It’s good news for baked bean lovers in the UK as the country has successfully grown its first commercial crop of haricot beans. The variety had previously been unsuited to Britain’s climate, but University of Warwick scientists developed a specially adapted seed called Capulet that can thrive on British soil. Farmer Andrew Ward, who grew the legumes in a 13-acre field in Leadenham, said he was excited about the harvest. However, the project had been “one of the most stressful experiments” due to unpredictable weather and the need for specialist harvesting equipment.
According to the BBC, the UK consumes around two million tins of haricot beans every day, all of which are imported from other countries like the US, Canada, Ethiopia, and China. While some health food brands have attempted to market British-grown fava beans as “baked beans”, they have failed to gain mass appeal due to their different taste to haricots. But the new Capulet variety could reduce the UK’s reliance on imported beans.
The beans were bred from “inherited material that had been used here on the university farm in the 1970s and 80s,” said Professor Eric Holub from the university’s Life Sciences department. He added that it was put into storage and in 2011, he realised that there was “some valuable material” that he started reviving. Half of the new crop will be used as seeds next year, while the remaining half will be tinned. Ward said the world has only his variety, and they needed to replant next year to reduce the UK’s reliance on imports and grow the availability of British baked beans
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