Comments on: Homemade Baked Beans

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:06:41 +0000

Heinz also has an organic ketchup.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:14:18 +0000

No, it is not necessary to cook it twice. Simply cook the beans and then add the remaining ingredients. It is optional to marinate. You can simply add the other ingredients, heat it all up and serve. If using canned beans, just add the remaining ingredients, marinate as desired, and then heat and serve.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 07:10:57 +0000

HI again,

Sorry to have so many questions but this comment/reply has me a bit confused. I don’t see two different “cooking” stages. I see the cooking the beans alone in the crockpot, then it says to drain the beans and add all the other ingredients, then cover and refrigerate if you have time. You do mention re-heating – is that what you mean by the second cooking stage? Or, after adding all the ingredients, does it require further cooking before refrigerating? I’m making them now so I hope I’ve read the recipe right!

Lastly, if using canned beans, is it really simply a matter of combining them with the ingredients, letting it marinate for a while and heating them up?

Thanks, Laura

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:38:14 +0000

Thanks Lindsay for taking time to reply. I know this blog must keep you busy! I am making the beans tomorrow for a Canada Day/Early Independence Day celebration and hope they turn out yummy. It’s not Independence Day without baked beans!

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:21:26 +0000

Brown sugar would be the best alternative here. I am sure honey would probably work too if you have access to that.

By: Laura

Laura — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:59:05 +0000

Hello Lindsey!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I live in Mozambique and don’t think I can find sorghum, molasses or pure maple syrup. I will check in South Africa next time I go. In the meantime, do you think substituting a type of sugar will work? I have American style brown sugar, Muscovado and Demerara sugars. I gather you don’t use sugar too much (!) but I am not really at the natural/health food stage you are. I’m very interested though! Many of my options are limited by living here. Anyway, I know it’d be different without a liquid but wondered if a bit of one of those sugars might suffice?

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:19:52 +0000

I have soaked all my beans for quite some time and have never experienced this. If anything my beans have become softer as a result as they absorb more liquids through the process. Hope that helps!

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:25:38 +0000

Cooksillustrated says soaking/cooking beans in an acidic environment will make them tough. Have you found this to be true? In their recipes, if you are going to cook a bean soup, for example, you can’t add tomatoes until the beans are cooked, because the acid will make them tough. I tried a little bit of lemon juice when soaking beans once and they were tough, so now I just use water.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:21:29 +0000

I purchase my sorghum through Azure Standard, but there are several other sources online. It is more common in grocery stores in the South. Molasses and maple syrup work very well also. Sorghum is just more natural and nutritious.

By: Cardamoms Pod

Cardamoms Pod — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 11:12:31 +0000

Thanks for this! My husband loves Bush’s Beans, and I’ve been experimenting with recipes on and off for years to try to duplicate (as close as possible) the flavor. My current recipe is so similar to the one you posted – with the exception of the sorghum syrup – I’ve been using molasses and maple syrup. Where can you find sorghum??? I’ve been looking…