Pork and beans
Encyclopedia
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
and bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s as its main ingredients. Numerous variations exist from Fabada Asturiana
Fabada Asturiana
Fabada Asturiana, often simply known as Fabada, is a rich Spanish bean stew, originally from and most commonly found in the autonomous community of Asturias, but widely available throughout the whole of Spain and in Spanish restaurants worldwide...
to Olla podrida
Olla podrida
Olla podrida is a Spanish stew made from pork and beans and an inconsistent, wide variety of other meats and vegetables, often including chickpeas, depending on the recipe used. The meal is traditionally prepared in a clay pot over several hours...
to American canned pork and beans.
American canned pork and beans
The recipe for typical American canned pork and beans varies considerably, but generally consists of navy beans stewed with porkPork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
or rendered pork fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
. At present, pork and beans is usually also stewed with tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es, but this is a 19th century development. Pork and beans is a dish that is routinely purchased canned
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
and reheated on a stove or in a microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
.
Although the time and place of the dish's invention is unclear, it was well established in the American diet by the mid-19th century. The 1832 cookbook The American Frugal Housewife lists only three ingredients for this dish: a quart of beans, a pound of salt pork
Salt pork
Salt pork or white bacon is salt-cured pork. It is prepared from one of three primal cuts: pork side, pork belly, or fatback. Depending on the cut, respectively, salt pork may be lean, streaky or entirely fatty. Made from the same cuts as bacon, salt pork resembles uncut slab bacon, but is...
, and pepper. According to the 1975 Better Homes and Garden Heritage Cookbook, canned pork and beans was the first convenience food
Convenience food
Convenience food, or tertiary processed food, is commercially prepared food designed for ease of consumption. Products designated as convenience foods are often prepared food stuffs that can be sold as hot, ready-to-eat dishes; as room-temperature, shelf-stable products; or as refrigerated or...
. According to Conagra Foods
ConAgra Foods
ConAgra Foods, Inc. is an American packaged foods company. ConAgra's products are available in supermarkets, as well as restaurants and food service establishments. Its headquarters are located in Omaha, Nebraska...
, Gilbert Van Camp
Van Camp's
Van Camp’s is a brand of canned beans currently owned by ConAgra Foods, Inc. Their products typically consist of beans stewed in a flavored sauce...
, in partnership with his wife Hester, sold salt pork and beans with stewed tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
es to the US Army during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Commercially canned pork and beans were introduced in the United States during the 1880s, but did not become popular until H. J. Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
came out with their version in 1895. Indianapolis grocer Frank Van Camp discovered his customers still enjoyed his parents' old family recipe for salt pork and beans in tomato sauce, and opened a canning company. Van Camp's Pork and Beans became widely popular, and is sold to this day.
Pork and beans is a stereotypical cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
food dish as mentioned in the song "The Old Chisholm Trail": "Oh, it's bacon and beans most every day I'd as soon be a-eatin' prairie hay."
It is, "an American canned classic,[and] is recognized by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
consumers generally as an article of commerce that contains very little pork." This is due to the high fat content of the salt pork traditionally used for the last 180 years in American pork and beans, which often renders into solution when sufficiently heated.
See also
- Baked beansBaked beansBaked beans is a dish containing beans, sometimes baked but, despite the name, usually stewed, in a sauce. Most commercial canned baked beans are made from haricot beans, also known as navy beans – a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris – in a sauce. In Ireland and the United Kingdom, a tomato...
- Boston baked beansBoston baked beansBoston baked beans are a variety of baked beans, typically sweetened with molasses or maple syrup and flavored with salt pork or bacon.Native Americans had made corn bread and baked beans. The Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony learned these recipes in the early 1620s, and likely added barley to the corn...
- Beans
- Cowboy beansCowboy BeansCowboy beans is a bean dish popular in the United States. The dish consists of beans and ground beef in a sweet and tangy sauce. The flavor is similar to baked beans but with a southwestern twist...
- PorkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
- CassouletCassouletCassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat , pork skin and white haricot beans....