Baked Beans

[deird1]

I'm pretty sure they exist in America, but I'm not sure how common they are.

If my British character was sick and wanting baked beans on toast as comfort food,
a) how likely would it be for a Texan to know what he was after?
b) how weird would Texan think this was (comfort-food-wise)?
c) how easy would they be to get hold of?

Comments

[sasha_davidovna]

I don't think I've ever had British-style baked beans, but American style are not eaten on toast and the idea is pretty weird to me. The closest thing might be mopping up the leftover juices with cornbread or something like that. We usually eat them as a side dish with things like hamburgers and hot dogs - they're particularly popular at picnics.

In small grocery stores (as you might find in a small town in rural Texas), it can be pretty hard to find vegetarian baked beans, but supermarkets and groceries in bigger cities usually have them, and many are getting larger international foods sections too, although in my area (Nebraska) that tends to mean Mexican, Asian, and Jewish more than European.

It pays to get the better brands, because cheaper ones are often kind of gross and too sweet. A British person would likely agree with that estimation; many Americans wouldn't.

[elfwreck]

I first ran across the idea of "baked beans on toast" in Harry Potter fanfic two years ago. I'd never heard of it before that. Until this thread, I didn't know that British baked beans were not the brown-sugared version I grew up with.

I live in California (very far from Texas), but spent a good portion of my teen years in Arkansas (very close to Texas).

I'd expect baked beans (of any sort) to go "with" cornbread, but not on it, except that there are plenty of people who will put anything on cornbread. But not on toast. There is no combination of "beans on toast" that makes sense in my mind. (My husband suggests comparing it to apple pie with ice cream on top, which he doesn't remember ever seeing in the U.K

[true_brit]

As a Brit living in the US (who's often had to "make do" when it comes to food faves), the best substitute for a Heinz-type baked bean is a cheap-o can of generic Pork-and-Beans. Scoop out the utterly redundant glob of bacon fat found at the top of every can, and whilst heating, add a short squirt of ketchup.
Spaghetti Hoops are easier to procure and taste about the same on both sides of The Pond.
But, yeah, your character better be prepared to be classified as weird :D

[rosefyre]

I, like various people above me, never knew that British and American baked beans were different. Thus, if a Brit asked for baked beans, they'd be directed to the ones we usually use, which I've seen as sides for hot dogs and hamburgers and as part of a franks-and-beans casserole, which involves baked beans and chopped up hot dogs.

The idea of those on toast is just weird. Very weird. *shudders* Just, no.

[alphabet26]

Like everyone said, our baked beans are different. So if there was no clarification, the British guy is going to get our baked beans and that would probably cause much consternation on both sides.

How weird would the Texan think it is? For a comfort food, I don't think anyone would care at all. We all have comfort foods, and if you're sick and it makes you feel better to eat, I don't know, pickles and peanut butter, I'm just going to go along with it, whatever.