beans.

They are easy to grow. They are tender plants so need to be grown once
the chance of frost has passed (around the end of May, but it depends on
area) We get them going in Rootrainers in the Greenhouse in April and
then plant out later. But they can also be sown direct from about mid
May.

Googling for 'how to grow climbing french beans' gives plenty of links

This seems a reasonable article:

http://www.channel4.com/food/on-tv/j...ome/how-to-gro
w-french-beans_p_1.html

Or any book on growing veg will cover it.

To get the dried beans you leave pods on the plant to mature and then
dry out - you might need to harvest them and then finish drying them off
in a shed or whatever.

However, it all seems faff to me for the amount of beans you get, and
fresh green French beans are much to yummy to waste :-) I'd just eat the
beans green and then buy the driedHaricot/Cannelini beans from the
supermarket/wholefood shop.

Finding a recipe that comes anywhere near the taste of the tinned beans
will be difficult I imagine, though plenty around for Boston Baked
Beans, which are good, but not the same thing really.


--
Chris French

On 17 Mar, 09:20, chris French
wrote:

Finding a recipe that comes anywhere near the taste of the tinned beans
will be difficult I imagine, though plenty around for Boston Baked
Beans, which are good, but not the same thing really.

I really don't understand what the fuss is all about with baked
beans. 'Orrible damn things.

Now, butterbeans. Dried ones, soaked overnight in the water that had
been used for boiling ham, and then slipped into the slow oven for an
hour or so. glazed with a tiny amount of butter or olive oil and some
coarse black pepper - serve them with spinach or asparagus. Lovely.

Re-constitute a pound in vegetable stock for 24 hours. gut and clean
2 pheasants, and brown them all over. Chuck the pheasants, beans,
onions, and carrots in a pot with the stock and put a lid on, then
into a slow oven for an hour. Open up, remove any fat from the top of
the stock, add some parsnips and some herbs and some white wine, then
back into the oven for another hour and a bit. Drain the vegetables
and put them back into the oven in a small tray to brown and crisp a
bit, remove most of the stock (leave enough to stop the birds from
burning) and put the birds back in the oven. The stock you removed,
reduce down on top of the stove to one third.
Stick a bird on each plate, the vegetables on one side, and drizle the
sauce down the bird and onto the other side of the plate.. If the
person you are cooking for doesn't like bones, bone the birds before
starting to cook them.

Fresh ones can be sauteed or roasted with mushrooms and bacon.
Blanched and served in a salad. Much more fun than trying to out-do
Mr Hienz.

chris French wrote:

In message , brian mitchell
writes
A friend who's fairly knowledgeable about food thinks the beans that
Heinz use in their baked beans are cannelloni (sp?) beans. Can anyone
confirm, or definitely state otherwise?


I think you mean Canellini Beans ?

No doubt.

I thought that Heinz BB used Haricot beans, but I'm not sure there is
really any great difference. Canellini Beans are small creamy/white
beans and Haricot are small creamy/white beans.... I guess both are just
different varieties of French Beans - though Canellini are 'Italian'
beans.

If it's so, can they be grown in the UK, and where would one get
seeds/plantable beans?


French Beans are easily grown in the UK. Any seed suppliers will have a
variety of them. Just choose a variety that gives the required type of
bean - Lots are dwarf beans - which are low growing and don't require
supports. We prefer to grow climbing ones - they need support, but get
much better yields per area. We've grown the variety Blue Lake has small
white Haricot type beans.

I always thought they were haricot beans too, but last year I grew both
climbing and dwarf french beans and let some mature for shelling and
neither looked anything like the Heinz bean. This clearly calls for some
research.

However, it all seems faff to me for the amount of beans you get, and
fresh green French beans are much to yummy to waste :-) I'd just eat the
beans green and then buy the driedHaricot/Cannelini beans from the
supermarket/wholefood shop.

Would they germinate or have they been processed in some way? I do eat
the beans green but I'd also like have some own-grown ripened beans to
dry. I'm interested in the whole food cycle.

Thanks for the fullsome reply.

Brian Mitchell

Adrian wrote:


Most commercial tinned baked beans such as Heinz are made from haricot
beans, also known as Boston Beans or Navy Beans, a variety of
Phaseolus vulgaris,

so says http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baked_beans

there's a few references to growing the beans here
http://www.google.ie/search?q=growin...GGL_en___IE232

(if the link doesn't work then try a google search on
growing baked beans)

Thanks for the links.

In message , brian mitchell
writes
chris French wrote:

In message , brian mitchell
writes

French Beans are easily grown in the UK. Any seed suppliers will have a
variety of them. Just choose a variety that gives the required type of
bean - Lots are dwarf beans - which are low growing and don't require
supports. We prefer to grow climbing ones - they need support, but get
much better yields per area. We've grown the variety Blue Lake has small
white Haricot type beans.

I always thought they were haricot beans too, but last year I grew both
climbing and dwarf french beans and let some mature for shelling and
neither looked anything like the Heinz bean. This clearly calls for some
research.

Different varieties vary in what the actual beans themselves are like,
you need to try different ones.

However, it all seems faff to me for the amount of beans you get, and
fresh green French beans are much to yummy to waste :-) I'd just eat the
beans green and then buy the driedHaricot/Cannelini beans from the
supermarket/wholefood shop.

Would they germinate or have they been processed in some way? I do eat
the beans green but I'd also like have some own-grown ripened beans to
dry. I'm interested in the whole food cycle.

Dried beans meant for eating will germinate fine.
--
Chris French