Half-baked idea? The world’s first frozen bean sandwich

MAN’S mastery of one ancient culinary art took a savage blow yesterday when it was revealed that Heinz is to introduce the world’s first frozen baked bean sandwich.

For decades the staple diet of students and the gastronomically challenged everywhere, beans on toast in its traditional form might soon be a thing of the past.

The new Heinz version is made of two slices of bread that are sealed together, with the beans inside.

It is then popped into a toaster and heats up in around 60 seconds, similar to a Kellogg’s Pop Tart.

The new product will be launched in New Zealand in a year’s time and, if successful, will then go on sale here and in Britain, company spokesman Nigel Dickie said yesterday.

“We want to find more convenient ways of delivering consumers’ favourite beans.”

While the new frozen sandwich might prove a godsend for lazybones, it could also reduce the typical male’s culinary abilities to nothing. The news of the processed bean sandwich comes just a year after a report in the New Scientist magazine claimed that beans on toast is excellent brain food.

Barbara Stewart from the University of Ulster discovered that toast boosted children’s scores on a variety of cognitive tests.

Once the testing became more difficult, it was found that a breakfast incorporating high-protein beans worked best. The study also showed that, as a good source of fibre, beans could aid a high-fibre diet which also improves cognitive skills.

All in all, food for thought — even if you don’t have to cook it yourself.