Beans, beans, good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you understand why baked beans have been such an iconic and integral part of British cuisine since the 19th century. It would be glib to suggest that The Trading Post is built on foundations of bacon, sausages and baked beans, but it wouldn't be a million miles (or, more pertinantly, kilometres) from the truth.
There is something inherently British about baked beans - which is a little odd, because they were originally an import from the USA. They were an instant hit, with the popularity of tinned goods meaning that baked beans were soon being produced on the right side of the Atlantic (and the southern side of the Thames) as early as 1905. Originally containing small pieces of pork, this "meal in a can" was ideal for factory workers of a rapidly-industrialising Britain. It was, however, with the advent of the Second World War, that baked beans became indelibly and inextricably linked with Britishness...
At the turn of the 20th century, tinned goods were often considered luxury items, with imported baked beans (with pork) being visible on the shelves of Fortnum & Mason and in the larders of the great and the good. After the depression of the 1920's, with Heinz now mass-manufacturing in the UK, baked beans became a staple for 'normal' people, providing a simple, nutritious and energy-filled meal. When the Second World War came, so did meat shortages and rationing, resulting in Heinz removing the pork from their baked beans. Simultaneously, baked beans were declared an "essential food" item by the Ministry of Food, securing their position on the tables, and in the hearts, of wartime Britons.
Since that time, baked beans have been considered an inherent part of British cuisine and, in some unconscious way, part of the general experience of Britishness. Whilst the UK has a rich heritage of celebrating/appropriating food from all over the world, and itself boasts 181 Michelin-starred restaurants, ask anyone (anywhere) what defines British cuisine and the likely response will include Fish & Chips, Rosbif and the full cooked breakfast - replete with baked beans. It is therefore no surprise that when a British expat searches for a taste of home, they inevitably come back with a few tins of beans.
In November, The Trading Post's daily prize hampers will therefore contain Heinz Baked Beans (as well as Yorkshire Tea as discussed yesterday). It HAD to contain baked beans. To bastardise a perfectly good slogan: beans means Britain.
