Cheese on toast and beans on toast, is that a British thing?

I love beans on toast, otherwise known as skinheads on a raft, no idea if it’s uniquely British though.

Isn’t cheese on toast just a grilled cheese sandwich? Exhibit A; made (under duress) during my OT at rehab.

Baked beans on toast seems innocuous.

Never heard of beans on toast. Doesn’t sound very appetizing.

I’ve never heard of it either. And yes, cheese on toast sounds suspiciously like a grilled cheese made the lazy way.

I love beans on toast (with Lea and Perrins sauce obviously!)

Haven’t heard of any such thing?

I’ve never had beans on toast. It is just buttered toast with baked beans in tomato sauce( Heinz Baked Beans) on top. Most people prefer it because it’s quick and cheap.

Cheese yes, beans no! Gak!

Yep, beans on toast is pretty British.

I’m pretty sure it’s eaten in Australia too. Don’t have it much, maybe once a month or so, it’s very tasty as a quick snack.

You mean a croquet monsieur? Delicious!

Yes – they’re both British.. Cheese on toast is an open sandwich with cheese broiled on bread. Made with great British cheese such as a good Cheddar or Chesiire or Double Gloucester, it is one of the simple masterpieces of world cuisine. I lived on it for years.

One of the things to note about dishes such as beans on toast or chip butties – which are French fry sandwiches – or Yorkshire pudding is that carbs were a good, cheap way for poorer people to fill their tummies. That is how a lot of British dishes evolved.

I tried it in England and loved it.

@glacial: “Croquet monsieur” means that i get to hit you in the shins with this mallet

”Croque monsieur.” “Croquer” means “to crunch.”

@gailcalled I actually typed “croque monsieur”. I didn’t catch the autocorrect. :(

Hillbillies like me have always eaten brown beans and soft bread (no dark sauces or toasted bread though, just salt & beans.) And bread and cheese, not melted, just in your lunch or as a snack.

Of course the real treat is cheese on beans on toast.

@Lightlyseared I call that refriend beans on a tortilla, I’ll try it on toast. :)

Toasted “soldiers” dipped in a soft boiled egg with a runny yolk, fabulous childhood breakfast.

@ucme Oh… I had that in my childhood, too.

Never heard of beans on toast. What kind of beans is that? My s/o and my kids like cheese toasted grilled bread, is that cheese on toast?

I don’t think cheese on toast is the same as a grilled cheese sandwich. Usually only one slice of bread is involved, with cheese on the top. With two slices of bread and the cheese in the middle, it becomes a “cheese toastie”.

@Lorna Heinz baked beans. Originally an American product imported into the UK and sold at only the poshest of department stores. Now a days the UK consumes 90% of the worlds baked beans and Heinz makes them here and ships them back to the US to be sold in “British” stores (or at least the last time I was in the US that’s the only place I saw them).

I must be the only Brit who hates baked beans.

@Lightlyseared I get you. I was imagining Pinto beans!

@downtide Wrong, my son won’t go near them.

@downtide I don’t understand the whole ‘baked bean’ concept. Is it like all the normal baked beans here, like a bbq-ketchup-brown sugar sauce type?

We have a toasted sandwich grill maker. If you put beans in that, like you do cheese, is that beans on toast? Sounds sloppy if it is.

These are baked beans. They really are delicious on toast.

It’s the same Heinz baked beans we have in the USA. You make the toast, heat up the beans and then you spoon them on the toast. They also serve spaghettios on toast too.

@janbb Cool, so I just toast the bread and I’m a Brit for a few minutes, I’m going to give it a shot, I even have a can at home right now! :)

@KNOWITALL Go for it!

@ucme Dippy eggs with soldiers are the best!!!

Hmm, I lived in England for a while, have a lot of British friends, and never heard of beans or cheese on toast. I hate baked beans anyway, and on a piece of soggy toast – ugh! Sounds gross. I like British food normally – steak and kidney pie, sausage rolls, bubble and squeak, steak, egg and chips. Their cheese pies beat our grilled cheese sandwiches hands down. Wish I could find them here.

@Skaggfacemutt Gotta ask what bubble and squeak is, sound so funny.

Generally, it is cabbage and cheese cooked in a skillet, with maybe some potatoes. I think the name refers to the cheese bubbling and the cabbage squeaking.

Hmm… if anyone has a bubble and squeak recipe, I’d like to try making it. Not an internet recipe, an actual “this is how I make it” recipe. ;)

@KNOWITALL its the left over cooked vegetables (cabbage and potatoes normally or what ever you have left really) from a roast dinner chopped or mashed up and shallow fried. You usually have it with your cooked breakfast the day after you had your roast diner or served with the left over roast meat as a super.

Yeah – I know it as leftover mashed potatoes and cabbage fried together. Never have actually made it though.

@Lightlyseared So, you’re saying it’s lightly seared? :D

@KNOWITALL Yes, it was already cooked cabbage and potatoes. My friend put cheese on it, but different people might make it differently.

@Skaggfacemutt Not a big cabbage-eater and my roasts only have potatoes, onions and carrots with garlic. Hmmm, you all are full of ideas!

@glacial exactly!

Potatoes (pre-cooked) are an essential ingredient in bubble & squeak. Any leftover veg will do but cabbage is most traditional. Roughly mash the potatoes, mix in the veg, add an egg or two to bind it (depending on quantity). Fry in a large frying pan with just a tiny bit of oil to brown it. Never heard of adding cheese but it does sound good.