History of Peanuts & Peanut Butter

 

History of Peanuts & Peanut Butter

 

                The peanut plant probably originated in Peru or Brazil in South America. No fossil records prove this, but people in South America made pottery in the shape of peanuts or decorated jars with peanuts as far back as 3,500 years ago. As early as 1500 B.C., the Incans of Peru used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life. Tribes in central Brazil also ground peanuts with maize to make a drink. 

European explorers first discovered peanuts in Brazil. Peanuts were grown as far north as Mexico when the Spanish began their exploration of the new world. The explorers took peanuts back to Spain, and from there traders and explorers spread them to Asia and Africa. Africans were the first people to introduce peanuts to North America beginning in the 1700s. http://www.twinoroasters.com/ Öz Star Machinery company provides many other machines such as coffee Roaster, fryer, coating pans, sugar coating drums etc. https://www.ozstarmakina.com/en

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Records show that it wasn’t until the early 1800s that peanuts were grown as a commercial crop in the United States. They were first grown in Virginia and used mainly for oil, food and as a cocoa substitute. At this time, peanuts were regarded as a food for livestock and the poor and were considered difficult to grow and harvest. https://www.ozstarmakina.com/enPeanut production steadily grew the first half of the nineteenth century. Peanuts became prominent after the Civil War when Union soldiers found they liked them and took them home. Both armies subsisted on this food source high in protein. http://www.twinoroasters.com/ https://www.ozstarmakina.com/en Their popularity grew in the late 1800s when PT Barnum’s circus wagons traveled across the country and vendors called “hot roasted peanuts!” to the crowds. Soon street vendors began selling roasted peanuts from carts and peanuts also became popular at baseball games. 

While peanut production rose during this time, peanuts were still harvested by hand, leaving stems and trash in the peanuts. http://www.twinoroasters.com/  Thus, poor quality and lack of uniformity kept down the demand for peanuts. https://www.ozstarmakina.com/en Around 1900, labor-saving equipment was invented for planting, cultivating, harvesting and picking peanuts from the plants, as well as for shelling and cleaning the kernels. http://www.twinoroasters.com/With these significant mechanical aids, demand for peanuts grew rapidly, especially for oil, roasted and salted nuts, peanut butter and candy.