Peanut Facts

[cat lover]

Approximately 2 cups roasted shelled peanuts ground will yield 1 cup peanut butter

12 ounces peanut butter = 1 cup

Approximately 1 1/2 pounds raw unshelled peanuts = 1 pound raw shelled = 3 1/4 cups

Approximately 5 ounces raw shelled peanuts = 1 cup

12 ounces roasted shelled peanuts = 2 cups

[cat lover]

Has anybody actually ever grown peanuts or had anything to do with harvesting them; or just anythng other than buying them in the store? It has to be interesting; want to share some stories on it?:confused:

[cat lover]

Here is some history on Peanuts!

Peanuts originated in South America, probably in Brazil and Peru. They were grown as far north as Mexico by the time the Spanish began their exploration of the New World. When the explorers returned to Spain, they brought peanuts with them. Later, traders were responsible for spreading peanuts to Africa and Asia.

Records show that in the 1800's peanuts were grown commercially in South Carolina and used for oil, food and a cocoa substitute. However, peanuts were regarded as food for livestock and the poor. They also were difficult to grow and harvest, so they were not widely grown in the USA.

The first notable increase in USA peanut consumption came in 1860 with the outbreak of the Civil War. Soldiers on both sides turned to peanuts for food. They took their taste for peanuts home with them and peanuts were sold freshly roasted by street vendors and at baseball games and circuses. While peanut production rose during this time, peanuts were still harvested by hand, leaving stems and trash in the peanuts. Thus, poor quality and lack of uniformity kept down the demand for peanuts.

Around 1900, labor-saving equipment was invented for planting, cultivating, harvesting and picking peanuts from the plants, as well as for shelling and cleaning the kernels. With these mechanical aids, peanuts rapidly came into demand for oil, roasted and salted nuts, peanut butter and candy.

In 1903, George Washington Carver began his research at Tuskegee Institute. While peanut butter had been developed by then, Carver developed more than 300 other uses for peanuts and improved peanut horticulture so much that he is considered by many to be the "father of the peanut industry." The botanist recognized the value of peanuts as a cash crop and proposed that peanuts be planted as a rotation crop in the Southeast cotton-growing areas where the Boll Weevil insect threatened the region's agricultural base.

Today, peanuts contribute more than four billion dollars to the U.S. economy each year. Americans eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts and about 700 million pounds of peanut butter each year.

Source: National Peanut Board

[cat lover]

Fun Facts on Peanut Butter



Peanut butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA.

Peanut butter was the secret behind "Mr. Ed," TV's talking horse.

It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.

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

Peanut butter was first introduced to the USA in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis by C.H. Sumner, who sold $705.11 of the "new treat" at his concession stand.

The oldest operating manufacturer and seller of peanut butter has been selling peanut butter since 1908.

Peanut butter is consumed in 89 percent of USA households.

The world's largest peanut butter factory churns out 250,000 jars of the tasty treat every day.

Women and children prefer creamy, while most men opt for chunky.

People living on the East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the West Coast prefer the crunchy style.

It takes two grindings to make peanut butter. The intense heat produced from one, long grinding would ruin the flavor of the peanut butter.

November is Peanut Butter Lovers Month.

Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
More Fun Facts about Peanut Butter:

The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates high school.

The world's largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was created in Oklahoma City, OK, on September 7, 2002, by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. The PB & J sandwich weighed in at nearly 900 pounds, and contained 350 pounds of peanut butter and 144 pounds of jelly. The amount of bread used to create the sandwich was equivalent to more than 400-one pound loaves of bread.

Sixty percent of consumers prefer creamy peanut butter over crunchy.

The patent for peanut butter was awarded to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg in 1895.
The amount of peanut butter eaten in a year could wrap the earth in a ribbon of 18-ounce peanut butter jars one and one-third times.

Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut butter.

Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Spread the word - Peanut butter is the leading use of peanuts in the USA!




Source: National Peanut Board