Peanuts are the misunderstood cousin of the legume family. Did you know that its official name is “groundnut”? That’s because they grow underground. And did you know that the favorite way to enjoy peanuts in the south is by boiling them? That’s right. Head down any southern highway and you’ll pass at least one truckstand selling boiled peanuts by the bag. You can get them Cajun style, salted or unsalted, but it’s definitely an acquired taste. Here are some more facts about this nutritious and tasty treat.
- Peanuts aren’t, in fact, nuts. Despite being part of its name, peanuts are actually members of the legume family (think peas, lentils and beans).
- An average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, by the time they graduate from high school. New slogan: “Peanut Butter: Powering the Minds of Tomorrow”.
- 20% of all the world’s peanuts are used by chocolatiers. You can’t argue that chocolate and peanuts are a match made in heaven.
- Peanut farmers have become president—twice! Both Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter were peanut farmers before becoming president. “In Peanuts, We Trust.”
- A peanut has been to the moon – Astronaut Alan B. Sheppard brought exactly one peanut with him on the Apollo mission, proving to many fans that peanuts are out of this world.
- One acre of a peanut crop produces enough peanuts to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches. Bet you’ll never look at land the same way again.
- George Washington Carver is considered the father of the peanut industry. This champion of civil rights was also an inventor and botanist who developed more than 300 uses for peanuts.
- 2/3 of the world’s peanut crops are turned into peanut oil. 8% of the world’s edible oil is peanut oil, which is considered a healthier alternative to most other cooking oils.
- 4 of the top 10 candy bars made in the U.S. contain peanuts or peanut butter. You can’t argue with tastebuds.
- On average, it takes 540 peanuts to make one jar of peanut butter. Kind of makes you happy you don’t have to do the shelling, right?
- Peanuts add more than $4 billion to the U.S. economy annually. Some might say it’s your fiscal duty to eat them.
- Americans consume 600 million pounds of peanuts and 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually. The numbers speak for themselves.
- Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the rough of your mouth. Yup, it’s a thing.
- The world’s largest peanut butter and jelly sandwich was made in Grand Saline, Texas. Because, you know, everything’s bigger in Texas.
- Americans consume enough peanut butter annually to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon. The imagery alone is enough to leave you salivating.
- The average American will consume over 6 pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products annually – If the last fact was a little hard to swallow, this one might make it a little more palatable. Unless you have arachibutyrophobia, that is.
