Beanz Meanz Jarz

[Patrick]

Just how do you keep track of how many baked beans you've got left? Now, those clever marketing people at Heinz have come up with an idiot-proof solution.

From September they are bringing out new re-sealable plastic containers that go in the fridge and have a seethrough measure on the side so you can see at a glance just how low you're running on the crucial toast-toppers.

The American food giant is relaunching its iconic brand in a more "consumer-friendly" form.

It says the new packaging will provide more "flexibility", allowing us to use as many beans as we need before screwing the cap back on and putting it back in the chiller.

The six-inch tall, 1kg fridge pack will cost £1.79 - the equivalent of more than two 415g standard tins. But for those of us who don't embrace the new high-tech gadgetry, Heinz will continue to produce the traditional cans that have proved perfectly adequate since 1895.

Marketing director Paula Jordan, said: "The new pack is perfect for busy families - it's just like having your favourite beans on tap."

A straw poll of shoppers yesterday showed mixed reactions. Student Emily Young, 20, from Southampton, said: "I'll give it a go."

But plumber Mick Roberts, 48, of Bournemeouth said: "It's just a gimmick. I'll stick to the tins."

[riotgrrl]

I would actually find that useful. Quite often my daughter makes herself beans on toast or some other bean-related snack, and she only uses some beans, but has to open a big tin. I end up throwing out half-full tins of beans all the time.

Not sure about the price differential cf a normal tin, but it's certainly a useful idea.

[aubrey]

It says the new packaging will provide more "flexibility", allowing us to use as many beans as we need before screwing the cap back on and putting it back in the chiller.

Instead of covering the top with cling film and then putting it in the fridge? If you can't use half a can in a week, then it's a pretty poor thing.

[housesparrow]

How long des an opened jar keep, I wonder?

I'm always emptying half-used tins into plastic containers to re-use later, and they get left at the back of the fridge. Every so often, when I get round to mucking out the kitchen, they get chucked out. A waste really, because somewhere in that green mould may be the cure for the common cold.