Boston Baked Beans 1890: Boston Baked Beans 1890 Rings True to Me

» algernon - Boston Baked Beans 1890 Rings True to Me

Editor's note: I received the following note about this article on 1890 Boston Baked Beans. I thought maybe the rest of you would like to see it, too.

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Just found your web site on Boston Baked Beans. The bean recipe from 1890 is, I think, right on the money. Both my parents were from Nova Scotia with lots of relatives in Boston. Every Saturday night we had beans. (We lived in Central New York, and I thought everybody had that for Saturday supper until I was about 10 years old.) I thought it was funny that you were suspicious of the 1890 recipe because it didn't have onion. The ingredients you gave are EXACTLY what my mother used. Nothing more, nothing less. One time I made them with some onion and dried mustard. She was horrified. She learned the recipe from my dad's mother. If Grandma were alive today, she'd be about 150 years old. That's the recipe she used, including the type of crock. There was one difference, my mother soaked the beans overnight. She also put them in the oven about 9 a.m. at 300 degrees. Then an hour or so later, she turned the oven down to about 250. They cooked all day. Frequently you'd have to add a little boiling water, if they got dried out. Along with the beans was bread (frequently homemade oatmeal bread) and chow (green tomato pickles). Can't find that recipe anywhere. I still make it, but I had to put it together from my memory of taste, smell and what I could remember. (green tomatoes, onions, vinegar, salt, and a bunch of spices) I'm a member of the Slow Food Movement and am aware that some of the "old" recipes are now facing extinction from they way they were originally. We are such a "fast food" society and when we do make things from scratch, we frequently alter the original recipe, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's fun to taste food the way our ancestors tasted it. Anyway, I wanted to put my two cents in. I'm bookmarking your web site. It's great.

Peggy Gorman

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-- posted by algernon