As a teenager, I was always very busy with nannying and working to make more money in my free time. My friends and I would joke about how the best families to nanny were the ones with the best snacks. When you are burning so much energy moving around and entertaining the kids who seem to lose interest faster than you can come up with new entertainment, it was important for me to eat something I knew was going to keep my energy up. Because I gave myself no time to get ready or eat breakfast properly, and the family I was helping did not have my favorite snacks, I scanned the cupboards for something to fill me. I found an extra large jar of unopened and smooth peanut butter at eye level in a cupboard of their kitchen. Here sparked my peanut butter love. Wanting to eat something that would keep me energized for the morning, I adopted my current habit of dipping a spoon into a jar of peanut butter as my extra beginning of the day kick. Knowing that peanut butter has been heavily and often consumed in my own life, I wanted to look at how it’s produced in the United States.
Peanut Butter and Sustainability Go Together like PB &J
An interesting aspect of the peanut growth process is that it is naturally sustainable. Peanuts are first planted at the very end of spring as soon as the weather heats up and the ground gets dry, usually around April. A GPS or a global positioning system is used to accurately line up and place the seeds in the soil. Unlike many common crops, peanuts grow underneath the soil in bunches of legumes. This also makes the growing process sustainable because it positively affects the environment through natural nitrogen added to the soil. This nitrogen gives plants the ability to go through photosynthesis and helps with the creation of chlorophyll in the leaves. Because peanuts naturally require less water and contribute their own nitrogen to the growth of their plant, their carbon footprint is the smallest of any other grown nut.
Eating peanut butter has become so common in the average American household, that it’s referred to as the “American Way” on this jar.
The peanuts carefully and sustainably grown are then used to produce peanut butter. They are first roasted and cooled in order to keep as many of the natural oils as possible. The peanuts then are put in a machine to remove the outer skin, also known as blanching. After they are blanched and have been ground up, ingredients like flour and vegetable oil are added to create a thick buttery consistency. The peanut butter is then ready to jar up and sell to hungry peanut butter lovers!
How did peanut butter originally spread across the world?
In the early 1800s, peanuts were known as something difficult to grow and a food that was mainly fed to livestock and the lower class. In the United States, peanut butter got its spread on the bread in 1904 at the St. Louis World’s Fair after originally being brought up from South America. Once the 1900s came, peanuts were produced faster as mechanical machinery was used for each step of the harvesting process. From there, peanut production grew and especially became popular during both World War l and World War ll. It was used as a protein food for the soldiers and was especially valued as being non-perishable.
Today, peanut butter has become popular for many different snacks and meals. From peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to peanut butter cups, it’s used for healthy meals, snacks, and even desserts and treats! With America’s quick paced agriculture trends, we used 121 million pounds of peanuts produced in the United States towards peanut butter food products in just April of 2022 alone. The United States holds the place of being one of the top three regions for peanut production and exportation in today’s trends.
The most popular areas in the Unites States for peanut production include southern Georgia and Alabama.
Let’s cook!
When adding peanut butter to a meal, my go-to is for breakfast, or as a snack because it is a great source of protein and can give you a boost of energy for the rest of the day. This peanut butter energy bite will give you this exact energy you may need for school, work, and all the challenges you come across throughout the day. This recipe is easy to make and begins with only five ingredients.
- Ingredients
- Peanut Butter!
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Old Fashioned Oats
Peanut Butter Energy Bites!
- Ground Flax Seed
- Honey
Now….
Mix all ingredients together.Put in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.
Roll mixture into 12 bites.
Store in the fridge
Enjoy in the morning or on the go!
Blog post by Nikki Mills
Bibliography
National Peanut Board (2022). Sustainable practices make all the difference for peanut planting season. https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/farmer-story.htm
National Peanut Board (2022). History of peanuts & peanut butter. https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/history-peanuts-peanut-butter.htm
National Peanut Board (2022). 3 fast facts about peanuts and the environment. https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/news/take-care-land-and-land-will-take-care-you.htm
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).United States Department of Agriculture. USDA (2022). Peanut Stocks and Processing. https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/pnst0522.pdf
Simmons, K. (2022). 5 ingredient peanut butter energy bites. Chef Savvy. Retrieved September 30, 2022. https://chefsavvy.com/5-ingredient-peanut-butter-energy-bites/