Boston Baked Beans

These starchy baked beans are enriched with syrups similar to molasses in order to tenderize and sweeten them. An iconic side dish from Boston (also known as Beantown), it started its way to stardom in the 17th century when the Natives taught the early settlers how to bake beans using bear fat. Later on, people used to fill the pots with dry beans on Saturday and leave them to cook slowly until Sunday so the beans would be tender, falling apart, and melting. The baked beans' key ingredient is molasses, making the dish sweet and rich, but it is not yet clear who added it to the dish. What is clear, though, is that the molasses industry boomed in the 18th and 19th century in New England as a part of the trade triangle between Africa, West Indies, and the U.S. Coast. The first recipe for Boston baked beans appeared in A. L. Webster's cookbook called The Improved Housewife, adding salt pork and baking soda to the molasses and beans, which is standard today. The dish is so popular that it can be found in almost any place where hot dogs are served, occasionally splashed with vinegar for those who find the beans just a bit too sweet.