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Baked beans have been a household favourite for generations, served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While not a gourmet meal, they're quick and easy and can be part of several meals. They're delicious served on toast or with cheese on a jacket potato. What's more, they can be kept in the cupboard for months and cooked up in a few minutes.

There are a few different ways to cook them, and people choose different methods for different reasons. I've always cooked them in the microwave because it's quick and convenient, but I decided to try a different method.

To cook them in the microwave, I pop them into a bowl and cook for about two minutes, until steaming.

They're still quite juicy, but I don't mind that on toast or a jacket potato. I opted to cook them on the hob instead, and I couldn't believe the difference.

An air fryer is also becoming a popular cooking method. This involves popping the baked beans into a small heatproof dish and cooking them for a few minutes.

However, I decided to try cooking them on the hob, which involved heating them up gently for around 10 minutes.

Letting them heat slowly in a saucepan gave them a much richer taste and a thicker, more flavoursome sauce.

I also added a little salt and pepper while they were cooking, and I've also seen people add cheese, which melts into the sauce.

I added the cooked baked beans onto some buttered toast, and I could not believe the difference.

The beans were softer and more comforting, even though they took much longer to cook.

The sauce really thickened, which was delicious, and they felt less like convenience meals and more like proper comfort food.

I don't think I'll ever go back to cooking baked beans in the microwave, even if it does mean a little more washing up and cooking time.