Celebrating National Peanut Butter Lover’s day. A day for lover’s of a popular snack and sandwich spread. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day
From: Peanut Butter Lover’s day
Whether we spread it on thick and crunchy or eat it by the smooth creamy spoonful, peanut butter is the indisputable king of nut spreads that North Americans love to gobble up. We’re so nuts for peanut butter that each American eats three pounds of peanut butter each year. Throw in the peanuts we consume and that figure doubles to six pounds. It’s no wonder March 1st is dedicated as National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day.
Peanut Butter History
In 1903 Dr. George Washington Carver, the famous botanist and educator, developed more than 300 other uses for peanuts and is now considered the father of the American peanut industry. By 1908, Krema Products Company in Columbus, Ohio began manufacturing peanut butter, making it the oldest company still in operation today.
It would take a few years for peanut butter to become the product we know today. In 1922 Joseph L. Rosefield sold peanut butter in California, churning it to make it smoother. He received the first patent for peanut butter that could stay fresh up to a year. One of the first companies to adopt the process would later be called Peter Pan. Learn more Peanut Butter history.
Peanut Butter Facts:
One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
Two former U.S. Presidents were peanut farmers: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
Runner peanuts are preferred for peanut butter, and are grown primarily in Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Peanut shells are used to make kitty litter, wallboard, fireplace logs, paper and animal feed, and are sometimes used as fuel for power plants.
It is said Africans ground peanuts into stews as early as the 1400s, the Chinese crushed peanuts into creamy sauces for centuries and Civil War soldiers dined on a concoction called peanut porridge.
The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before he or she graduates from high school
It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
To legally label the spread as peanut butter, it must contain a minimum of 90 per cent peanuts with no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. Some brands add natural sweeteners and salt, plus stabilizers for freshness. Learn more Peanut Butter facts.
How Peanuts are Grown:
Types of Peanuts:
Virginia Peanuts: Often called cocktail nuts, Virginia peanuts’ size make them great for processing, particularly for salting, confections and in-shell roasting. They are grown primarily in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Texas.
Runner Peanuts: Runner peanuts are the most widely consumed variety and are the perfect size for producing peanut butter. Mostly grown in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma, the Runner thrives in the warm climate and sandy, well-drained soil.