Canned baked beans appear so ubiquitously that it's tough to imagine they haven't always been around. After all, glance into your pantry, and -- more likely than not -- there's a can gathering dust.

My wise, wizened late family friend Irene Jakubowski, who would have celebrated her 102nd birthday on this Sunday, Aug. 25, said it best when she referred to the attractive menu taste of pork and ...