We’ve grown so used to eating peanuts that we often forget just how amazing they are. These crunchy nuts are great sources of vitamins and can be made into a variety of dishes, peanut butter being our most favourite one. There’s really not much we know about peanuts apart from the fact that they taste delicious, but that’s all going to change now. Here are some fun and interesting facts about peanuts you probably didn’t know.
Peanuts aren’t nuts. Just because something has a ‘nut’ in it doesn’t mean it’s actually a nut! Yes, it kind of doesn’t make sense, but peanuts are actually legumes. They don’t grow on trees like all the ‘real nuts’ do. Instead they form underground as roots and belong to the family of chickpeas, lentils, and soybeans.
It takes around 600 peanuts to make 350 grams of peanut butter. This is the size of your regular peanut butter jar from the market!
Peanut butter is more ancient than we all realized. Experts believe it was first created by the Ancient Aztecs who started up smashing and mixing peanuts into a crunchy peanut butter paste. A modern version of peanut butter appeared only around 1890s.
There’s a rule about making peanut butter – it should contain no less than 90% of peanuts in it, otherwise you’ll have to call it something else. Other ingredients may be salt, sugar, and a bit of oil.
Apparently, the stickiness of peanut butter can be quite overwhelming as there’s a whole new word that was created especially for that – arachibutyrophobia. This is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
Did you know that peanuts can actually help prevent peanut allergies? That’s right! When introduced to children at a young age, peanuts help them avoid peanut allergy in the future even if they later stop eating peanuts altogether. Research shows that Israel has the lowest peanut allergy rate out of all countries – experts believe it’s because of a yummy peanut snack they start munching on at a young age.
Peanuts are actually good for you. They are a great source of antioxidants, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. The amino acids in the protein promote development and growth.
American Presidents are quite fond of peanuts – both Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson were huge peanut fans and even grew peanuts themselves on special farms. In fact, former President Carter made a livelihood selling peanuts in the street when he was just a little boy.
Peanut shells have lots of uses you probably haven’t thought of before: kitty litter, fireplace logs, kindling, or compost. You can also use them as a packing material or for whatever else you think of. It’s totally organic and chemical-free!
