"New Kid In Town" - Eagles, 1976

Heinz Baked Beans.

They are a British institution. I often hear that they are the food-from-home that ex-pat Brits miss the most. They are somewhat different from the kinds of baked beans and pork & beans I grew up on in the States. And I have observed that saying something snide about Heinz Baked Beans here in the UK is tantamount to saying something disrespectful about the late Queen Mother.

But there's a new kid in town. I should rephrase that. There's a new bean in town!

Branston, the pickle people (and one of the divisions of that big conglomerate Premier Foods), have boldly decided to challenge Heinz's domination of the baked bean business in Britain. Here's an excellent article about the battle of the baked beans from the "Cambridge Evening News". And here's another from the "Daily Mirror".

So John and I decided to try a can of the new Branston Baked Beans last weekend. I knew I could keep an open mind, given that I don't have the life history of eating the Heinz variety that John does. But I wasn't so sure what he would think. After only a couple of bites, though, the verdict was in from the two of us. The Branston beans are terrific...and just as soon as those remaining turquoise cans are off our kitchen shelves, they'll be replaced with the baked-beanie-colored Branston cans!

The Branston sauce is definitely a bit spicier -- and am I tasting more brown sugar, too, perhaps?

How 'bout any of you? What do Lord Celery's readers think?

Janet

Listening To: "The Storys" - by...The Storys!