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With winter having settled in, you would not be alone in craving a bit of TLC. And it's nice to know that, when the going gets tough, the tough turn to... baked beans.
According to scientists at Sussex University in the UK, one in three people turn to food rather than a chat with their partner for an instant comfort boost, with baked beans on toast being the most popular choice.
They have even come up with a formula that looks like the work of Einstein - the Comfort Index formula (C.I.) - to calculate the comfort factor of food dishes, based on texture, temperature, aroma, taste, simplicity of flavours, how filling it is, ease of preparation and whether it brings back childhood memories.
Heinz Beanz on toast topped the polls with the highest C.I. score at 3.3, well ahead of both tomato soup and sausages and mash on a score of 2.11.
The magic behind baked beans was revealed to be its simple aroma and flavour compared to other more complex dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, whose appearance "can vary greatly depending on the spices and meat you use, resulting in disjointed emotional responses", according to psychologist David Lewis.
Dr Lewis said 'Beanz' brought back the strongest memories of childhood - triggering 'nurturing' emotions. "The simpler the aroma, the more easily it can be interpreted and memorised; consequently the response and emotion towards it is more powerful and immediate," he said.
"We can see this clearly in the findings that the types of smells people find comforting are simple ones associated with home cooking.
"Foods such as beans on toast and tomato soup trigger upbeat memories of being comforted and cared for. We seek to recreate that feeling of safety when we are much older. As a result, we go back to our favourites when we are feeling a bit down.
"What sets these dishes apart is the trigger of memories brought about by the aroma and visual stimulus of the iconic Heinz Beanz and Heinz Cream of Tomato cans, which is enough to make us begin to feel comforted before we even start to eat."
Vivianne Ihekweazu, a senior analyst for global market research company Mintel, said a recent survey by the company found that 81 per cent of Brits buy baked beans, pushing sales up an impressive 45 per cent in the past five years to reach £365 million (A$628m) in 2009.
"Baked beans have continued to meet consumer demand for convenience as a time-saving meal solution as well as being a cheap, easy-to-prepare comfort food," said Ms Ihekweazu.
"Baked beans offer consumers much-needed value for money. With product reformulations such as lower salt and sugar varieties ticking the healthy eating box, they are also a store cupboard essential."
In Australia, sales of baked beans rose by 11.7 per cent last year alone, valuing the local market at $110.6 million for the year according to the Retail World Annual Report 2009.
The Heinz brand captured a dominant 58.6 per cent share of the Australian market by value, well ahead of SPC (26.0 per cent), Heinz-owned Wattie's (4.5 per cent) and a number of private label brands that combined accounted for 9.7 per cent of sales.
(To read the rest of this edition, click here.)
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Beans Means Comfort Food