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Choose from the menu below to find out about "Peanut Facts and Peanut History"
How The Peanut Plant Grows
Types of Peanuts
Where Peanuts Grow
How Peanuts are Planted and Harvested
Peanut Butter/Peanut Spread
Roasted Peanuts/Snack Peanuts
Peanut Confections
Non-Food Uses for Peanut
How The Peanut Plant Grows
The peanut is unusual because it flowers above the ground, but fruits below the ground. Typical
misconceptions of how peanuts grow place them on trees (like walnuts or pecans) or growing as a part of
a root, like potatoes.
Peanut seeds (kernels) grow into a green oval-leafed plant about 18 inches tall which develop delicate
flowers around the lower portion of the plant. The flowers pollinate themselves and then lose their petals
as the fertilized ovary begins to enlarge. The budding ovary or "peg" grows down away from the plant,
forming a small stem, which extends to the soil. The Peanut embryo is in the tip of the peg, which
penetrates the soil. The embryo turns horizontal to the soil surface and begins to mature taking the form
of peanut. The plant continues to grow and flower, eventually producing some 40 or more mature pods.
From planting to harvesting, the growing cycle takes about four to five months, depending on the type or
variety. The peanut is a nitrogen-fixing plant; its roots form modules which absorb nitrogen from the air
and provides enrichment and nutrition to the plant and soils.
Peanut Facts and Peanut History about Types of Peanuts Grown in US
Although peanuts come in many varieties, there are four basic market types: Runner, Virginia, Spanish
and Valencia. Each of the peanut types is distinctive in size, flavor, and nutritional composition. Within
each four basic types of peanuts, there are several "varieties" for seed and production purposes. Each
variety contains distinct characteristics which allows a producer to select the peanut that is best suited for
its region and market.
Runner
Runners have become the dominant type due to the introduction in the early 1970's of a new runner
variety, the Florunner, which was responsible for a spectacular increase in peanut yields. Runners have
rapidly gained wide acceptance because of the attractive, uniform kernel size. Fifty-four percent of the
runners grown are used for peanut butter. Runners are grown mainly in Georgia, Alabama, Florida,
Texas and Oklahoma.
Virginia
Virginias have the largest kernels and account for most of the peanuts roasted and processed
in-the-shell. When shelled, the larger kernels are sold as snack peanuts. Virginias are grown mainly in
southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
Spanish
Spanish-type peanuts have smaller kernels covered with a reddish-brown skin. They are used
predominantly in peanut candies, with significant quantities used for snack nuts and peanut butter. They
have a higher oil content than the other types of peanuts which is advantageous when crushing for oil.
They are primarily grown in Oklahoma and Texas.
Valencia
Valencias usually have three or more small kernels to a pod and are covered in a bright-red skin. They
are very sweet peanuts and are usually roasted and sold in-the-shell. They are also excellent for fresh
use as boiled peanuts. New Mexico is the primary producer of Valencia peanuts.
Where Peanuts Grow
Peanuts are grown in the warm climates of Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America. India and
China together account for more than half of the world's production. The United States has about 3% of
the world acreage of peanuts, but grows nearly 10% of the world's crop because of higher yields per
acre. Other major peanut growing countries include Senegal, Sudan, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa,
Malawi, and Nigeria.
In the U.S. these are the major peanut producing states: VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH
CAROLINA, GEORGIA FLORIDA, ALABAMA, TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, NEW MEXICO.
In the United States, nine states grow 99% of the U. S. peanut crop: Georgia (which grows about 39% of
all U. S. peanuts), followed by Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Virginia, South
Carolina and New Mexico. These states are grouped into three regions. The Georgia-Florida-Alabama
region (Southeast) grows mostly the medium-kernel Runner peanuts. The Southwest region
(Texas-Oklahoma-New Mexico) grows Spanish and Runner. The Virginia-Carolinas area grows mostly the
large-kernel Virginia type peanut. About 55% of all U. S. peanuts are grown in the Southeast, with the
Virginia/Carolina area accounting for 14% and the Southwest, about 30%.
More Peanut Facts-How Peanuts Are Planted And Harvested
Peanuts are planted and harvested with specialized machinery. Peanut seeds are planted about two
inches deep, one every three or four inches, in rows about three feet apart. The seeds do best in sandy
soil, especially soil rich in calcium. When the soil temperature is warm (65-70 F.) given enough water the
seeds will sprout. In about two weeks, the first "square" of four leaflets will unfold above the peanut field.
Thirty to forty days after emergence the plants bloom, "pegs" form and enter the soil. The peanut shells
and kernels develop and mature during the next 60 to 70 day period. Depending on the variety, 120 to
160 frost free days are required for a good crop.
When the plant has matured and the peanuts are ready to be harvested, the farmer waits until the soil is
neither too wet or too dry before digging.
When conditions are right, the farmer drives his digger up and down the green rows of peanuts plants.
The digger has long blades that run four to six inches under the ground. It loosens the plant and cuts the
tap root. Just behind the blade, a shaker lifts the plant from the soil, gently shakes the dirt from the
peanuts, rotates the plant, and lays the plant back down in a "windrow," peanuts up and leaves down.
When dug, peanuts contain 25 to50% moisture, which must be dried to 10% or less for storage. Peanuts
are generally left in the windrows to dry for 2 or more days in the field, then threshed or combined.
The farmer drives his combine over the windrows. The combine lifts the plants, separates the peanuts
from the vine, blows them into a hopper on the top of the machine, and lays the vine back down in the
field. The peanuts are then dumped into wagons and cured to 10% moisture with warm air forced up
through the floors of the wagons. The peanuts are then taken to be sold at nearby peanut buying
stations.
Peanut Butter/Peanut Spread
About one-half of all edible peanuts produced in the United States are used to make peanut butter and
peanut spreads. By law and industry standard, any product labeled "peanut butter" in the U. S. must be at
least 90% peanuts. The remaining 10% may be salt, sweetener and an emulsifier (hardened vegetable oil
which prevents the peanut oil from separating and rising to the top).
Other similar products which don't subscribe to the 90%/10% rule are labeled peanut spread. Many are
reduced fat products with added vitamins and minerals. These standards are subscribed to by the
industry to assure consumers of uniformly nutritious products.
The ancient South American Indians were the first to make and eat peanut butter, and one of the peanut
foods invented by Dr. George Washington Carver was similar to peanut butter. Historical reference has it,
however, that peanut butter was invented by a physician in St. Louis about 1890 as a health food for the
elderly. No one remembers the physician's name, although records show that in 1903 Ambrose W. Straub
of St. Louis patented a machine to make peanut butter. Also during that period (1895), Dr. John Harvey
Kellogg (of breakfast cereal fame) patented the process of making peanut butter for the patients at his
Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health food retreat in Michigan.
Basically, all peanut butter is made by a similar process. First the raw, shelled peanuts are roasted and
cooled, then the skins are removed (blanched.) Some manufacturers split the kernels and remove the
heart of the peanut as well. The hearts can be saved to make peanut oil and the skins left over from
blanching can be sold for animal feed. The blanched peanut kernels are electronically sorted or hand
picked one last time to be sure only good, wholesome kernels are used in peanut butter.
Commercial peanut butter is made very similar to our old fashioned home cooked recipe. The peanuts
are ground, usually through two grinding stages, to produce a smooth, even-textured butter. The peanuts
are heated during the grinding to about 170 degrees F . Once the emulsifiers are added and mixed, the
butter is cooled rapidly to 120 degrees F or below. This crystallizes the emulsifiers, thus trapping the
peanut oil that was released by the grinding. To make chunky peanut butter, peanut granules are added
to the creamy peanut butter. The peanut butter is then packed into containers for sale at stores.
Roasted Peanuts/Snack Peanuts
Old fashioned home cooked roasted peanuts are still prepared by same recipes used for over 100 years.
To be roasted in the shell, peanuts are cooked at medium heat for about 15 minutes. They may be plain
roasted or seasoned. The most popular are salted in-the-shell, however the new cajun flavor is getting
accolades from consumers as well. To season peanuts in the shell - prior to roasting,- the peanuts are
washed and then the seasonings, which are dissolved in water, are forced through the shells by a
pressure process. When dried during the roasting process, the seasonings remain inside the shells.
Most often, snack peanuts are shelled, blanched, roasted and salted, (although Spanish peanuts are
usually roasted with their skins on.) Peanuts may be roasted in oil or by a dry-roasting process. Peanuts
are oil-roasted in continuous cookers that take a steady stream of peanuts through hot oil for about five
minutes. After draining, the kernels may be salted.
Dry-roasted peanuts are cooked in a large oven by dry, hot forced air after which spicy seasonings are
applied. The roasted peanuts are then packed in containers ranging in size from bags holding a handful,
to large cans and jars. Frequently, peanuts are mixed with other nuts and dried fruits for "health-food"
snacks.
Peanut Confections
Peanuts are used in candy-making in a seemingly infinite number of ways. A large variety of candy bars
combine peanuts (whole, chopped or as butter) with such treats as chocolate, nougat, marshmallow,
caramel, other nuts and dried fruits. Peanut brittle and chocolate-covered peanuts are always popular.
The high protein content of peanuts make them ideal for high energy snacks. Six of the top ten candy
bars sold in the U.S. contain peanuts and/or peanut butter. While many new exciting recipes have
evolved, many of the commercial peanut candy recipes used today are the same old fashioned home
cooked recipes of our country cooking forebears.
Non-Food Uses for Peanuts-Interesting Peanut Facts
The shells, skins and kernels of peanuts may be used to make a vast variety of non-food products. For
example, the shells may be used in wallboard, fireplace logs, fiber roughage for livestock feed and kitty
litter; and, the skins may be used for paper making. Peanuts are often used as an ingredient in other
products such as detergent, salves, metal polish, bleach, ink, axle grease, shaving cream, face creams,
soap, linoleum, rubber, cosmetics, paint, explosives, shampoo, and medicine.
Return to top
Some More Peanut Facts and Peanut History
When Africans were brought to North America as slaves, peanuts came with them. Slaves planted
peanuts throughout the southern United States Records show that peanuts were grown commercially in
South Carolina around 1800 and used for oil, food and a substitute for cocoa. However, until 1900
peanuts were not extensively grown,
The first notable increase in U.S. peanut consumption came in 1860 with the outbreak of the Civil War.
Northern soldiers, as well as Southern, used the peanut as a food. During the last half of the 19th
century, peanuts were eaten as a snack, sold freshly roasted by street vendors and at baseball games
and circuses. While peanut production rose during this time, peanuts were harvested by hand which left
stems and trash in the peanuts. Thus, poor quality and lack of uniformity kept down the demand for
peanuts.
George Washington Carver began his research into peanuts in 1903 at Tuskeegee Institute. Research
that would lead him to discover improvements in horticulture and the development of more than 300 uses
for peanuts
Today, peanuts contribute over four billion dollars to the U.S. economy each year.
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