The Bottom Line: Quick facts about peanuts!
The Full Story:
- It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
- By law, any product labeled “peanut butter” in the United States must be at least 90% peanuts.
- Two peanut farmers have been elected president of the USA – Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
- Astronaut Alan Shepard brought a peanut with him to the moon. Read about peanuts bringing good luck to NASA.
- There are six cities in the U.S. named Peanut: Peanut, California; Lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; Upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Pennsylvania, Peanut, Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia.
- 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.
- “Boiled peanuts” are considered a delicacy in the peanut growing areas of the South. Freshly harvested peanuts are boiled in supersaturated salt water until they are of a soft bean like texture. They are most frequently enjoyed at the end of the day with a favorite beverage.
- Goober—a nickname for peanuts—comes from “nguba,” the Congo language name for peanut.
- Peanuts are sometimes called “ground nuts” or “ground peas” because peanuts grow underground.