Mitchell, congratulations, although as a Canadian you must have baked beans deeply grounded in your heritage too. I love Rancho Gordo beans (name me a cook who does not!) but for Maine baked beans I do prefer our local yellow-eye or soldier beans or even Jacob's cattle beans with their mottled surface. Trivia question for the day: I once thought the beans were called Jacob's cattle because they were originally intended to feed the farmer's herd, but no--they are called that because they are speckled and spotted, just like Jacob's cattle in the Bible. You could look it up!
My housemate recently bought the Rancho Gordo cookbook and I was reading it's recipes for cassoulet last night which inspired me to decide to make it for Christmas this year.
Mitchell, congratulations, although as a Canadian you must have baked beans deeply grounded in your heritage too. I love Rancho Gordo beans (name me a cook who does not!) but for Maine baked beans I do prefer our local yellow-eye or soldier beans or even Jacob's cattle beans with their mottled surface. Trivia question for the day: I once thought the beans were called Jacob's cattle because they were originally intended to feed the farmer's herd, but no--they are called that because they are speckled and spotted, just like Jacob's cattle in the Bible. You could look it up!
My housemate recently bought the Rancho Gordo cookbook and I was reading it's recipes for cassoulet last night which inspired me to decide to make it for Christmas this year.