There’s A Jar Of Peanut Butter In 75 Percent Of The Homes In America

National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th recognizes an American staple in our pantries. Whether creamy or chunky, with chocolate or jelly, peanut butter gets the recognition it deserves each year on this day.

• 14th Century – The Incan peoples of Peru are believed to have been the first to mash up peanuts into a paste and use it for food. It was more coarse than modern peanut butter (and was likely unsweetened)
• 1840 – A resident of New York, Rose Davis was rumored to have gotten the idea for peanut butter from her son, who had traveled to Cuba. So she started making it in her kitchen.
• 1884 – In 1884, Canadian chemist Gilmore Edson developed a process to make peanut paste from milling roasted peanuts between two heated plates
• 1890 – St. Louis food manufacturer, Bayle’s, is rumored to have collaborated with a doctor who was looking for ways for patients to ingest protein when they could not chew meat. This led to the production of ground peanut paste, which was originally sold from barrels for 6 cents per pound.
• 1895 – The famous cereal maker and health food specialist of the time, Kellogg, patented a process with raw peanuts in 1895.
• 1901 – the phrase “Peanut Butter & Jelly” first made a written appearance. It was called peanut paste and was part of a recipe for a simple sandwich to add a bit of variety found in the Boston Cooking School Magazine of Culinary Science and Domestic Economics.
• 1903 – Dr. Straub is responsible for patenting a peanut butter-making machine in 1903.
• 1904 – Peanut butter was introduced to audiences at the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis at C.H. Sumner’s concession stand.
• 1922 – In 1922, through homogenization, Joseph Rosefield was able to keep peanut oil from separating from the peanut solids.
• 1928 – Receiving a license for his creative churning process from inventor Joseph L. Rosenfeld, Peter Pan makes its name on the market. This is followed only a few years later by Rosenfeld’s own brand, Skippy
• 1928 – Harry Burnett Reese, an inventor, and former farmer, invented the Hershey’s peanut butter cup in 1928.
• 1971 – During Alan Shepard’s journey to the moon with NASA in 1971, Alan brought along peanut butter as an apparent good luck charm.
• 2016 – 1,350 people, 4,500 bread loaves, 3551lb of jelly, and a staggering 4,280 lbs of peanut butter for Temple University’s Main Campus to make 49,100 sandwiches to secure the record of the most sandwiches made in one hour.
• We can thank four men for the inventions and processes that bring us the creamy, smooth peanut butter we enjoy today: Marcus Gilmore Edson of Canada, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri and chemist Joseph Rosefield.
• There’s a jar of peanut butter in 75 percent of the homes in America.
• When it comes to the debate of chunky vs smooth, it seems the division is down to gender and age. Women love smooth best, as do children, with men preferring the joys of the chunky variety.
• Jerry Seinfeld, Elvis Presley, Madonna adore peanut butter. Over 30 celebs & public figures are a part of a special “Adult Peanut Butter Lover’s Fan Club” according to Skippy Peanut Butter.
• The US has elected two different peanut farmers to represent them as the President of the United States of America. These include Thomas Jefferson of Virginia (who was president between 1801 and 1809) and Jimmy Carter of Georgia (who was president between 1977 and 1981). However, since peanut butter didn’t yet exist when Jefferson was president, the peanuts grown on his farms were probably not used to make this delicious treat.
• While you would think grape jelly to be the flavor of choice for the quintessential PB&J sandwich, according to the results from a survey conducted by the Huffington Post, strawberry jelly or jam is actually the number one choice. 36.5% of surveyed respondents chose strawberry, 31% chose grape, and 20.5% chose raspberry.
• In four states there are 6 cities named after the peanut, they are in California, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.
• The fear of having peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth is called Archibutyrophobia!
• Per person in the U.S., peanut butter is consumed at a rate of 3lb annually. For the whole of the U.S., this makes a whopping 700,000,000 lbs.
• The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school.
• Georgia is the #1 peanut producing state.
• Nearly half of the U.S. peanut crop is made into peanut butter each year.
• It takes almost 850 peanuts to make an 18 oz. jar of peanut butter.
• If you took all the peanut butter that Americans eat in a year, it could coat the floor of the Grand Canyon.
• Although peanut butter is considered to be a kids’ food, adults eat more peanut butter than kids each year.
• When making a PB&J sandwich, 96% of people put the peanut butter on before the jelly.
• Modern Peanut Butter was invented as a source of protein for people with no teeth. – Source
• Individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease may lose the ability to smell peanut butter. The “Peanut Butter Test” may offer an early indication of the disease. – Source
•  Peanut Butter was once sold as slices like Kraft Singles. – Source
• 950,000 jars of peanut butter were dumped in a New Mexico landfill after Costco refused to take shipment. – Source
•  Peanut butter glows in the dark after exposure to intense light. – Source
• 60% of people like creamy peanut butter over crunchy.
• Women & children prefer creamy, while most men like crunchy.
• Peanut butter is a source of incomplete protein.
• A common combination to provide a complete protein is pairing peanut butter with whole wheat bread.  The two foods need only be consumed within 24 hours of each other to complete the protein.
• Peanut butter is a good source of vitamin E, B6, niacin, calcium, potassium and iron, is packed with protein and is rich in healthy monounsaturated fat.
• Two tablespoons of creamy peanut butter contain 188 calories.
• Two tablespoons of powdered peanut butter contain about 50 calories.
• Even though peanut butter has a good amount of fat in it, it’s also a very filling food. Therefore, it keeps dieters fuller for longer, helping them resist the urge to mindlessly snack.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

The Fact Site

Mother Nature Network

Kick Ass Facts

Foodimentary

Mobile-Cuisine

Eat This, Not That

Days of the Year

National Today