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Facts About PeanutsThe peanut is really a legume, like a pea. The peanut was known in Peru around 1200 to 1500 B.C. Well preserved peanut plants have been found in Inca mummy bundles and burial sites. Before the civil war, peanuts were known throughout the
South as "groundnuts", "ground peas", Goober peas", Monkey
Nuts", Pindars", and "Goobers". About 1920 farmers in the southern states were infested with the boll weevil. They were forced to find another cash crop to take the place of cotton - they choose peanuts, which turned out to be an excellent substitute.
India is by far the largest producer of peanuts in the world, followed by mainland China. India and China produce over 50% of the world's peanuts. The United states is in third place. About 10% of the United States peanut crop is sold in the shell. Peanut kernels which count 60 to 80 peanuts per ounce are considered small ( such as the Spanish peanut). 40 to 60 peanuts per ounce are medium, and 30 to 40 peanuts per ounce are graded as large. The major use of peanuts in the United States is making peanut butter. To prepare peanut butter, the raw peanut is shelled, roasted, cooled, and blanched (remove the red skin). The kernels are ground to produce a smooth textured butter - peanut butter. During grinding the peanuts are heated up to 170 degrees and emulsifiers are added. The the mixture is cooled to 120 degrees to stiffen the mixture. To prepare chunky peanut butter, the manufacturer will add bits of coarsely ground or broken peanuts. Peanuts contain about 26% protein - higher than dairy products, eggs, fish, and many cuts of meats. A glass of milk and two peanut butter sandwiches provide 83% of the growing child's daily need for protein! |
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