HP Baked Beans, 24X415g

Product Information

The make-up of the panel broadly represents the demographic profile of adults in the UK. Each brand of baked bean was assessed by 82 people. With food prices rising and many households looking for ways to save cash, Asda's affordable Just Essentials range has proven a hit with customers in recent months. It was the cheapest of all the options I tried, and sadly the taste reflected that. Lidl Newgate baked beans were a joint-top choice for our panel, scoring highly for their appearance, smell and texture. NatWest, RBS and Ulster Bank to close at least 172 branches in 2023/24 – here's the full list, plus alternatives

The hoops and/or loops connoisseurs amongst you will know the sweet, bright orange sauce which usually coats the tinned pasta. To my horror, it appears Asda have chosen the same, or a similar recipe for their beans. The highest scoring branded beans were Branston, which came a middling joint-fourth place and were second-most expensive. Heinz and HP came joint-fifth, ahead of only Sainsbury's, Co-op and M&S. I was surprised that the beans themselves were quite soft, even before cooking. Personally, I prefer a more solid bean to avoid the catastrophic bean mush when cooking, so these were a little on the soft side for me.And while, like many foods, the cost of a can of beans has risen over the past year, our supermarket winners remain modestly priced. The cheapest Best Buy cost just 50p a tin. Beans are vegan-friendly and a good source of protein and fibre, with negligible fat content. Protein and fibre levels are similar across the brands, though Lidl's tin states there's more than 7g of fibre per 100g in their beans, which is considerably higher than the others. You’re not alone, this is a not an uncommon problem. From Fine Cooking: “Some beans refuse to soften. You can soak them overnight and then simmer them all day long, and they’re still hard as pebbles. The main causes of this are age and improper storage.”

Waitrose Essential Baked Beans - 76%. Came joint-second with Aldi. Rated well overall, especially in terms of texture. 40p for 400g tin (10p per 100g). Available from Waitrose. Beans no longer has to mean Heinz for cost-conscious shoppers, who preferred supermarket brands - some costing much less than half the price - to the market leader.Lidl Newgate Baked Beans (45p/420g) – 72% Which? said:"These split our panel. Half loved the flavour, but the rest found it either too weak or too strong. Most agreed that the texture of both beans and sauce was about right, though."