Editing Baked beans (section)

== Recipes and use as food == 

While many recipes today are stewed, traditionally dried beans were soaked overnight, simmered until tender (parboiled), and then slow-baked in a ceramic or cast-iron [[beanpot]].<ref name="GE"/> Originally baked beans were sweetened with [[maple syrup]] by Native Americans, a tradition some recipes still follow, but some English colonists modified the sweetening agent to brown sugar beginning in the 17th century.<ref name="MW"/> In the 18th century the convention of using American made [[molasses]] as a sweetening agent became increasingly used in order to avoid British taxes on sugar.<ref name="MW"/> The molasses style of baked beans has become closely associated with the city of Boston and is often referred to as [[Boston baked beans]].<ref name="boston cook"/>

Today in the New England region, baked beans are flavored either with maple syrup (Northern New England), or with molasses (Boston), and are traditionally cooked with [[salt pork]] in a [[beanpot]] in a [[brick oven]] for six to eight hours.<ref name="boston cook">{{cite book |last = Farmer |first = Fannie |title = [[The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book]] (updated from 1896 version)|year = 2007 |isbn = 9781408632291 |page = 212|publisher = Vail-Ballou Press|location=Binghamton, NY }}</ref> In the absence of a brick oven, the beans were cooked in a beanpot nestled in a bed of embers placed near the outer edges of a hearth, about a foot away from the fire. Today, baked beans can be made in a [[slow cooker]] or in a modern oven using a traditional beanpot, [[Dutch oven]], or [[casserole dish]].<ref name= "NEC"/> Regardless of cooking method, the results of the dish, commonly described as having a [[wikt:savory|savory]]-[[sweet]] flavor and a brownish- or reddish-tinted white bean, are the same.<ref name="Tavern"/>

[[File:Brown sugar baked beans with bacon.jpg|thumb|Baked beans made with [[BBQ sauce]], brown sugar, [[cider vinegar]], [[Dijon mustard]] and sliced bacon]]
While baked beans were initially New England regional cuisine, the dish has become a common item throughout the United States and are now a staple item served most frequently along various types of [[barbecue]] and at [[picnic]]s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6nC9AwAAQBAJ&q=history+bbq|title=Barbecue: The History of an American Institution|author=Robert F. Moss|page=25|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=2010|isbn=9780817317188}}</ref> This is due in part to the ease of handling, as they can be served hot or cold, directly from the can, making them handy for outdoor eating. The tomato-based sweet sauce also complements many types of barbecue. The already-cooked beans may also be baked in a casserole dish topped with slices of raw bacon, which is baked until the bacon is cooked. Additional seasonings are sometimes used, such as additional brown sugar or mustard to make the sauce more tangy.<ref name="Guardian"/>