Saturday Night Meant Franks 'n' Beans, And Brown Bread in a Can

MASSACHUSETTS—It must be in the air. Something to do with fall. Just last week, friends and I were sitting around a fire pit, talking about dinner staples in our households growing up. Our parents, and in some cases grandparents, were locked in to Prince spaghetti night (what a marketing scheme), fish on Fridays and franks 'n' beans with brown bread in a can on Saturday.

We aren't alone. Just ask any New Englander.

Danny Robinson grew up in Sudbury in the 1960s, with his family's regular Saturday night dinners a helping of hot dogs, baked beans and brown bread in a can-or more specifically, "Boston brown bread." He's moved–a lot–since then, living in many other states across the country, and comments that "no one has even heard of brown bread." Posting on the "If You Grew Up in Sudbury" Facebook page, Robinson writes, "I have now moved back to the East Coast, relocated from Oregon to Florida. And tonight we had that dinner! It brought me back to childhood."

Nearly 140 people have commented on Robinson's post, and it's been shared a handful of times.

"Growing up in Sudbury......I never knew what brown bread was until I met my husband!" wrote Holly Chadwick.

Deborah Holdgate added, "I remember that Saturday night supper so well, in fact when my brother used to come back and visit from the west coast it was a must have meal."

WiseGeek explains, "Boston brown bread is an unusual bread which gets some of its flavor from molasses, and which has an interesting history that stems directly from the resources available in Colonial New England." It seems early settlers had limited resources, but still needed bread. They had cornmeal and rye flour, and combining that with molasses, it helped them preserve their wheat reserves. Most importantly, ovens weren't readily available, the bread was steamed.

Now, the brown bread is, or was, usually steamed in a coffee can. Ingredients include butter, flour, rye, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, molasses, buttermilk, vanilla extract and raisins (optional)

Here's a recipe posted on Simply Recipes by an Ipswich native Hank Shaw, who hosts a cooking blog called Honest Food, remarking, "It makes me think of my mother."

Finding brown bread in a can, particularly the famous B&M variety, can be difficult. If it is in the store, shoppers online say it's usually tucked in with the baked beans. But it's readily available online, and you can purchase a can for about $6 on Amazon.com.

Yankee Magazine maintains that B&M is still one of the most popular varieties of brown bread in a can, and it's made at the company's Portland, ME, plant. "It might sound strange to the non-native Yankee to imagine buying bread in a can at the supermarket alongside the baked beans (which B&M also makes with pride)," writes Yankee Magazine, "but if you’ve ever steamed a loaf yourself at home, you know it can take awhile, making the a can a handy alternative.

As for your hot dogs and baked beans cooking method and brand choices? That's for another rainy day. My grandfather used to cook Kayem traditional dogs in the pot with the beans.

What's your franks, beans and brown bread story? Have you one? Share it with us in the comments section.

Photo Credit: Dale Tivnan