History of peanuts in USA

The scientific name of the peanut is Arachis hypogaea. Plants in the genus Arachis originated in the Gran Pantanal, occupying between 50,000 and 75,000 square miles in parts of tropical Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.

They were taken from there to Africa by early explorers and missionaries. They were bought to North America from Africa by slave traders in the early colonial days and used as food for slaves while on shipboard.

In America, peanuts were not extensively used until after the Civil War in 1865. The first unequivocal reference to the peanut in America was made in 1769 by a Dr. Brownrigg, who pressed oil from peanuts in Edento, North Carolina. Commercial production of peanuts in USA began in about 1876.

With other food scarce, it became recognized as a cheap form protein and an important food source during the Civil War. During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers dined on ‘peanut porridge’. Peanuts did not become an important commercial crop in the United States until after 1917.
History of peanuts in USA

History of peanut butter in United States

Due to its popularity, half the United States peanut crop ends up as peanut butter. Although the Aztecs invented peanut butter in the first century AD, they received no credits for this achievement. Originally, peanut butter was made from a combination of Spanish and Virginia peanuts.

On of the first places peanut butter was made was the Western Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek, Michigan, run by the Kellogg brothers of cereal fame. In the early 1890s Kellogg crushed various nuts between two rollers and claimed the results to be ‘nut butters’.

To commercialize his discovery, Kellogg created the Sanitas Nut Food Company and placed his brother, Will Kellogg in charge.

It has been a favorite kitchen staple in American homes ever since the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, where it was first introduced. During the World Fair, concession stands sold it for one penny per serving.

At first, peanut butter was dispensed from large open vats in grocery store: then, until World War II it was sold in tins.

During the 20th century it was reserved mainly for sandwiches, confections and the occasional roving finger or spoon.

Peanut butter sandwiches moved down the class structure as the price of peanut butter declined, owing to the commercialization of the industry. However, during the Depression, low cost sandwich spread became one of the top luncheon times.

In 2002 alone, Americans ate hundreds of millions of pounds of peanut butter, more than several pounds per person. Jiff was the leading peanut butter at that time and Skippy ranked second.
History of peanut butter in United States 

History of Peanuts

Peanuts probably originated in South America, the center of origin most likely being slopes of the Andes in Brazil, where about 15 wild species are found.

By 500 to 100 BC peanuts were so common on the coast of Peru. Peanuts were eaten in exactly the way they are eaten today – toasted in the shell as a snack.

The peanut made its way to Africa a half millennia ago and with the slave trade found its way to North America.

It was first brought to Africa by Portuguese sailors and then to Virginia from Africa by enslaved Africans.

Little more than 150 years ago, the peanut was mostly feed for the poor or livestock.

The Spanish explorers are credited with its spread throughout the New World.

Peanut were recorded by Bartolome de las Casa, who had arrived on the Caribbean island of Hispanola in 1502.

In his work of ‘Apologetica Historia de las Indias’, de las Casas reported the peanuts, called ‘mani’, were sown by indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. However it was not published until 1875.

The first published notice of the peanut appeared in Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo, ‘Historia general y natural de las Indias,’ in 1535.

Commercial production of peanuts in USA began in about 1876.

With other food scarce, it became recognized as a cheap form protein and an important food source during the Civil War.
History of Peanuts