Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food made of roasted and ground
peanuts, usually salted and sweetened. It is commonly sold in grocery stores, but can be made at home. It is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation, "P.B.". Many styles are available; the most popular are creamy and crunchy , but
honey-roasted, whole-nut varieties, varieties mixed with
chocolate, and other variations can also be found. Creamy peanut butter is made by grinding all of the mixture very finely. The crunchier styles are either more coarsely ground or have larger pieces of peanut added back into the mixture after grinding.
Encyclopedia
Peanut butter is a food made of roasted and ground
peanuts, usually salted and sweetened. It is commonly sold in grocery stores, but can be made at home. It is sometimes referred to by its abbreviation, "P.B.". Many styles are available; the most popular are creamy and crunchy , but
honey-roasted, whole-nut varieties, varieties mixed with
chocolate, and other variations can also be found. Creamy peanut butter is made by grinding all of the mixture very finely. The crunchier styles are either more coarsely ground or have larger pieces of peanut added back into the mixture after grinding.
Used in
sandwiches ,
candy ,
cookies and
pastry, it is a vegetarian source of protein, and it is popular with children.
Peanut butter is popular mainly in the
United States,
Australia, the
United Kingdom,
Canada,
Papua New Guinea,
New Zealand and
The Netherlands, but is overshadowed by
hazelnut butter in other parts of
Europe. In
Germany, for example, and in
Italy, peanut butter is not popular at all and it is also very hard to find in local shops and supermarkets. It also has above-average popularity in the Philippines, parts of the Middle East,
South Korea and other areas where Americans have maintained a strong presence in recent decades. It is manufactured in China, India and other emerging markets.
For people with peanut
allergy, peanut butter can cause reactions up to and including fatal
anaphylactic shock which has caused it to be banned on some school premises.
The peanut plant is susceptible to the
mold Aspergillus flavus is a mold [i] fungus [i] associated with aspergillosis [i] of the lung [i]s ...
which produces
aflatoxin, and contamination in peanut butter is possible.
History
The first peanut butter was the ground paste that the ancient
Pre-Columbian Maya and
Aztec civilizations of
Mexico used as the base for a number of their "moles" .
In 1890, George A. Bayle Jr., began to sell ground peanut paste as a
Vegetarian protein supplement for people with bad or no teeth. In 1893, Dr.
John Harvey Kellogg originated an early variety of peanut butter at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in
Battle Creek,
Michigan. Kellogg, along with his brother, W.K. Kellogg,
patented a process for making peanut butter in 1895, but it used
steamed peanuts rather than
roasted peanuts. Contrary to popular belief, the renowned
botanist,
George Washington Carver, had no hand in inventing this food.
Peanut butter was made in Australia by Edward Halsey for
Sanitarium Health Food Company on May 29, 1899 and was sold as early as June 16. Peanut butter was widely introduced in 1904 by C.H. Sumner at the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition which also popularized the
ice cream cone,
hot dog and
hamburger.
Founded by Benton Black, in
Columbus, Ohio began selling peanut butter in 1908 and is the oldest peanut butter company still in operation today.
In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield developed modern peanut butter by using finer grinding, hydrogenation, and an
emulsifier to keep the oil from separating. This created a creamy texture unlike the earlier peanut butter described as gritty, or pasty. He received a patent for stable peanut butter which had a
shelf life of up to a year.
Swift & Company adopted the technology for their E.K Pond peanut butter which they had introduced somewhat earlier in 1920. In 1928 they changed the name to "
Peter Pan". Peter Pan was originally packaged in a
tin can with a turn key and re-closable lid but switched to
glass during
World War II. In 1932, Rosefield left that company. He formed the Rosefield Packing Co. and began selling
"Skippy" peanut butter in 1933.
Peanut butter became a very profitable business in the United States. Currently, the best-selling American brand is Jif, a product introduced by
Procter & Gamble in 1958. Jif is now made by the J.M Smucker Company. The oldest surviving U.S. brand is Krema peanut butter, first sold in 1908. Australian health food company
Sanitarium Health Food Company, has been making commercial peanut butter since 1898. Sanitarium still makes peanut butter today.
There also exist other nut butters, made from
almond,
cashew, and
hazelnut.
Modern peanut butter production
Nearly half of the U.S. peanut production went to peanut butter factories in 2001. This makes the U.S. the world's largest peanut butter supplier and consumer. Peanuts grown in other countries are usually harvested for cooking oil called peanut oil.
There are many types of peanuts. Small-seed peanuts are rich in oil and usually grown for peanut butter and oil. In the U.S.,
Runner Types and
Spanish Types are two families of peanuts grown in
Southern States including
Alabama,
Florida,
Georgia,
Oklahoma,
South Carolina and
Texas. The first three states produce 60% of the peanuts that are used in peanut butter.
After harvest, peanuts are sent to factories for inspection. The inspected peanuts are roasted in
ovens. After
roasting, they are rapidly cooled by air to stop cooking. This helps to retain its color and oil contents.
The cooked peanuts are then rubbed between
rubber belts to remove the outer skin. The
kernels are split with the hearts removed and then cleaned and sorted. Next, the peanuts are sent to the grinder.
The peanuts are ground twice: pulverized to small bits first, then ground with salt, sweetener and usually a stabilizer to keep the oil from separating. So-called "old-fashioned" or "natural" peanut butter typically does not contain a stabilizer. The oils will separate after a time; these varieties are frequently stored in the refrigerator, which prevents the oil from separating back out.
Skippy recently introduced a "natural" peanut butter which does not require any stirring. It does, however, contain
palm oil as a stabilizer.
In the United States, peanut butter must contain a minimum of 90% peanuts, according to US food laws. Artificial sweeteners,
artificial colors and preservatives are not allowed. Some brands may add
salt and
sugar to suit the taste of the average consumer , while other brands offer peanut butter without such additives for those who prefer the unadulterated peanut taste.
Trans fat issues
Certain brands of peanut butter may contain a small amount of hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are rich in
trans fatty acids. Such acids are thought to be a cause of
atherosclerosis leading to such maladies as coronary heart disease and stroke. However, natural peanut butter does not contain such oils.
Trivia
- The Dutch peanut butter is very different from its international counterpart. It is sharp instead of sweet and most people say it has a similar taste to that of Satay sauce. This peanut butter is called "pindakaas", literally translated as "peanut cheese". The Dutch called their peanut butter this way because the word "butter" was protected by law, so they had to look for another name.
- On May 15, 1963, U.S. astronaut Gordon Cooper ate some bite-sized peanut butter sandwiches in the last and longest Mercury mission. He carried 2,369 kcal of food at launch and consumed only 696 kcal . He did not like the cubed food. His flight lasted 34 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds.
- In 2002, an intentionally irreverent pseudo-scientific paper was published establishing that "Peanut Butter has no effect on the rotation of the Earth". '
- The Fluffernutter is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme, preferably the Fluff brand.
- One of the favorite foods of Elvis Presley was a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
- is the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth.
- An outdoor bird feeder is often made from a pine cone smeared with peanut butter and covered with birdseed.
- Creamy peanut butter is often used to remove chewing gum from clothing and hair.
- March 1991, Skippy Peanut Butter introduced the "peanut on top", which has been copied by many companies later on. Frank Duyvelshoff of Product Research was given credit.
- The hydrogenated oil in most peanut butter brands is not usually made from peanut oil but from cheaper vegetables oils such as soybean, canola and cottonseed.
- In the U.S., March 1 is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day and March is National Peanut Month.
- In 2004, University of Georgia scientists developed a peanut butter dispenser to make peanut butter sandwiches. It looks like a hand-held, bulk tape dispenser and squirts out peanut butter in sheets.
- Some peanut butter brands have been sold in decorative glass containers that could be used as drinking glasses. Boscul Peanut Butter glasses from the 1950's are sought after by collectors.
- On the UK show Brainiac, peanut butter was found to be a better emergency shaving cream than whipped cream and other alternatives.
Reference peanut butters
As of September 2004, the most expensive peanut butter on the market is a $545 limited item which can be
mail-ordered from the
National Institute of Standards and Technology of the U.S. This peanut butter is a set of three 6 oz jars which will expire on December 31, 2009.
This piece of reference material has been analyzed with state-of-the-art measurement methods to provide values for the amount of
fatty acids, 18 individual
amino acids ,
vitamins,
minerals, dietary fiber, other
nutrients and
mold-produced carcinogenic
aflatoxins. Food manufacturers can use it to validate production and quality control procedures as well as ensure accurate labeling of product content. It can also be used to evaluate
allergen test kits.
References
See also
...
External links
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- at PeanutButterLovers.com
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