Sainsburys Economy Baked Beans

Review of Sainsbury's Economy Baked Beans.

As regular readers of my reviews may have gathered, I am living on a very modest budget, credit crunch, early retirement and other factors mean that I do have to watch my pennies, hence my recent purchase of these baked beans!

The Product

Baked Beans in tomato sauce are a popular dish in many households. We don't actually eat them as an accompaniment to meals, but as a source of protein in recipes. Being a vegetarian, I tend to obtain most of my protein intake from beans, pulses or legumes and the humble baked beans is a quick and easy way to add texture, interest and substance to a vegetarian meal. Not only are they full of protein, they are low in fat and contain valuable dietary fibre. Baked beans also provide important vitamins and minerals, including iron, folic acid, zinc and potassium.

Baked beans were first available in the United Kingdom as far back as the 1920's. The original concept of baked beans comes from America where haricot beans were cooked with molasses and salt. The humble tinned bean has grown into a staple food, as many as 1.1 billion cans of baked beans are consumed by Britons each year. The market leader is of course that well known company beginning with an 'H', but in my opinion, these economy beans give them a run for their money!

Packaging, pricing, taste and texture

The Sainsbury's Economy range is vast and many different products are now appearing under the Economy label. I should point put that Ciao's photograph is a little out of date, the product now comes with a white label with red writing, not blue, other than this the style of packaging is unchanged.

The can is completely recyclable, the lid does not have a ring pull so a traditional can opener is required, this is my only complaint about the product as I struggle with tin openers due to my cack-handedness!

The can contains 420g of haricot beans in a tomato sauce and costs a very reasonable 17p.

The beans themselves are on the small side, but the little oval beans are quite firm to the bite, without being hard. The sauce is rather runny in comparison to other brands, reddish orange in colour and fairly mild in taste, with a tomato-ey smell. The sauce does have a somewhat sweet after taste, which is not unpleasant but might put some consumers off. There is a fair amount of sauce in the can, possibly a little more than in branded baked beans.

As an ingredient in a vegetarian casserole or stew, these beans are perfectly adequate, eaten as an accompaniment to a meal or on toast, I think I would find the sauce just too liquid and be tempted to strain the beans before serving.

The recommended cooking method is either in a saucepan for 4 minutes, stirring until heated through or for 3 minutes in a microwave, obviously microwave timing does depend on the wattage of your machine.

Dietary information

Amounts given are per 100g of baked beans.
3.3g fibre
5.6g protein
84 calories
15.1g carbohydrate of which 4.7g sugars
0.3g fat
0.8g salt

Sainsbury's Economy Baked Beans are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. They are gluten and nut free. As they are low in fat they make an ideal addition to the diet of slimmers and those wishing to restrict their fat intake.

The main ingredients are:-
Haricot beans, tomatoes, water, sugar, glucose, salt, paprika, absorbic acid, onion powder and spirit vinegar

Sainsbury's contact details

Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd
33 Holborn
London
EC1N 2HT

Customer freephone careline 0800 636262
www.sainsburys.co.uk

My thoughts and conclusion

These beans are an economy product and as such are a very good buy. For my personal taste these beans meet my requirements and have become a regular on my shopping list. Added to my vegetarian cooking they are absolutely ideal and although I don't care for baked beans on toast or as a meal accompaniment, the product is perfectly acceptable for either of these uses. In truth, if I were blindfolded and made to do a taste test, I doubt that I could differentiate between these beans and the market leader.
In short, I would highly recommend Sainsbury's Economy Baked Beans to other consumers and please note that I have resisted all temptation to make cheap 'wind' related jokes!
Thank you for reading

© brittle1906 March 2009
Ciao.co.uk