HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1973-08-23, Page 34PAGE 10
CITIZENS NEWS SOUVENIR EDITION
Early history of beans
Shunned for centuries by cert-
ain classes of society as a poor
man's meal and by many agric-
ulturists as a pernickety veget-
able requiring infinite growing
care, the Bean today occupies
an honored place in the world's
food basket because it has brought
more comfort to the hungry than
any food known to man. Beans
are among the oldest (dating
well back beyond recorded hist-
ory and most universally used of
all foods know to man.
Beans were raised as a favour-
ite food of Ancient Egypt and
Greece. It is said that the Egypt-
ians had temples dedicated to
beans, worshipping them as a
symbol of life itself. The Rom-
ans, famous for their feating,
used beans extensively and even
gambled with then.
Beans date back to the Bronze
Age in Switzerland and in the
Hebrew history to 1, 000 years
before the dawn of the Christian
era. The ruins of ancient Troy
reveal evidence.that beans were
native to South America, prob-
ably in ancient Peruvian culture.
Historians tell us it was war
to which beans owe their intro-
duction throughout the world ---
carried by ancient armies as a
main staple item in the fighting
rations of soldiers on the march.
Teddy Roosevelt said he won the
battle of San Juan on beans.
Their low water content and
high protein rating makes them
a valuable source of food where -
ever transportation is a problem.
They are relatively inexpens-
ive for the food value packed in
them and therefore, a valuable
compact source of energy at low
cost. They store easily and are
relatively non-perishable. Dur-
ing World War II the army would
float waterproof bags of beans
from ships to beachheads.
Rich in those vitamins which
make it a valuable addition to
the human diet, the steaming,
savory plate of beans --prepared
by a variety of recipes concocted
in the kitchens of the world --has
developed into one of the most
popular dishes in international
cookery.
The Pasta e Fagioli of Italy,
the Cassoulet of France, the
Chili Cori Carne and Frijoles of
Mexico and the southwest United
States, the flopping John of the
South, the Red Beans and Rice
of Old New Orleans, rhe Boston
Baked Beans and Brown -Bread,
these are international and reg-
ional dishes that have tickled the
palate of generations.
Beans are planted in late May
or early June, and, depending
on the weather, are ready for
harvest in late August or early
September, Wet weather in the
fall may extend the harvest into
October.
Beans, from the seedling stage
through harvest, are very suscept-
ible to the whims of the weather.
Bean farming generally is cons-
idered a precarious (yet gener-
ally profitable) means of agron-
Waterloo county b.ked beans
by Carol Jones
(in the Elmira Signet)
The addition of maple syrup
gives the traditional Boston
baked beans a new name and a
new flavor.
Waterloo County Baked 'Beans
3 cups white pea beans, soaked
overnight in 6 cups cold water
4 tblsp. maple syrup
4 tblsp. molasses
11/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
l lb. salt pork
2 small onions
Drain beans and reserve water.
Add to beans all ingredients
except salt pork and onions, mix-
ing well. Cut off one-quarter of
the salt pork and place in the bot-
tom of a 2 -quart bean pot. Add
onions and pour in beans with
seasonings. Cover with some of
the reserved water. Score rind
of remaining salt pork and place
on top.
Bake at 225 degrees for 8 hours.
Add enough reserved water during
baking to keep beans moist but
not too wet.
Serve with:
Brown Bread
1 cup each of corn meal, rye flour
and whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup dark molasses
Mix together corn meal, rye
and whole-wheat flours, salt and
baking soda. Add buttermilk and
molasses and stir briskly until
thoroughly combined. Pour into
a well -greased 2 -quart straight -
sided cylindrical mold (or 2 one -
quart molds), which should be
about 2/3 full, and cover closely.
Set on a rack in a large kettle
and add boiling water to come
halfway up to the height of mold.
Cover kettle closely and cook
21/2 hours (or 2 hours for smaller
molds), adding more boiling
water if it steams away.
Remove from heat and let cool
in water. Unmold, wrap in foil,
and store in refrigerator. To
reheat for serving, leave in foil
wrapping and place in a medium
hot oven (350) for 20 minutes.
ONTARIO BAKED BEAN IDEAS
CHILI BEANS
6 slices side bacon, cut in 1 -inch
pieces
1/3 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 - 10 oz. tin tomato soup
1- 10 oz. tin Boston brown beans
1 tsp chili powder
2 oz, cream cheese
1. In a large frying pan, cook
bacon pieces, green pepper
and onion until tender. Pour
off fat.
2. Reduce heat and add tomato
soup, beans, and chili powder.
3. Blend in cream cheese until
smoothly combined. Heat
through and serve with green
salad.
TEEN BEANS
1 - 19 oz. can deep browned bean;
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
crisp bacon bits (if desired)
1. Heat the beans and barbecue
sauce together.
2. Spoon mixture over toasted or
warmed crusty rolls. Garnish
with onion rings, pickles, or
crisp bacon bits.
only, Too much or too little
rainfall at various critical stages
of the crop can take a heavy
toll of yeld and quality.
The fascination of farming is
is the Harvest --when the gamble
is gone and natures' bounty
assessed. Yes, the pay-off is in
the harvest when the crop is saf-
ely in the bin or under cover,
Modern self-propelled combines
make short work of a field of
beans once they have been pulled
windrowed and allowed to dry
sufficient for threshing.
After the bean reaches the
receiving elevator, it starts
through a multitude of rigorous
and interesting processes, some -
rimes mystifying to the layman.
The processing and handling
equipment is very similar in all
parrs; the larger plants simply
repeating in number the mach-
ines found in the smaller plants.
Machines used include fanning
mill cleaners, polishers, stoners,
gravity separators, automatic
scales and sackers. Some of the
large elevators and most termin-
al processing plants use electric -
eye sorting machines to remove
discolored beans from the white
beans.
ENJOY
YOURSELF
at the
BEAN FESTIVAL
e welcollae all the isitors
to the Be n Festival,
and Dope y, u enjoy
your dy!
Special 'rices f?r the Festival
Drop in ad ,, isit us!
Westlake Furniture
Main Street
ZURICH Phone 236-4364
Welcome to the Festival
SPECIAL PRICES FOR ,.SATURDAY ONLY!
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Free Family Size P
(Choice of Havours)
Wi th Each
PIZZA ORDER
p
HOT DOGS
And
FOOT LONGS
BUY 2 — GET 1 FREE
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CHARCOAL
REG. 59c — for 49c
FREE DAIRY POPS
(while supply lasts)
VE'S DRNE-IN
Soft Ice Cream
French Fries — Chicken — Hamburgs
Main Street, Zurich
Phone 236-4955
ELCOME
to the
Bean Festival
We hope you enjoy your visit
to the friendly little
Village of Zurich!
APORTE MEAT MARKE
'The best of everything for less'
Main Street — Zurich