李佳 蒋晨宇 张安琪

ABSTRACT：Poured straight from the tin to a bowl， there is little washing up after beans – even if you embellish them. They will last for years in the cupboard， ready to go in an instant. Sometimes a can really does have it all.

SCENE 1. Dakota Territory. Laura Ingalls and her family are shivering through the long， hard winter of 1880-81. They huddle in their little house on the prairie， wrapped in coats and shawls， close to the stove. Eventually food will become scarce. Until then there are beans， cooked slowly overnight by Ma. “She lifted the lid of the bubbling kettle and quickly popped in a spoonful of soda. The boiling beans roared， foaming up， but did not quite run over. ‘Theres a little bit of salt pork to put in them too， Ma said. Now and then she spooned up a few beans and blew on them.

SCENE 2. London. The spring of 2020. Covid-19 has brought anything resembling normal life to a shuddering halt. Children are stuck at home， day in， day out. And day in， day out， they must be fed. Again and again and again. Some day， when this is all over， they will eat lunch at school. Until then， there are baked beans. They are less of a home-cooked affair than those of the Ingalls family. Emptied out of a tin， perhaps into a pan on the stove， more likely into a bowl in the microwave， they are an instant meal. Spiced up with Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce.

Many countries have a favoured bean stew. In Mexico frijoles borrachos are simmered with bacon and garlic and onions. Ewa riro are a speciality of the Yoruba part of Nigeria. In France a cassoulet may contain a rich variety of meats but it is at heart still a bowl of stewed beans.

Before Ma Ingalls was baking her beans with salt pork， Native Americans were cooking them with deer or bear fat. They seem to have passed on their skills to early settlers. For the pious Pilgrims the dish was a boon. They werent allowed to cook on the Sabbath; a pot of beans， baked overnight， starting on a Saturday evening， solved the problem.

In America baked beans are now largely associated with New England – Boston is known as Beantown. The navy bean， a small white variety， is a popular choice for baking but soldier beans （named after the red splash on their skin which， if you squint， resembles a toy soldier）， yellow-eye beans （favoured in Maine） and Jacobs Cattle beans are plausible alternatives.