Who doesn’t love Peanut Butter? Well, besides people with nut allergies, that is.

As we discovered in last week’s Part 1, North Americans were some of the last people to get the peanut plant. So you shouldn’t be surprised to learn: We didn’t invent peanut butter. (The Incas did that many years ago.)

But Americans love peanut butter more than anyone else in the world. We’ll eat peanut butter with almost anything, including bananas, celery, honey, mayo, chocolate, and especially, jelly, just to name a few.

The National Peanut Board’s website has a list of peanut butter recipes for every meal.  Check them out here.

Quick “Did You Know” Peanut Butter Facts

• In 1890, a St. Louis physician developed “peanut paste” for his patients with bad and/or no teeth.
• In 1895, the Kellogg brothers patented the peanut butter process. (They steamed their nuts. Today we roast the nuts and enjoy a better-tasting peanut butter.)
• In 1904, at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, C.H. Sumner introduced peanut butter to the world.
• According to food historian Andrew F. Smith, the Great Depression made PB&J sandwiches the “core of childhood food.”
• In 2020, because of its availability, much less its distinctive and recognizable smell, Dr. Dana Small, a psychologist and neuroscientist at Yale University, used peanut butter to identify asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers.
• China and India harvest more peanuts than the USA, but more peanut butter is eaten in the USA than in any other country in the world.
• 94% of Americans have peanut butter in their homes.
• About half of the edible peanuts grown in the USA are made into peanut butter.
• It takes approximately 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
• One acre of peanut plants produces enough peanuts to make 35,000 PB&J sandwiches.
• Every year, Americans eat enough peanut butter to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon.
• Every year, the average European eats less than 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.
• Peanut butter can be turned into diamonds in a high-pressure environment. (Really?)

Other interesting peanut butter and jelly “by the numbers” facts can be found here.

Conclusion

Peanuts have had a profound and lasting impact on the USA. Sporting events, fairs, and restaurants wouldn’t be the same without those yummy roasted nuts. And can you imagine life without peanut butter? I can’t.

So go eat some peanut butter and be thankful peanut plants made it to North America!

Resources

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-peanut-butter-180976525/

https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/history-peanuts-peanut-butter.htm

https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/

https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/news/george-washington-carver.htm

https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/news/fun-facts.htm

https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/wellness/the-journey-peanut-butter-jar.htm

https://www.peanutsusa.com/about-apc/the-peanut-industry.html