Earthenware crock filled with glossy molasses-glazed Boston baked beans studded with cubed salt pork on a rustic table

Fannie Farmer's Boston Baked Beans

Name: Fannie Farmer's Boston Baked Beans
Total time: 395 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 500g dried navy or haricot beans, soaked overnight; 200g salt pork or thick bacon, cubed; 1 large onion, whole; 80ml molasses; 3 tbsp brown sugar; 1 tbsp English mustard powder; 2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 500ml hot water

From Boston Cooking-School Cook Book · Fannie Merritt Farmer · 1896

Verified from original source

Molasses-sweet beans slow-baked with salt pork — a New England Saturday-night ritual.

Historical note: Farmer's book revolutionised American cooking by introducing precise measurements — 'a cup of flour' finally meant a proper level cup.

History

Boston Baked Beans originated in colonial New England, where Puritan settlers slow-cooked navy beans with molasses and salt pork on Saturday to avoid cooking on the Sabbath. The dish became Boston's signature food by the 18th century, earning the city its nickname "Beantown." Molasses arrived cheaply via the triangular trade with the Caribbean. Fannie Farmer's 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book codified the classic recipe: beans, molasses, salt pork, mustard, and slow oven-baking. The dish remained a Saturday-night tradition in New England households through the early 20th century and survives today in canned form and traditional New England restaurants.

Sources

Fannie Merritt Farmer, The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896
Lydia Maria Child, The American Frugal Housewife, 1829
Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald, America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking, 2004
Andrew F. Smith, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2004
Sandra L. Oliver, Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and Their Food at Sea and Ashore, 1995

Serves

Prep

15m

Cook

380m

Difficulty

Easy

Ingredients

· 500g dried navy or haricot beans, soaked overnight
· 200g salt pork or thick bacon, cubed
· 1 large onion, whole
· 80ml molasses
· 3 tbsp brown sugar
· 1 tbsp English mustard powder
· 2 tsp salt
· 1/2 tsp black pepper
· 500ml hot water

Method

1
Preheat oven to 140°C.
2
Drain beans; parboil 10 minutes in fresh water.
3
Layer half the beans in a heavy bean pot or Dutch oven. Nestle onion in centre.
4
Layer half the salt pork, then remaining beans, remaining pork on top.
5
Whisk molasses, sugar, mustard, salt, pepper into hot water. Pour over.
6
Cover and bake 6 hours, topping up water each hour or so.
7
Uncover for the last 30 minutes to crisp the top.
8
Serve with brown bread — the traditional pairing.

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