Creamy or chunky, with chocolate or with jelly, peanut butter has been an American staple for generations. National Peanut Butter Day is observed annually on January 24th.
- The early peanut butter made by the Aztecs and Incas around 1000 BC was more of a paste and not nearly as creamy as the peanut butter we know now.
- Peanut butter didn’t become widely used until the 20th century. First, the peanut had to be considered more than animal feed, which it was until the late 1800s.
- At the turn of the century, inventions that made planting, cultivating and harvesting the legume (the peanut isn’t a nut at all) made it possible to see the peanut as a retail and wholesale food item.
- In 1884, Marcus Gilmore Edson of Canada, developed a process to make peanut paste from milling roasted peanuts between two heated plates.
- The famous cereal maker and health food specialist of the time, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, patented a process with raw peanuts in 1895.
- Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri, is responsible for patenting a peanut butter making machine in 1903.
- Chemist, Joseph L. Rosenfield invented a churning process that made smooth peanut butter smooth. In 1928, Rosenfield licensed his invention to the Pond Company, the makers of Peter Pan peanut butter. In 1932, Rosenfield began making his own brand of peanut butter called Skippy which included a crunchy style peanut butter.
- He went into business for himself selling Skippy peanut butter through Rosefield Packing. He also supplied peanut butter for military rations during World War II.
- Peanut butter was introduced to audiences at the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis at C.H. Sumner’s concession stand.
- 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.
- Americans consume 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually, about three pounds per person.
- Georgia is the #1 peanut producing state.
- It takes almost 850 peanuts to make an 18 oz. jar of peanut butter.
- The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches by the time he or she graduates from high school.
- Americans eat about 3 pounds of peanut butter per person each year, totaling about 500 million pounds… enough to cover the floor of the Grand Canyon.
- Two peanut farmers have been elected president of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
- Nearly half of the U.S. peanut crop is made into peanut butter each year.
- November 13, 2010, the World’s Largest PB&J Sandwich was made at the Great American Peanut Butter Festival in Grand Saline, TX. The new record stands at 1,342 pounds! 720 pounds of bread, 493 pounds of peanut butter and 129 pounds of jelly.Mar 31, 2017
- American consumers prefer creamy peanut butter to chunky by a 60% to 40% ratio. Children and women prefer creamy, while most men opt for chunky.
- Although peanut butter is considered to be a kids’ food, adults actually eat more peanut butter than kids each year.
- People living on the East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the West Coast prefer the crunchy style.
- When making a PB&J sandwich, 96% of people put the peanut butter on before the jelly.
- “Arachibutyrophobia” (pronounced I-RA-KID-BU-TI-RO-PHO-BI-A) is the fear of peanut butter getting stuck to the roof of your mouth.
- There’s a jar of peanut butter in 75 percent of the homes in America.
- Astronaut Alan Shepard brought a peanut with him to the moon. Read about making a PB&J on the International Space Station.
- Former President Bill Clinton says one of his favorite sandwiches is peanut butter and banana; also reported to have been the favorite of Elvis “the King” Presley.
- There are six cities in the U.S. named Peanut: Peanut, California; Lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; Upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Pennsylvania, Peanut, Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia.
- Goober—a nickname for peanuts—comes from “nguba”, the Congo language name for peanut.
- Peanut butter in Dutch is called “Peanut cheese” because the word butter is only supposed to be used with products that contain actual butter. – 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
- Researchers use creamy peanut butter to create a seal when mounting cameras on manta rays & sharks. – Source
- Peanut butter glows in the dark after exposed to intense light. – Source
- The oils in peanut butter significantly aid in removing chewing gum from hair. – Source
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