Vol. 17: #43 • PEANUTS

The peanut is one of the most concentrated sources of nourishment, providing more protein, minerals, and vitamins pound for pound than beef liver, more fat than heavy cream, and more calories than sugar. If you're thinking that doesn't sound healthy, think again. Besides being a tasty, cholesterol-free food, peanuts boast a variety of good nutrients that make them healthy as well as serving as a favorite snack.

• The peanut plant originated in South America, with evidence showing the cultivation of peanuts in the Andes dating back at least 7,600 years. Pottery vessels have been found dating back as far as 3,500 years that were made in the shape of peanuts, decorated with peanut carvings, filled with peanuts and placed in graves.

• When Spanish conquistadors invaded the land, they took the peanut plant with them back to Europe. From there it was taken to Africa where it flourished. Slave traders then brought it to North America.

• The popularity of peanuts got a big boost during the Civil War when soldiers were desperate for a convenient and cheap source of protein. Still, peanuts were a labor-intensive crop. Not until harvesting and processing equipment was invented around 1900 did peanuts become common among the general population. American agricultural scientist George Washington Carver began experimenting with peanuts in 1903, finding over 300 uses for the plant.

A brilliant inventor: George Washington Carver came up with over 300 uses for peanuts and the peanut plant.

• Did you know that peanuts are not actually nuts? They are actually legumes, edible seed pods that grow underground. They are in the same family as soybeans, chickpeas, peas, clover, licorice, and lentils, but are unusual in that they flower above ground while their fruit grows underground.

• Peanuts are the number one snack nut consumed in the U.S., accounting for two-thirds of the snack nut market. The average American eats more than six pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products every year. About 94% of U.S. homes regularly consume peanuts.

Peanuts are America's #1 snack nut, making up two-thirds of the snack nut market.

• Peanuts contain approximately 80% unsaturated fat, which is considered the “good” fat, and they are are cholesterol-free. They contain more protein ounce for ounce than any tree nut.

• Peanut oil is considered a high-quality cooking oil in the U.S. because it is able to withstand higher cooking temperatures than many other oils and does not retain the flavor of foods cooked in it. Peanut oil accounts for 8% of the world’s edible oil production.

• The major peanut producing states are: Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Texas, and North and South Carolina. Georgia produces about half of all the peanuts grown in the U.S.

• The bulk of the world’s peanut production comes mainly from China, India, Nigeria, U.S., Sudan, Burma, Argentina and Senegal.

• It takes fewer than five gallons of water to produce one ounce of peanuts. By comparison, it takes 80 gallons to produce one ounce of almonds.

It takes fewer than five gallons of water to produce one ounce of peanuts.

PEANUT BUTTER

• Americans consume an average of three pounds of peanut butter per person each year.

• It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter, so there’s about 45 peanuts in every ounce of peanut butter.

• By law, any product labeled “peanut butter” in the United States must be at least 90% peanuts.

• Although the Incas made peanut butter for thousands of years, peanut butter was officially introduced to Americans in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

• Peanut butter accounts for about half of the U.S. edible use of peanuts. The other half of U.S. consumption is divided equally between snack nuts and confectionery.

• In 1928 Joseph L. Rosenfield invented the churning process that gives peanut butter its smooth texture. He licensed this process to Pond Company, who made Peter Pan peanut butter. In 1932, he started his own peanut butter company which he named Skippy, taking the name from a popular cartoon character about a scrappy young kid who liked to paint fences.

PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY

• It shouldn't surprise you to learn that PB&J is America's most popular go-to sandwich. Most kids have consumed over a thousand peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate from high school. The average adult eats a PB&J three times a month.

• A Chicago restaurant called PB&J offers the world’s most expensive peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It features gold leaf-dusted bread, redcurrant jam imported from France, all-natural peanut butter, and a rare Manuka honey from New Zealand. It must be ordered and pre-paid 24 hours in advance, and costs $350.

The world's most expensive peanut butter and jelly sandwich is sold at Chicago's PB&J restaurant, with a $350 price tag.

• The speed record for eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is six in sixty seconds.

• Grape jelly is the favorite for PB&Js in the U.S., with strawberry coming in second.

• There are enough peanuts in one acre to make over 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.

NEW CANDY PRODUCTS

• In 1890 a woman in New England was making peanut flavored taffy. However, she accidentally used baking soda in the recipe instead of the cream of tartar which was called for. Her mistake resulted in the invention of what is now a world favorite -- peanut brittle.

• In the early 1900s, Harry was a dairy farmer in Pennsylvania providing milk for the Hershey Chocolate Company. He later went to work in the Hershey factories making the chocolate. He eventually reasoned that if Hershey could get rich selling candy, he could too. So in 1923 he started making his own candies in his basement. The first few years were a struggle, especially since he had 16 children to support.

• He then decided to move his operation to a large department store, setting up his candy-making process in the main window facing the busy street. Shoppers would stop and watch, fascinated by the process while tasting free samples of his candy. It was a huge success and his business flourished.

• Because Harry bought all his chocolate wholesale from the Hershey company, he was considered a customer rather than competition. Sales were brisk for Harry, but World War II caused a rationing of chocolate. Harry had to stop his chocolate production, but because peanut butter was still plentiful he concentrated instead on making candies containing this popular ingredient.

• In the 1940s and 1950s, a surge in popularity for his candy resulted in the need for a high volume production facility. His 100,000 square foot manufacturing plant opened on Chocolate Avenue in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1957. By the time he died, Harry’s candy business was a whopping national success. In fact, he was buried in the Hershey cemetery, just a few feet away from Milton Hershey’s grave.

Harry Reese, inventor of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

• In 1963 Hershey bought out Harry’s company, named after Harry, for $23.5 million. This best-selling peanut butter candy still bears his name. The man was Harry Burnett Reese, the inventor of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. □

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