Peanut butter

Peanut butter. Peanut Butter is a nutritious and tasty paste or cream made from previously roasted peanuts. Considered by some to be an Aztec or Mayan creation forming part of the mole, although there is no archaeological evidence to confirm this. However, from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century it became an identifying industrial product of the commercial and popular culture of the United States .

Table of Contents

Summary

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1 Story
- 1 Origin of peanuts
- 2 Origin of peanut butter
2 Approximate composition
3 homemade recipes
- 1 Homemade butter I
- 2 Homemade butter II
- 3 Homemade butter III
4 Other culinary uses
5 Sources

History

Peanut butter is popular in the United States , Australia , the United Kingdom , Canada , Papua New Guinea , New Zealand and the Netherlands , and less in other parts of Europe, where hazelnut nutella cream is more popular. In Spain for a few years it is very easy to find it in most supermarkets. In Germany and Italy for example, peanut butter is not very common at all, and it is very difficult to get it in stores and supermarkets. It has also gained some popularity in the Philippines, parts of the Near East and Southeast Asia, Japan, and other areas where Americans have maintained a strong presence in recent decades. Moreover, it is being produced in India and China . It has also been conquering territories or countries within Latin America , such as Argentina and Mexico .

For people allergic to peanuts, this butter can cause severe to fatal reactions, such as anaphylactic shock that has prompted a ban on this food in some schools.

Origin of peanuts

Most likely, the peanut is native to what is now Brazilian territory. Although no fossilized evidence of the plant has been found to prove it, findings have been made of remains of South American pottery from more than 3,500 years ago, consisting of jars in the shape of a peanut pod and vessels decorated with peanut figures. Also in the tombs of the ancient Incas , covered in the arid west of the South American coasts, amphorae have been found having peanuts as food for the afterlife.

Bolivia is the geographic center of origin of peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.), a crop developed especially in the Bolivian Chaco area, where the greatest genetic diversity occurs, along with the Argentine, Paraguayan and Brazilian Chaco. This diversity includes 68 known species of the Arachis genus, therefore, its cultivation, production and consumption are part of the culture of the populations that inhabit this region.

The domestication of peanuts began about 4,000 years ago, in southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina . Then, it is likely that before the colonial era has come to China and in the sixteenth century to Africa , where they developed a second genetic center and then spread to the entire Asian continent. Today it is cultivated in all tropical and subtropical countries. Today it is a common agricultural and export product in Kenya and Nigeria.

Being a center of origin, the cultivation of peanuts in Bolivia is very old, carried out by small farmers and in small areas (from one to two hectares). It is distributed in different regions of the territory, among the producing areas are the inter-Andean valleys of the west, the eastern valleys and the southern part of the country, with the Chaco region being the most important pole of production.

Origin of peanut butter

Spoonful of peanut butter on the edge of a container.

Although some consider that peanut butter was part of the ground paste used by the ancient pre-Columbian civilizations of the Mayas and Aztecs . They suppose that it was the base for the preparation of the “moles”, derived from the Nahuatl “molli” which means sauce. But the first record of a colonial recipe is the original Mole poblano is from 1668 and there are no archaeological or documented evidence prior to this date.

Commercial and industrial peanut butter is considered as a food, vegetarian and protein supplement was created in the last years of the 19th century in the United States . In 1890 , George A. Bayle Jr. sold a ground peanut paste like this food supplement aimed at people without teeth. In 1893 , a member of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg accidentally discovered peanut butter from roasted peanuts. In 1895Dr. Kellogg, along with his brother Hill Keith, patented a process for making it, but changed the roasted peanuts for vaporized peanuts. In addition there is the opinion of some sources that Jacob van Marken, industrialist and philanthropist of creams, in 1908 .

The australina version of peanut butter made Edward Halsey, the 29 of maypole of 1899 , at the Sanitarium Health Food Company, but was not put on sale until early June in Australia . As edible product was widely promoted by CH Summer on Louisiana Purchase Fair, World ‘s Fair in St. Louis in 1904 . The ice cream cone, the hot dog (hot dog or pancho) and the no less famous hamburger were also popularized here.

The Krema Products Company, founded by Benton Black, began marketing peanut butter in 1908, remaining the oldest company in this production. And this has become one of the most profitable products in the United States. One of the best-selling companies in that country is Procter & Gamble with the Jif brand introduced since 1958 . There are also other butters from other types of nuts or dried fruits such as almonds, hazelnuts and cashews (cashews).

Approximate composition

Approximate value for a tablespoon

Energy Value: 95 calories
Protein: 6.6 g
Carbohydrates: 6.6 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Fat: 16 g; Monounsaturated: 8 g; Polyunsaturated: 5 g; Saturated: 3 g
Dietary fiber: 2 g
Niacin: 4.2 mg
Folic acid: 25 mg
Thiamine: 0.04 mg
Phosphorus: 103 mg
Magnesium: 50mg
Iron: 0.53 mg
Copper: 0.18 mg
Zinc: 0.9 mg

Home made recepies

Homemade butter I

Ingredients:

2 or 3 cups peanuts
¼ tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of oil

Preparation:
Toast 2 or 3 cups of peanuts with a low flame in a dry frying pan, crush the peanuts in a mixer and add ¼ tablespoon of salt , add a spoon of honey and two tablespoons of oil and the peanut butter is extracted.

Homemade butter II

Peanut paste being made in the processor.

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled raw peanuts (without the shell)
3-4 teaspoons of peanut, sunflower or olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt, or salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon of fructose or sugar (optional)

Preparation:
In a frying pan we will lightly toast the peanuts or peanuts, moving it so that it toasts evenly, and avoiding burning. If we allow it to roast too much, the butter will taste bitter and unpleasant. After toasting, we pass it through the mixer or the processor adding the oil. We will grind it until a thick paste is formed, if necessary we can add another tablespoon of oil.

When we have it ready we can add the salt. We will salt it slightly and if you want at this time you can also add fructose or sugar. We will let it rest and place it in a container to refrigerate it.

Homemade butter III

Ingredients To make about a cup and a half of peanut butter.

2 cups peanuts (optional: buy pre-roasted salted peanuts)
1 1/2 teaspoons of peanut oil or vegetable oil (if desired)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar (if desired)
Pinch of salt (if desired)

preparation:

Toast the peanuts if they are no longer toasted. Remove the shells from the peanuts. Spread peanuts in a frying pan. Bake the peanuts in a 350 ° F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, shaking them every two minutes to make sure they don’t burn. Allow peanuts to cool after toasting.
Pour the two cups of roasted peanuts into a multiprocessor with the foil on. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable or peanut oil. Cover the multiprocessor bowl with the lid and chop the peanuts continuously for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture forms a ball.
Scrape peanuts from the bottom of the multiprocessor bowl, as needed, when processing peanuts. Continue processing the mixture until it reaches the desired consistency. For a softer peanut butter, you may have to process the mixture longer.
Try the freshly made peanut butter and add a little salt or sugar if needed. Add small amounts of black sugar, molasses or honey, if you prefer a sweet taste
Place the peanut butter in an airtight container. Store it in the refrigerator for a day or two to settle into a lovely peanut butter paste.

Tips:

If you like solid peanut butter, set aside 1/4 cup of peanuts before chopping the rest in the multiprocessor. Throw them into the multiprocessor only when the rest of the peanuts are almost done and have a smooth consistency, and process everything together for a few more seconds to produce the large chunks.
If you want to reduce the separation of oil and peanuts, use an oil that is solid at room temperature, such as palm or coconut oil.
Consider gradually reducing the oil in future batches until you no longer use anything. Natural peanut butter contains only peanuts, a healthy and tasty protein-rich food.

Warnings:

Eat peanut butter within a month, or it can go rancid.
Be sure to properly store peanut butter to maximize its shelf life. The best place to store it (the kind that doesn’t have “added fats” or hydrogenated oils) is in the refrigerator. This prevents oil separation and rancidity.
Palm and coconut oils are saturated fats. Popular wisdom states that they are not as healthy to eat, however several studies have shown that saturated fats not only do not contribute to heart disease, but can actually improve heart health by increasing HDL cholesterol levels (cholesterol good).

Other culinary uses

Chicken drumsticks with peanut vinaigrette sauce.

Peanut butter and peanut itself also have other culinary uses that will depend on the country and the culture that uses it. Some of them are: Peanut Soup, Rice with peanuts and coconut (Indian), Bonito Salad with peanut sauce, Chicken with peanut vinaigrette,

With the most processed peanuts like peanut butter El Sembelek Oleek (Indonesian hot sauce with peanuts), industrial peanut butters, salad dressings with butter diluted in vinegar, etc.