Peanut butter

Peanut Butter

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Peanut butter

Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground roasted peanut

Peanut

The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume Fabaceae native to South America, Mexico and Central America. It is an annual plant herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm tall....
s, with or without added oil. It is popular throughout the world and is also manufactured in some emerging markets

Emerging markets

The term Emerging markets is used to describe a nation's social or business activity in the process of rapid Economic growth and industrialization....
. Its primary use is as a sandwich

Sandwich

A sandwich is a food item made of one or more slices of bread with one or more layers of a filling. The bread can be used as is, or it can be coated with butter, vegetable oil, mustard or other condiments to enhance flavour and texture....
spread

Spread (food)

A spread is a food that is spread with a knife onto bread, Cracker , or other bread products. Spreads are added to bread products to provide flavor and texture, and are an integral part of the dish, i.e., they should be distinguished from condiments, which are optional additions....
.

In some types of gourmet peanut butter, chocolate or other ingredients may be added.

Nutrition Facts

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Calories in ??????
Carbs in ??????
Fat in ??????

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History

Peanut

Indigenous (ecology)

In biogeography, a species is defined as indigenous or native to a given region or ecosystem, if its presence in that region is the result of only natural resources, with no human intervention....
to the New World

New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
tropics

Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
, were mashed into paste by Aztecs hundreds of years ago.

Evidence

Evidence

Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either a) presumed to be true, or b) were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth....
of modern peanut butter comes from US patent

Patent

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a term of patent in exchange for a disclosure of an invention....
issued to Marcellus Gilmore Edson

Marcellus Gilmore Edson

Marcellus Gilmore Edson, of Montreal, Quebec, was the first person to patent peanut butter.He was issued with US patent #306727 in 1884.The patent describes a process of milling roasted peanuts until the peanuts reached "a fluid or semi-fluid state." Edson described the cooled product as having "a consistency like that of butter, lard, or...
of Montreal

Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec , in French language, Qu?bec , is a Provinces and territories of Canada in the Central Canada and Eastern Canada regions of Canada....
, in 1884, for a process of milling

Milling

Milling may refer to:*Grinding grain or other materials in a mill *Cutting and shaping materials into products with milling machines*Part of the leather crusting process...
roasted peanuts between heated surfaces until the peanuts reached "a fluid or semi-fluid state." As the product cooled, it set into what Edson described as "a consistency like that of butter

Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
, lard

Lard

Lard is Domestic pig fat in both its Rendering and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a Spread similar to butter....
, or ointment

Ointment

An ointment is a viscous semisolid preparation used topically on a variety of body surfaces. These include the skin and the mucus membranes of the eye , vagina, anus, and nose....
."

J.H. Kellogg, of cereal

Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
fame, secured US patent in 1897 for his "Process of Preparing Nutmeal," which produced a "pasty adhesive substance" that Kellogg called "nut-butter."

Health

Health benefits

Peanut butter may protect against a high risk of cardiovascular disease due to high levels of monounsaturated fats and resveratrol

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi. Resveratrol has also been produced by chemical synthesis and is sold as a nutritional supplement derived primarily from Japanese knotweed....
; butter prepared with the skin of the peanuts has a greater level of resveratrol and other health-aiding agents. Peanut butter (and peanuts) provide protein

Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
, vitamins B3

Niacin

Niacin, also known as vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin which prevents the Nutrition disorder pellagra. It is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H5NO2....
and E

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the collective name for a set of 8 related a-, ?-, ?-, and d-tocopherols and the corresponding four tocotrienols, which are fat-soluble vitamins with antioxidant properties....
, magnesium

Magnesium

Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, atomic weight 24.3050 and common oxidation number +2.Magnesium, an alkaline earth metal, is the ninth most abundance of the chemical elements in the universe by mass....
, folate, dietary fiber

Dietary fiber

Dietary fiber, sometimes called "roughage", is the indigestible portion of plant foods that pushes food through the digestive system, absorbing water and easing defecation....
, arginine

Arginine

Arginine is an a-amino acid. The Optical isomerism is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. Its codons are CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG....
, and high levels of the antioxidant

Antioxidant

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the Redox of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent....
p-coumaric acid

Polyphenol antioxidant

A polyphenol antioxidant is a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic substructure. In human health these compounds, numbering over 4000 distinct species, are thought to be instrumental in combating oxidative stress, a process associated with some neurodegenerative diseases and some cardiovascular diseases....
.

Plumpy'nut

Plumpy'nut

Plumpy'nut, also known as Plumpy, is a peanut-based food for use in famine relief which was formulated in 1999 by Andr? Briend, a France scientist....
is a peanut butter based food used to fight malnutrition in famine stricken countries. A single pack contains 500 calories, can be stored unrefrigerated for 2 years, and requires no cooking or preparation.

In the novel Make Room! Make Room!
Make Room! Make Room!

Make Room! Make Room! is a 1966 science fiction novel written by Harry Harrison exploring the consequences of unchecked population growth on society....
by Harry Harrison

Harry Harrison

Harry Harrison is an United States science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green ....
, and the film Soylent Green

Soylent Green

Soylent Green is a 1973 dystopian science fiction movie depicting a future in which global warming and overpopulation lead to depleted resources on Earth....
, based on the novel, an impoverished and malnourished world is portrayed; the government supplies a peanut butter ration to prevent "the kwash" (kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor

Kwashiorkor is a type of malnutrition with controversial causes, but it is commonly believed to be caused by insufficient protein consumption. It usually affects children aged 1?4 years, although it also occurs in older children and adults....
, associated with protein deficiency) in children.

Health concerns

For people with a peanut allergy

Peanut allergy

Peanut allergy is a type of food allergy distinct from Nut allergy. It is a hypersensitivity to diet ary substances from peanuts causing an overreaction of the immune system which may lead to severe physical symptoms for millions of people....
, peanut butter can cause reactions including anaphylactic shock

Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is an acute Circulatory system and very severe Type I hypersensitivity allergy reaction in humans and other mammals. The term comes from the Greek words a?a ana and f??a??? phylaxis ....
which has led to its banning in some schools.

The peanut plant is susceptible to the mold

Mold

Molds include all species of microscopic fungi that grow in the form of Multicellular organism filaments, called hyphae. In contrast, microscopic fungi that grow as single cells are called yeasts....
Aspergillus flavus
Aspergillus flavus

Aspergillus flavus is a fungus. It is a common mold in the environment, and can cause storage problems in stored grains. It can also be a human pathogen, associated with aspergillosis of the lungs and sometimes causing corneal, Otomycosis, and nasoorbital infections....
which produces a carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin

Aflatoxin

Aflatoxins are naturally occurring mycotoxins that are produced by many species of Aspergillus, a fungus, most notably Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus....
. Since it is impossible to completely remove every instance of aflatoxins, contamination of peanuts and peanut butter is monitored in many countries to ensure safe levels of this carcinogen

Carcinogen

The term carcinogen refers to any substance, radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the increase of its propagation....
. Average American peanut butter contains about 13 parts per billion of aflatoxins, a thousand times below the maximum recommended safe level.

Some brands of peanut butter may contain a large amount of added hydrogenated

Hydrogenation

Hydrogenation is the chemical reaction that results from the addition of hydrogen . The process is usually employed to a redox or Saturation organic compounds....
vegetable oils, which are high in trans fatty acids

Trans fat

Trans fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans-Cis-trans isomerism fatty acid. Trans fats may be monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat but never saturated fat....
, thought to be a cause of atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a syndrome affecting artery blood vessels. It is a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low density lipoproteins without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol from the macrophages by functional high density lipoprot...
, coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease

Coronary artery disease is the end result of the accumulation of atheroma within the walls of the Coronary circulation that supply the myocardium with oxygen and nutrients....
, and stroke

Stroke

A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. According to the National Stroke Association, a "stroke" occurs when a blood clot blocks and artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain....
; these oils are added to make the butter easier to spread. Natural peanut butter, and peanuts, do not contain partially hydrogenated oils. A USDA survey of commercial peanut butters in the US did not show the presence of trans fat.

Also, at least one study has found that peanut oil caused relatively heavy clogging of arteries. Robert Wissler, of the University of Chicago, reported that diets high in peanut oil, when combined with cholesterol intake, clogged the arteries of Rhesus monkeys more than did butterfat. [Atherosclerosis 20: 303, 1974]

Peanut butter can possibly harbor salmonella

Salmonella

Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped Gram-negative enterobacteriaceae that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and the foodborne illness salmonellosis....
; for example, in a 2007 outbreak in the United States

List of foodborne illness outbreaks

This is a list of foodborne illness outbreaks....
. In 2009, due to mishandling and apparent criminal negligence at a single Peanut Corporation of America

Peanut Corporation of America

Peanut Corporation of America was a peanut-processing business founded in 1977 and headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. It was forced out of business in 2009 after being directly linked to the 2008-2009 salmonella outbreak in the U.S....
factory in Blakely, Georgia, salmonella was found in 45 states in peanut-butter-based products such as crackers, peanut-butter cookies, and dog treat

Dog Treat

Dog Treat is a black and white Chinese animation made in 1924 by Wan Laiming and Wan Guchan....
s. It has claimed at least nine human lives , and made at least 677 people sick in the United States. Peanut butter does not otherwise carry a risk of salmonella, in contrast to foods like chicken eggs and mayonnaise.

Other uses

A common, simple outdoor bird feeder

Bird feeder

A birdfeeder, bird feeder, or bird table is a device placed out-of-doors to supply bird food to birds. The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds depends upon its placement and the kinds of seeds offered, as different species have different preferences....
can be made by coating a pine cone once with peanut butter, then again with birdseed.

Peanut butter is an effective bait for mouse traps.

External links

(Last accessed 3 September 2008)