America is a melting pot that was formed by the hard-working people who migrated here from lands as far east as China and Japan, as far north as Russia and Europe. They utilized American supplies and prepared them in ways that they had prepared them in their homeland.
True American food is a collection of these culinary traditions passed down from generation to generation”.Each culture brought their cooking methods, food, and spices to America. They farmed the soil, hunted game, and incorporated their ways into the food of America.

Boston Baked Beans

Native Americans made cornbread and baked beans. The Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony learned these recipes in the early 1620s and likely added barley to the cornmeal to invent New England brown bread. The triangular trade of slaves in the 18th century helped to make Boston an exporter of rum, which is produced by the distillation of fermented molasses. At that time, molasses was added to local baked bean recipes, creating Boston Baked Beans. In colonial New England, baked beans were traditionally cooked on Saturdays and left in the brick ovens overnight. On Sundays, the beans were still hot, allowing people to indulge in a hot meal and still comply with Sabbath restrictions. Today, brown bread and baked beans along with frankfurters continue to be a popular staple throughout the region.

Ingredients

3 slices of bacon
1 lb navy beans or great northern beans, soaked overnight in cold water
1 large onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, grated
2 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup dijon mustard
4 cups of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a Dutch Over, cook the bacon until crisp. Place the cooked bacon on a paper towel and leave the bacon fat in the pan.when cool enough to touch, crumble the bacon.
Add onions and garlic to the pot with the bacon fat and cook until the onion is soft.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Add enough water to just cover the beans.

Sprinkle the bacon on top. Cover the pot and bake for 3 hours, Stir several times during the baking period. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees F
Remove the cover and continue baking – to allow some of the liquid to evaporate leaving you with a thick sauce. Cook one hour and begin tasting the beans to see if they are tender – not mushy- and the sauce has thickened. Fresh dried beans cook more quickly than old beans. Continue to bake for another hour if needed. Add 1 teaspoon salt or to taste and stir well.
The beans are ready to be served or they can be refrigerated and reheated the next day.

Posted by Jovina Coughlin in Bacon, Beans, Healthy Italian Cooking, onion, Vegetables Tags: History of Boston Baked Beans