Take seven: Baked beans

A staple food in the UK, baked beans have failed to make much of a foothold in most Cypriot homes. Even so, there are at least ten brands to choose from in the Cyprus market and, depending on your taste and whether you can bring yourself to pay over 70 cents for something that says 25p on the can, the lesser known brands are sometimes well worth a try. The baked bean revolution has taken place in our house. Long may it continue.

HP
These are my personal favourite. The tomato sauce is just the right consistency (there are more tomatoes than water) and the beans are soft. Not too sweet, not too salty, just right. Put them on a potato, toast or just eat cold out of the tin. The modern convenience of a ring pull top is an added bonus.
Price: 77 cents
Rating: $$$$$

Heinz
The benchmark by which all other baked beans are judged. The sauce is somehow creamy and the beans are soft to perfection. However, they are a little sweeter than the other brands. Excellent for eating cold out of the tin. Price comparison is not exactly fair as it was a small tin, again with the can’t live without ring pull.
Price: 59 cents (small tin)
Rating: $$$$$

Morphakis
The only Cyprus brand on our list and also the only company that admits to putting e numbers into their product. The fact that this is local produce miles away from the traditional beans in tomato sauce cooked by grandmas should not put you off. A thick, tasty, tomato sauce (that may be a bit strong for some tastes) makes this ideal for eating straight out of the can. The designer of the can was obviously inspired by HP and the product competes well against the large British brands. Well worth a try. Ring pull top, although mine broke off.
Price: 43 cents
Rating: $$$

Russo
This was the cheapest brand and the last one I got round to trying, largely because of the absence of the handy ring pull. Another watery sauce that had very little flavour apart from the obviously high salt content. The beans were quite soft but the flavour did not improve on warming. Insipid in the extreme. A bean that I will, in future, leave on the shelf.
Price: 32 cents
Rating: $

Crosse and Blackwell
A slightly smaller bean in a rich tomato sauce. The sauce was a little bit spicy and rather runnier than the top selling brands but, nonetheless, this product was very close to the HP beans. Not as widely available but worth a second chance. Again with the convenient ring pull.
Price: 53 cents
Rating: $$$$

Jonker Fris
There was rather more water than most with these beans leaving them sliding across the plate. The sauce was rather piquant and the beans were rather hard when eaten cold from the can although they softened up nicely in the microwave. Without a ring pull either, again this is a bean I won’t be coming back to.
Price: 53 cents
Rating: $$

Smedley’s
Although Smedley’s (a lesser known English company) get points for the retro packaging, they get points for very little else. The sauce was rather on the runny side although the slightly spicy taste was quite pleasant. The beans were a little hard as well. With no ring pull either, this is not a can I will be reaching for again.
Price: 47 cents
Rating: $$

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