All About Peanuts

Podcast Transcript

One of the world’s most popular snack foods is peanuts.

Peanuts are consumed by themselves as a snack, processed in the form of peanut butter, and can be made into peanut oil.

Hundreds of different products, including plastics, dyes, cosmetics, paper, and soap, have all been derived from peanut plants.

However, unlike other popular foods, for some people, the consumption of peanuts can actually be deadly.

Learn more about peanuts, their history, and their uses on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The first thing you should know about the peanut is that it is not a nut. Even though peanuts are sold and served alongside other nuts, peanuts are not nuts because they do not grow on trees.

Peanuts are legumes. They are more closely related to beans and peas than they are to nuts.

So, to this extent, you can think of a peanut like a tomato. Tomatoes are fruits served as vegetables, and peanuts are legumes served as nuts.

The scientific term for the peanut plant is Arachis hypogaea. There are four main varieties of peanuts: Runner Peanuts, Virginia Peanuts, Spanish Peanuts, and Valencia Peanuts.

The peanut has a very uncommon way of growing its fruit, known as geocarpy. They have a shoot that comes off the plant, known as a peg, that goes underground, which develops the pods. The average plant will produce 25 to 50 pods, with each one containing 1 to 4 seeds.

The peanut plant originally came from South America.

Researchers from the University of Georgia, as part of the International Peanut Genome Initiative, successfully mapped the complete genome of the cultivated peanut, revealing its complex evolutionary history. Their findings indicate that ancient farmers in South America facilitated the hybridization of two wild species, Arachis duranensis and Arachis ipaensis, leading to the creation of the modern peanut.

We aren’t sure exactly where the peanut was domesticated. We know it was consumed in Peru, but there are also theories that it might have been domesticated in what is today Paraguay.

Evidence suggests that indigenous peoples domesticated peanuts around 7,000–8,000 years ago. The plant’s geocarpy likely played a role in its adaptability and domestication.

What we do know is that the peanut spread throughout South America and went as far as Mexico. It was a more important food in Peru than it was in Mexico, where corn was the staple crop.

Early uses included grinding peanuts into pastes, mixing them into stews, and roasting them.

As with so many food products from the Americas, peanuts first came in contact with Europeans with the arrival of the Spanish and the Portuguese.

They brought the peanut to Europe, but it didn’t really catch on like other American crops did, like the potato.

Portuguese traders brought peanuts to West Africa, where they became a staple due to their similarity to native legumes and their adaptability to local growing conditions.

From Africa, peanuts were introduced to India, China, and Southeast Asia through trade routes, quickly integrating into regional cuisines and agriculture.

Africa and Asia were much better climates for peanuts and they were adopted quickly because of their similarity to other legumes.

Peanuts were not always consumed like they are today. Peanuts were often roasted and consumed directly, providing a portable and high-energy food.

They were usually ground into a paste and used as a base for stews and sauces. A classic example is groundnut soup, a richly flavored dish still popular across West Africa.

Peanut pastes were also blended with vegetables, spices, and meat, offering a protein-rich accompaniment to staple foods like rice, yams, or millet.

African slaves are believed to have introduced peanuts to North America, where they became a staple in Southern cuisine.

Two of the American nicknames for peanuts are goobers and pindars. These names actually have African origins.

Goober come from the Kikongo and Kimbundu word nguba, which means peanut.

Pindar comes from the Mandinka word pinda which means peanut.

When peanuts arrived in North America, they were initially considered a food for livestock or the poor. They were easy to grow, affordable, and nutritious, making them a practical option for sustenance.

The livestock they were most commonly fed to were pigs.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, peanuts were grown primarily in small gardens and subsistence farms. They provided a reliable source of protein and fat in the diets of enslaved people and poor farmers.

During the Civil War, both Union and Confederate soldiers relied on peanuts as a portable, high-energy food. They were easy to store and transport, making them an ideal field ration.

The war also increased the visibility of peanuts, as soldiers returned home with an appreciation for the crop.

After the Civil War, peanuts became an increasingly important crop in the South, particularly for African-American farmers and sharecroppers. They were relatively inexpensive to cultivate and provided a marketable product in a struggling post-war economy.

Peanuts were also becoming popular as a snack food in the latter half of the 19th century.

Peanuts were a popular and inexpensive snack sold in theaters during this period. Patrons sitting in the upper gallery frequently ate peanuts, and they were sometimes known to throw the shells—or even the peanuts themselves—at performers they disliked or found boring.

These people became known as the “peanut gallery.”

Peanuts were also sold at circuses as a snack during this period, which is how peanuts became associated as a food that elephants enjoy. Circusgoers would literally be able to feed peanuts to elephants.

Zoos and other animal sanctuaries no longer sell peanuts to feed elephants as it is not a part of their natural diet.

The late 19th century also saw the development of one of the most popular peanut-based products, peanut butter.

In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a Canadian chemist, patented a process for creating peanut paste. His innovation involved milling roasted peanuts into a smooth consistency, primarily intended as a food for people who had difficulty chewing solid food.

While Edson received a patent for peanut butter, he certainly wasn’t the first person to make it. There is evidence of Peruvians grinding up peanuts for thousands of years.

If you ever have ground peanuts, there really isn’t much to making a simple peanut butter. Literally, put some peanuts into a food processor, and you will get a type of peanut butter.

In 1895, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the same guy who invented cornflakes, patented a process for producing peanut butter. His version, designed for patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium, was made from steamed peanuts rather than roasted, making it much less flavorful.

Around the same time, George Bayle, a food manufacturer in St. Louis, began selling peanut butter as a protein-rich snack, further popularizing its consumption.

Peanut butter gained widespread attention when it was showcased at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, sparking consumer interest.

The first mention of peanut butter being used on bread dates back to an 1896 article in Good Housekeeping Magazine, and the first mention of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches appeared in 1901 in the Boston Cooking School Magazine.

Mr. Peanut, the iconic monocle-wearing mascot of Planters Peanuts, was created in 1916 when the Planters Nut and Chocolate Company held a logo contest to find a brand identity. A 14-year-old boy named Antonio Gentile submitted a drawing of a peanut with human-like features, which was refined by a commercial artist who added the signature top hat, monocle, and cane.

In 1922, Joseph Rosefield revolutionized peanut butter production by introducing hydrogenated oil, which prevented the natural separation of peanut oil and solids. This innovation led to the creamy, shelf-stable peanut butter we recognize today.

He licensed his process to Swift & Company, the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter, and later started his own brand, Skippy, in 1932.

At this point is a good time to introduce the man who is perhaps the most important single figure in the history of peanuts, George Washington Carver.

Carver was born into slavery in 1864, in the last months of the Civil War. He became one of the most respected scientists of his time. He spent much of his career at the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, in Alabama, where he focused on helping poor farmers, particularly African Americans in the South, improve their agricultural practices and economic self-sufficiency.

Many people think that George Washington Carver invented peanut butter, but he did not. But he did invent pretty much everything else that has to deal with peanuts.

Carver’s groundbreaking research led to the development of over 300 uses for peanuts. These included food products such as peanut-based substitutes for milk, peanut oil, peanut flour, and peanut-based candies.

Industrial products like peanut-based dyes, plastics, paints, soap, and cosmetics.

….And also medicinal products such as peanut-derived antiseptics and massage oils.

Not all of his ideas caught on, but many of them did, and they showed the versatility of the peanut.

Carver became one of the most famous scientists of his era and a notable celebrity.

Perhaps his biggest contribution was encouraging farmers, especially poor farmers in the south, to rotate peanuts as a crop with cotton.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Southern agriculture was heavily reliant on cotton, which had depleted the soil of nutrients, especially nitrogen. This over-reliance also left farmers vulnerable to pests like the boll weevil, which devastated cotton crops.

Carver advocated crop rotation and diversification to restore soil health and reduce dependence on cotton.

Peanuts are nitrogen-fixing legumes and, as such, can rejuvenate soil depleted by cotton farming.

During WWII, peanut butter was included in military K-rations because it was high in protein, calories, and essential nutrients, making it an ideal food for sustaining soldiers in demanding conditions. Its long shelf life, portability, and lack of refrigeration requirements added to its practicality.

Soldiers enjoyed peanut butter because it was familiar, comforting, and easy to eat. It became a favorite food item, even among the limited options available in their rations.

After the war, soldiers brought their taste for peanut butter back home, and its familiarity contributed to its widespread adoption in households.

During the post-war economic boom, peanut butter became a staple in American diets, thanks to its low cost and high nutritional value, making it especially appealing to families with children.

After the Second World War, peanut production exploded around the world, especially in India and China. North America saw increased production in the peanut belt in the south.

Post-war advances in agricultural machinery made planting, harvesting, and processing peanuts more efficient, reducing labor demands and costs.

Research into drought-resistant and pest-resistant peanut varieties improved global yields.

Today, the worldwide peanut industry is worth over 90 billion dollars annually, and it is expected to reach $100 billion by 2029.

The world’s largest peanut-producing country is China. In 2021, It produced 18.4 million tons, representing a third of the world’s peanut harvest.

The next biggest country is India, which produces 10.2 million tons of peanuts annually.

They are followed by Nigeria, the United States, Sudan, Senegal, Myanmar, Argentina, Guinea, and Chad. The list illustrates just how important of a crop it is in Africa and how well-suited it is to that climate.

Approximately 60 to 70% of global production is for direct human consumption.

This included roasted or boiled peanuts, in-shell peanuts, peanut butter, candy bars, peanut brittle, and other confectionaries.

Pro tip: when buying mixed nuts, the terms “fancy” or “deluxe” usually mean that there are no peanuts in the mix. Peanuts are cheaper which is why they are usually added to mixed nuts to bring down the price.

About 20 to 25% goes to peanut oil, which is used for cooking and industrial use.

10 to 15% goes towards animal feed, mostly by-products from peanut oil production, and the remainder is for seeds and other industrial uses.

I’ve covered the history of many different foods on this podcast, but there is one thing that separates peanuts from other foods I’ve covered: some people have severe, possibly deadly allergies to peanuts.

A peanut allergy is a type of food allergy that occurs when the immune system mistakenly identifies proteins in peanuts as harmful substances.

When a person with a peanut allergy consumes even a small amount of peanut or peanut-containing products, their immune system overreacts by releasing chemicals like histamine, causing allergic symptoms.

This triggers an immune response that can range from mild to severe, sometimes leading to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Symptoms of anaphylaxis include difficulty breathing, swelling of the throat, a sudden drop in blood pressure, and loss of consciousness.

The number of people in developed countries with a peanut allergy is about 1-2% of the population, but that number has tripled over the last 20 years.

There is no cure for peanut allergies. The only remedy is that if someone with an allergy ingests peanuts, they use an epinephrine auto-injector, aka an EpiPen.

There is some research that suggests that early exposure to peanuts, either during pregnancy or during the first four months of life, can teach the immune system not to overreach to peanut proteins. However, the jury is still out on this.

The simple peanut actually has had an incredible journey.

What began in South America has traveled around the world to be a staple on every inhabited continent. George Washington Carver showed it to be an incredibly versatile product that has hundreds of uses. For most of us, however, its a natural snack and something that we might enjoy in a sandwich.