Massachusetts Travel > Tourism, Culture Guides > Boston Cooking > Boston Baked Beans

Finding the Beans in Beantown, a.k.a. Boston

So where are the beans? They can be found at the Boston landmark dining spot Durgin-Park in Faneuil Hall, their image is seen in many tourism shops that sell Boston Baked Beans cooking pots and recipe books, and you can often order them at the restaurants and shacks along the New England coast that serve them as a side to lobster or steamers.

Boston as a "bean town"

Baked beans and the Boston area became linked to each other as early as colonial times. According to foodreference.com, early settlers likely got the recipe for baked beans from Native Americans, who had cooked beans with maple syrup and bear fat. Settlers adapted the recipe to use port fat and molasses instead. Molasses were a big commodity back then, as Boston was part of a triangular trade route with the Caribbean and West Africa. Sugar cane that was imported from the Caribbean was turned into rum or molasses in New England.

In 1993, Boston’s “Beantown” title was legitimized; Massachusetts’ legislature recognized the navy bean as the state’s official vegetable.

More on beans

Boston may be "Beantown," but the B&M Baked Beans brand is actually from Portland, Maine. Burnham & Morrill Company was founded in 1867 to feed Maine fisherman. Navy beans are a good source of fiber and protein, as well as folate, manganese and vitamin B1.

Boston Baked Beans Recipe

1 pound dried navy beans
1 medium to large onion
1/2 pound salt port (4 strips smoked bacon can be used as a substitute)
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 TBSP brown or Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt

Soak beans overnight, rinsing well. Bring them to a boil, covered by about 2 inches of water, then reduce heat and let them simmer for about an hour, until they start to soften. Drain liquid, reserving the cooking water. Combine the molasses, brown sugar, mustard and salt and set aside. In a bean pot or casserole dish, layer in the onions, followed by the beans, the molasses combination, the pork chopped into 1-inch squares, and the water, so that it covers the beans. Cover pot and bake for about 5 hours at 300 degrees F. If you like drier, crustier beans, remove the cover for the last 20 minutes.

Find more recipes and article on New England foods in the Boston Cooking section.

One the Web

Beans and Massachusetts Symbols
Durgin-Park restaurant
Boston-themed collectibles

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