Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-17
BOSTON BEANS IN THIS TOWN.
They are Much Eaten, but Washing
tonians Don't Cook Them Right.

"Bostons favorite brain food. baked beans
is quite popular dish in Washington" said
the head of a big grocery firm the other day to
STAR reporter, but visitors from the modern
Athens have not the highest opinion of our
method of preparing them. In their city each
family has a sacred vessel of earthenware some
thing the shape of flower pot, but cylindrical,
with cover to it, which is used once in seven
days throughout the year for domestic rite
which tradition has rendered almost religious
In character. For on Saturday night of each
week this pot-itself most revereuced of the
household gods-must be put into the oven.
filled with beans previously boiled to a state of
tenderness and left to bake until morning On
top of the quart of beans is poured half cup
full of moasess with pound hunk of fat salt
pork to crown the whole. In the process of
cooking the pork melts and its juices permeate
the mass of beans while the molasses gives a
sweet flavor and delicate brown to the deli
cous result. Such is the Sunday morning
breakfast with an accompaniment of fresh
brown bread of the pious Bostonian. Very
many people up there, however, have their
weekly supply of beans left on the doorstep
every Sabbath morning early by the baker,
who cooks enormous quantities of them. They
are delivered in the earthen jugs employed for
cooking them.
BEANS IN WASHINGTON.
"And how do Washington people bake
beans?"
"In pans mostly. Poor stuff they are. too.
cooked in that way; any New Highlander would
turn up his nose at them in dsdain.
There are plenty of well-cooked beans
eaten i'll Washington. but they come from
Boston, where they put up in cans on
an enormous scale, in fact the business of SO
preparing them for market IL great industry
In Boston. Nineteenth of the canned beans
NC 4
Der OF factories i'll that city The product thus
put up is largely consumed i'll every New
England town and Is making its way into all
parts of the west and south. though in that
shape 1t Is no longer the cheapest of foods. the
retail price being % cents quart can Nearly
one-half of the beans eaten here are of the
canned sort, which have the advantage of
being tirst-rate in quality and available for the
table almost at q moments notice, without re-
curing any cooking to speak Of"
HOW THEY ARE PREPARED.
"Do you know how the canned beans are
prepared" asked The STAR man.
"Oh, yes. The process by which the canned
beans are turned out in such vast quantities is
very elaborate and quite interesting. In some
points 1t Is matter of patent and proprietary
right, while the labels and brands are valuable
properties After the beans have been poured
upon sleeves, TO dispose of dust, hand picked by
girls to get rid of all imperfect ones and
""oHtu WIFI water III lUU-DuSTel watts,
they are put to soak over night in fresh
water and the next morning are parboiled.
Next they are put into big earthen ware Jars
four feet high and baked in hot ovens for
certain time after which they are loaded into
cans by lightning machine that picks them I'D
and does the filling from an automatic feeder
at the rate OF two cans a second. SO delicate
Is the mechanism employed for this purpose
that each receptacle is filled in its turn without
breaking single bean skin, though no human
hands interfere with the operation. Each can,
as it is laid aside by the machine, is given an
extra spoonful of filling, together with a two
ounce bit of pork. Then, before the top CAPS
are put on, the cans replaced in the oven
and the baking of the beans completed No
tasting Is needed, the matter having been re-
duced simply to
QUESTION OF HEAT AND TIME.
Finally, after the tops have been soldered on
the cans. they given few minutes bath in
hot-air retort and are then ready to have a
little hole punched in tho top of each one to
let out any air remaining The holes are i'm
medlately sealed up again Theoretically. and
after the labels have been pasted on the cans
are boxed for shipment. All they need to
make them ready for eating is that they shall
first be placed III boiling water for I. few mo-
ments to heat them through. The same houses
which prepare beans in this way also send out
brown bread In cans as accompaniment.
The mixture for this is made in huge tubs
with due proportions Of rye and Indian m 9al,
moasses, soda and sour milk Then it is
packed IN cans and baked, to be sealed up,
punched, resealed labeled and sent off ~