Peanut Butter
Annalyse McHone
What is the history behind the actual peanut?
● Peanuts as a whole originated from South America.
● It really began to spread and become popular as the New World was being
founded by Spanish Explorers.
● It made its way to North America around the 1700’s on via ships that held slaves.
● The peanut began to really grow in the 1700 and 1800’s by peanut farms that were
made.
● In the early nineteenth century during the Civil War time is when peanut oil, peanut
butter, and roasted peanuts became very popular.
How was peanut butter founded?
● Peanut butter was first made by a man named John Harvey Kellogg in 1895.
● He developed it for those who were older and needed nutrients through food
such as protein but couldn’t chew meat.
● Peanut butter made it’s very first appearance publicly sold in 1904 at the St.
Louis World Fair.
What are the health facts of peanut butter?
● For one serving of peanut butter is two tablespoons which is roughly 190
calories. Technically this is seen has a higher calorie food.
● Peanut butter is good for lowering cholesterol, lowering heart disease, and
provides the nine essential amino acids your body needs.
● Peanut butter is packed with proteins, fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin
E, and vitamin B.
What are some false claims of peanut butter?
● The number one false claim is that peanut butter makes you fat. This is untrue
because it has been shown that is is very beneficial to weight loss.
● Everyone’s body is different especially for vegans, and vegetarian who are
more plant based.
Where is peanut butter the most popular?
● According to charts, peanut butter is the most popularly produced in China.
● In 2018, China produced 18.5 million metric tons of peanut butter. This is 41%
of the total world production.
● In 2016, China reached the highest demand for peanuts with 170,012 metric
tons of shelled peanuts.
How popular is peanut butter in the US?
● Annually the US produces around 700 million pounds of peanut butter.
● Peanut butter is very popular in the US because of how many different ways
we use peanut butter.
● We have peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, peanut brittle, and
even peanut butter hummus.
Peanut Farms
● A majority of peanut farms are grown in warmer climates like Asia, Africa,
Australia, and certain parts of North and South America.
● Peanut farms aren’t the most common farms in the world in fact the US has
around 3% of the worlds acreage of peanuts.
● The average peanut farm is about 200 acres.
What is the manufacturing process of peanut butter?
● The average jar of peanut butter contains 1.5% of salt, 0.125% of vegetable
oil, 2% of dextrose, and 2% of corn syrup.
1. Harvest
2. Shelling
3. Dry roast
4. Cooling
5. Blanching
6. Grinding
7. Packaging
What happens to those with a peanut allergy?
● Peanuts is the fourth most common food allergy in the world.
● A peanut allergy occurs when the bodies immune system thinks the proteins
found in the peanuts are harmful to the body.
● For those allergic to even touching it their immune system sends chemicals
into the bloodstream that then causes a reaction when touched.
Citations
● Crawford, Anthony. “Peanuts: a Brief History.” American Peanut Council,
[Link]/2-about-peanuts/[Link] .
● “History of Peanuts & Peanut Butter.” History of Peanuts & Peanut Butter | National Peanut Board, 2020,
[Link]/peanut-info/[Link] .
● MS, Makayla Meixner. “Peanut Butter and Weight Gain: All You Need to Know.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 17 Sept. 2019,
[Link]/nutrition/peanut-butter-weight-gain.
● West, Helen. “The 8 Most Common Food Allergies.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 25 Jan. 2017,
[Link]/nutrition/common-food-allergies.
● “Peanut Allergy.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 25 June 2020,
[Link]/diseases-conditions/peanut-allergy/symptoms-causes/syc-20376175.
● Misachi, John. “Top Peanut (Groundnut) Consuming Countries.” WorldAtlas, WorldAtlas, 4 July 2018,
[Link]/articles/[Link].
● Baron Princeton, Heide. “Why Americans Are Nuts About Peanut Butter.” Spoon University, 2 Oct. 2017,
[Link]/lifestyle/why-americans-are-nuts-about-peanut-butter.
● “About Peanuts and Peanut Farming.” Hampton Farms, 2020, [Link]/pages/about-peanuts.
