Ever seen these old timey' yellow cans of Grandma Brown's Home Baked Beans at the store? They come in a couple of sizes, one of them being a gigantic, triumphant, "family size" can. I always pass by them and chuckle at the attractive ugliness of the label design.
Did you know that these bad boys are an Upstate New York product, straight out of scenic Mexico, New York (kind of by Oswego)? I have actually been to Mexico, it's god's country there.
I am a big bean fan (read my recent porky recipe here), but I find it fairly simple to make my own. I rarely find the need to buy a canned product, but when convenience calls I go for Grandma Brown's. Reading the list of ingredients you will find no chemicals/additives/preservatives. As you know, simplicity is my watchword and water, navy beans, brown sugar, salt, bacon and baking soda are all that's in the can.
These are wonderful baked beans, simple and tasty. On their own the beans are great as a side dish, but many people also use them as a starting point for whatever strange and wonderful bean recipes that have been passed down through the generations. I don't like to futz with them too much. My favorite is to thinly slice in some regular ol' hot dogs (Stewart's Deli Dogs in this case) to make a mess of what I have always referred to as Beanies and Weenies.
Into the oven for a few and you are all set. This kind of goes into the what do you eat that is kind of gross and you are a little ashamed of category of foods that I like. I also have been know to get a can of the bean soup with bacon-
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and eat it cold with tortilla chips as a bean dip of sorts.
Anyhow, Grandma Brown's products are good, wholesome, and from small town New York. So eschew the Bush's and Campbell's and pick up that ugly yellow and brown can of Grandma's beans for your memorial day cookout (Price Chopper and the Delmar Marketplace have them). If you are an outlander than you can get them off of the wonderful Taste of CNY (Central New York) website that I discovered.
mmmmm, Grandma Brown's scream childhood to me - one of my top comfort foods. My mom loaded them up with brown sugar and sometimes a bit of bacon. In all these years, though, I never knew they were an upstate product!
ReplyDeleteThis would explain why I can't find them out here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.northcroghanoutpost.com/grandmabrownsbakedbeans.aspx
DeleteOnce again, Mr. Dave, my deep thanks for this felicitous news!
ReplyDeleteI am going camping this weekend, and need to feed somewhere along the lines of 20 people. I like the softness canned baked beans get, and wanted to serve them for a side. I'll be grabbing a small can to try out this eve.
I grew up there ... my mom actually knew Grandma Brown. (That really is her picture on the can.) In my 50+ years I don't think they've ever changed the design of the can. I'm in NJ now, but still can get them. My kids think I'm nuts, but there's nothing like taking leftover GB beans (baked with some brown sugar) and using them cold to make a sandwich with lots of butter and some catsup.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure people think you are nuts, but my mother liked GBs bean sandwiches and now I have also developed a taste for them. They are a great vegetarian choice. Unfortunately, I can not get them in NC, but I know several ladies who will not leave NY without a few cans of Grandma Browns Beans.
DeleteI was born in Fulton NY not far from Mexico NY.
ReplyDeleteGrandma Browns was an "institution" for any baked bean fan in our area. In the early 50's the company had a booth at the NYS Fair, and sold bean sandwiches for .15 (fifteen cents !).
There was a one block line of people waiting for them. The next year ? No GB sandwiches. Rumor had it that the "hot dog and burger" guys threatened not to come back if GB was allowed ! I believe it was true.
Jim Mahern - "still a fan"!
That is the same label that was on them 30 years ago when I lived in upstate NY.
ReplyDeletefor all of you that don't live in Upstate NY--Wegmans grocery store carries Grandma Browns. Unfortunately, I don't have a Wegmans anywhere nearby, but I stock up when I am in PA visiting family.
That is the same label they have had as long as I can remember and I am sure they taste the same too. I am just over 70, so memory must go back at least 60 or more years. So glad Wegmans has come to MA and I can go stock up on them, when we make it up to there new store.
ReplyDeleteThe label changed. I have a copyright 1951 can and the style is more old-fashioned and Grandma looks like Grandma's grandma.
ReplyDeleteAnd what's up with this "ugly"? "Rural" I could go for. "Authentic" I could go for. But "Ugly" sounds like the poster here doesn't know enough words to function, let alone writing web pages.
Ooooh, you are all offended. You are right, I am an imbecile. I definitely have not crowed about how much I love the label design several times in numerous posts. I definitely did not use the descriptors "attractive" and "old timey" in this very post....
DeletePeople like you should be barred from the internet. You are a small person who takes time out of his day to write self righteous comments on a food blog. Think about that for a minute... Is that really how you wanted your life to turn out?
I love Grandma Brown's Baked Beans! I tried them for the first time when I was living in NH. I grew up in Ohio, they don't sell it there. The label is very simplistic, just like the ingredients. Beans beans the wonderful fruit, the more you eat the more you toot......
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ReplyDeleteLove the GB Baked Beans and the GB Bean Soup...love everything about the product, the company and where they're located...when you're actually there, you're one step closer to heaven.
ReplyDelete