Information about Peanut Butter

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Peanut butter (also known as peanut paste) is a food paste made primarily from ground roasted peanuts, with or without added oil. It is popular primarily in the United States,<ref name = "FF" /> Australia, the United Kingdom,<ref name = "FF" /> Canada,<ref name = "FF" /> South Africa, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, The Netherlands,<ref name = "FF" /> the Philippines^[1] and Saudi Arabia.<ref name = "FF" /> It is also manufactured in some emerging markets.

Similar peanut pastes are popular in various cultures. In South Indian cooking additional chillies are used to make a spicy variant of peanut paste. In Andhra cooking, peanut paste has been quite popular for centuries where peanuts are ground along with other ingredients like spices and tamarind.

History

Peanut butter has been invented and reinvented over the centuries. Peanuts originated in South America, and Incas were known to have used peanuts to make a type of paste.^[2]

In 1890, George A. Bayle Jr. began to sell ground peanut paste as a vegetarian protein supplement for people with bad teeth.^[3] In 1893, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg originated an early variety of peanut butter at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kellogg, along with his brother, W.K. Kellogg, patented a process for making peanut butter in 1895,^[4] but it used steamed peanuts rather than roasted peanuts. Contrary to popular belief, the renowned botanist George Washington Carver had no hand in inventing this food.^[5][6]

Peanut butter was made in Australia by Edward Halsey for Sanitarium Health Food Company on May 29, 1899 and was sold as early as June 16.^[7] Peanut butter was widely introduced in 1904 by C.H. Sumner at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (Saint Louis World's Fair)<ref name = "PBL" /> which also popularized the ice cream cone, the hot dog and the hamburger. Founded by Benton Black, Krema Products Company in Columbus, Ohio began selling peanut butter in 1908 and is the second oldest peanut butter company, other than the Australian Sanitarium Health food Company, still in operation today. Other early peanut butter brands were sold by Heinz and Beech Nut. In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield developed modern peanut butter by using finer grinding, hydrogenation, and an emulsifier to keep the oil from separating. This created a creamy texture unlike the earlier peanut butter described as gritty, or pasty. He received a patent for stable peanut butter which had a shelf life of up to a year.^[8]

Swift & Company adopted the technology for their E.K Pond peanut butter which they had introduced somewhat earlier in 1920. In 1928 they changed the name to "Peter Pan". Peter Pan was originally packaged in a tin can with a turn key and re-closable lid but switched to glass during World War II because of metal shortages. In 1932, Rosefield left that company. He formed the Rosefield Packing Co. and began selling "Skippy" peanut butter in 1933.

Peanut butter became a very profitable business in the United States. Currently, the best-selling American brand is Jif, a product introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1958.^[9] Jif is now made by the J.M Smucker Company. Kraft peanut butter is the most popular in Canada. Kraft currently produces peanut butter for the Canadian and Australian markets. Australian health food company Sanitarium Health Food Company has been making commercial peanut butter since 1898.^[7] There also exist other nut butters, made from almond, cashew, and hazelnut, such as Nutella.

Modern peanut butter production

About half of shelled U.S. peanut production was used to make peanut butter as of 2001.^[11] The United States the world's largest peanut butter supplier and consumer.^[12] Along with Argentina and China, it is one of the world's three largest exporters of peanuts. Peanuts grown in other countries are usually harvested for cooking oil called peanut oil, and for animal feed.^[13] The economic impact of peanut butter production is also significant in Subsaharan Africa.^[14][15]

There are many types of peanuts. Small-seed peanuts are rich in oil and usually grown for peanut butter and oil. In the U.S., Runner Types and Spanish Types are two families of peanuts grown in southern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. The first three states produce 60% of the peanuts that are used in peanut butter.

After harvest, peanuts are sent to factories for inspection. The inspected peanuts are roasted in ovens.^[16] After roasting, they are rapidly cooled by air to stop cooking. This helps to retain its color and oil contents.

The cooked peanuts are then rubbed between rubber belts or brushes to remove the outer skin. The kernels are split with the hearts removed and then cleaned and sorted.<ref name = "9P" /> Next, the peanuts are sent to the grinder.

The peanuts are ground twice. First they are pulverized to small bits. A second grinding stage may combine the peanut butter with salt, sweetener, and often a stabilizer to keep the oil from separating. The oils will separate after a time; these varieties are frequently stored in the refrigerator, which prevents the oil from separating back out but also makes it harder to spread. Skippy recently introduced a "natural" peanut butter which does not require any stirring. It does, however, contain palm oil as a stabilizer. Crunchy peanut butter has small pieces of unground peanuts mixed in.

In the United States, peanut butter must contain a minimum of 90% peanuts.^[17] Artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and preservatives are not allowed. (This is why some peanut butter manufacturers' low-calorie or low-fat or high artificial products instead call themselves peanut spread.) Some brands may add salt and sugar (indicated by dextrose, sucrose, fructose or even molasses on the label) to suit the taste of the average consumer. For those who prefer the unadulterated peanut taste, there are brands that offer peanut butter without such additives.

Health

Health benefits

Peanut butter provides protection against cardiovascular disease due to high levels of monounsaturated fats and Resveratrol, though butter prepared with the skin of the peanuts has a greater level of resveratrol and other health-aiding agents.^[18] An excellent source of protein, and vitamins B3 and E, peanuts also contain magnesium, folate, dietary fiber and arginine.^[19]

Peanuts also contain high levels of an antioxidant called p-coumaric acid.

Health concerns

Further information: Peanut#Allergies

For people with a peanut allergy, peanut butter can cause reactions including anaphylactic shock which has led to its banning in some schools.^[20]

The peanut plant is susceptible to the mold Aspergillus flavus which produces a carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin.^[21] Since it is impossible to completely remove every instance of aflatoxins, contamination of peanuts and peanut butter is monitored in many countries to ensure safe levels of this carcinogen. The average American container of peanut butter contains a ratio of 13 parts per billion of aflatoxins, one thousand times more diluted than the recommended safe level of consumption, thus making it completely safe to consume in terms of carcinogen intoxication.

Certain brands of peanut butter may contain a small amount (far under 1%) of added hydrogenated vegetable oils, which are rich in trans fatty acids. Such fatty acids are thought to be a cause of atherosclerosis, as well as two of the three leading main causes of death in North America: coronary heart disease and stroke. However, natural peanut butter (and peanuts themselves) do not contain partially hydrogenated oils.

Other uses

An outdoor bird feeder is often made from a pine cone smeared with peanut butter and covered with birdseed. A folk remedy for the removal of gum from clothing and hair is to apply creamy peanut butter to the gum. Plumpy'nut is a peanut butter-based food used to fight malnutrition in famine-stricken countries. A single pack contains 500 kilocalories, can be stored unrefrigerated for 2 years and requires no cooking or preparation.^[22] Peanut butter is also used as a bait for mouse traps.^[23]

Scientific uses

In 2004, University of Georgia scientists developed a peanut butter dispenser to make peanut butter sandwiches. It resembles a hand-held, bulk tape dispenser and squirts out peanut butter in sheets.^[24] Using high pressure and high temperatures, it is possible to transform peanut butter into diamonds.^[25][26]

Reference peanut butters

As of August 2007, the most expensive peanut butter on the market is a $573 limited item which can be mail-ordered from the National Institute of Standards and Technology of the U.S.^[27] This peanut butter (SRM 2387) is a set of three 6-oz. (170-g) jars which will expire on December 31, 2009.

This piece of reference material has been analyzed with state-of-the-art measurement methods to provide values for the amount of fatty acids, 18 individual amino acids (protein), vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, other nutrients and mold-produced carcinogenic aflatoxins. Food manufacturers can use it to validate production and quality control procedures as well as ensure accurate labeling of product content. It can also be used to evaluate allergen test kits.

References

See also

• Peanut
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
• Fluffernutter
• Peanut butter bun
• Peanut butter cookie
• Peanut butter cup
• Nutella
• Arachibutyrophobia (fictional)
• Koogle
• Elvis Sandwich

External links

• The federal "Peanut Butter Law" in the U.S.
• Peanut Butter and Children
• The USDA's Commercial Item Description for peanut butter and peanut spread