The Famous Aldine Baked Beans

The Famous Aldine Baked Beans Recipe[s]

It seems that every family in Sunbury has an "Authentic" Aldine's Baked Beans recipe, passed down from a family member who worked there.  The recipes however, are often all slightly different.  Dried beans or canned? Onions or no onions?  Brown sugar, or only white?  Black pepper or white?  Vinegar, or no vinegar?  Cook the bacon first, or add it raw?  One recipe even claims to use Dr Pepper!

Through the late 1940's, the beans were advertised as "Candied Beans".  

Aldine Beans can be found at the Sunbury Market on Friday and Saturdays, although whether or not they taste like the "original" is also strongly debated.

Although many will argue that their recipe is different, and "The" authentic version, this appears to be the mostly common form of the recipe:

Although most have told me that they do NOT cook the bacon first, it is added in raw.

ALDINE BEANS 

1 10lb Can Great Northern Beans 

           1/2 Pound of Bacon  

   1 Medium to Large onion   

          2.5 cups of White Sugar   

        1/2 teaspoon of Salt  

    1 teaspoon black Pepper 

 Add chopped Onion, Salt, Pepper and  Bacon & mix Together 

Do Not Cover the Pan 

Bake at 350 at least and hour stirring every 15 minutes Cook to the thickness you prefer

Although many recipes call for a can of beans, others have told me that dried beans are essential, that they will get thicker. Boil the dried beans until almost done - but not fully cooked.  Drain just the top off of the water, do not drain them completely.  Save the water you drained off.  Add sugar, bacon, and a lot of black pepper.  Bake for two hours, adding the saved water if necessary.  Beans should not be dry, but also should not be soupy.

Read more about the Hotel Aldine Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-aldine-hotel-sunbury-pa.html

Recipe Using Dried Beans

1 lb package great northern beans - dried

Cook the beans until ALMOST done

Put in 9 x 13 baking pan. Save liquid from beans

Add 1 lb chopped RAW bacon and 1 cup white sugar. LOTS of black pepper. Bake @ 350 stirring often. If they get dry add some of the cooking liquid from the beans. 

Bake about 2-2 1/2 hours.

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A  1930's version has great northern beans, brown sugar, onions ketchup, mustard salt and pepper and lots of cooked bacon, along with the fat.  

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This recipe uses both brown and white sugar:

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In July of 1959, Eddie Hoover, who "had made the Aldine's Beans for the previous 15 years", transferred his employment to the Hotel K&L (In 1954 the beans were referred to as "Charlie Stahls Aldine Baked Beans"

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Michelle Mertz shared her mothers recipe, which uses 2Tbsp of white vinegar.

 

Ingredients

4 lb canned, northern beans (undrained)

2 c white sugar

2 Tbsp white vinegar

3/4 lb bacon, uncooked

black pepper

1 large onion

Directions

1. I like to freeze the bacon first so that it is easy to cut. Cut the bacon up in bite-sized pieces.

2. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid in a big bowl! Make sure you don't discard the bean liquid. Put the beans in a 9 x 13 or larger pan. (I have used a Dutch Oven for this too).

3. To the bean liquid, add the diced bacon and mix in sugar, vinegar, diced onion, bacon & black pepper. Pour over top of beans & stir.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-4 hours. The bacon will get nice & brown. You will want to stir every hour or more often to ensure even cooking. I add a little bit of water every once in awhile when I stir, if it seems as if the liquid is being too absorbed. Be very generous w/ sprinkling black pepper often, as well. I have never salted the beans or this dish, as the bacon gives it plenty of salt flavor, I have found. You also can pop all of this in the crockpot & cook on low, then brown a bit in the oven when you are ready.

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For more Stories & History Of Sunbury:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/07/sunbury-pennsylvania.html

And for more stories and history from nearby towns:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

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READ MORE

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1967

In October of 1956, Harold Densberger was at the social club in Danville Pa, where his father was a cook.  Requests were made for some of the Aldine baked beans, and the younger Densberger volunteered to make the trip to Sunbury and pick them up. Unable to find a babysitter, he brought his wife and son along in the car.  As he was driving towards sSunbury, "on a narrow bridge near the Clyde Keller home", Densberger lost control of his vehicle, it left the highway, striking the top of the stone bridge wall and hurtling thorugh the air and over the creek, where it struck a tree.  All three passengers were thrown from teh car, and the baby's body was found under the wreckage. A passing motorist took mother and child to the hospital, but the 10 month old Dennis Densberger was dead on arrival.

1947