National Peanut Butter Day

Believe it or not peanut butter was not invented by Dr George Washington Carver. Let us go back in time a bit. Peanuts can be traced back as far as 950 BC and are originally from South America. The Incas used peanuts and made them into a paste-like substance.

Peanuts were transported from South America to Africa by early explorers of the new world. Through trade they were introduced to Spain. The Spanish used them in trade with their American colonies. Peanuts were not commercially grown as a crop until around 1818 in North Carolina and later in Virginia about the early to mid 1840's.

Dr George Washington Carver comes into the peanut picture during his research to assist the South's economy after the American Civil War. Devastated by the war and years of cotton and tobacco farming the soil had become depleted. Dr Carver was able to convince southern farmers to follow his suggestions to plant crops other than cotton and tobacco. By planting peanuts and other crops the region was able to begin to recover economically.

Dr Carver did discover three hundred uses for peanuts. Peanut butter was just one of those uses. He began encouraging the many uses of peanut products including, peanut butter, in 1880. But, Dr Carver did not patent peanut butter because he believed food products were gifts from God.

A patent was not issued for peanut butter until 1895. The patent was issued to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg for the "Process of Preparing Nut Meal". His nut meal used peanuts. Dr Kellogg had been serving peanut butter to his patients at his Battle Creek Sanitarium.

Joseph Lambert, who worked for Dr. Kellogg, created and began selling his own hand-operated peanut butter grinder in 1896. The first nut cookbook was published in 1899 by his wife, Almeta Lambert and was called "The Complete Guide to Nut Cookery".

A physician in St Louis, Dr. Ambrose Straub, used peanut butter as a method for providing toothless elderly with protein. He invented and patented a peanut butter making machine in 1903.

So there you have it, a short history of one of our favorite food products. But before we move on, how about a quiz?

Here are six recipes I have found and either tried or am going to try. How about you?

Everybody has their own favorite way to make a PBJ. Here is my way.

1 slice of wheat bread
Lather the right side with peanut butter
Put jelly (jam) on the left side
Fold in half and eat.

Can heaven get any better?

This recipe is from Nina Holton of the Santa Clara Cooking Examiner published January 24, 2010, at examiner.com. It is a recipe handed down from her grandmother and she believes it will become a favorite with your family as well.

Nana's Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup shortening (don't use margarine or butter)
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth, not chunky)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour, sifted
1 cup uncooked rolled oats

Putting the ingredients together

1. In a large mixer bowl, cream shortening, peanut butter, brown sugar.
2. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
3. Sift flour with cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; stir into batter.
4. Mix in oats.
5. Shape mixture into rolls and wrap in waxed paper.
6. Chill thoroughly. (If desired, dough can be made a day or two ahead and over-wrapped in plastic wrap. It will keep nicely in the refrigerator for a short period of time.)
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Slice cookies and place on ungreased baking sheets. For the traditional look, flatten them in a crisscross fashion with the tines of a metal fork.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Makes 6-7 dozen delicious cookies. Serve them with milk.

Recipe from Michelle at One Ordinary Day

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preparation

Line a 8×8, 9×9, or 7×11 pan with foil for easy removal of bars later.

Melt 1/2 c. butter of low heat. Remove from heat and stir in confectioner's sugar. Add peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs, stirring until creamy. Spread mixture into pan, patting down evenly.

In same pot, on low heat, melt butter. Add chocolate chips and stir until chips are nearly melted and very soft. Remove from heat and continue stirring until chocolate is smooth and shiny. Spread over peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into bars.
Store peanut butter cup bars in refrigerator.

Yield: 16 or more bars (depending upon how big you cut them)

This recipe is from Julie and her blog Peanut Butter Fingers

Ingredients:

1/3 c. canned pumpkin
2 tbsp. PB2 (I'm sure regular peanut butter would work as well. PB2 is powdered Peanut Butter)
1/2 ripe peach, thinly sliced
1 Arnold sandwich thin
1 egg white
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Nutmeg, to taste
Syrup, to taste

Directions

Combine PB2 and pumpkin in a bowl and set aside
Whisk together egg white and pumpkin pie spice
Dredge sandwich thin in egg white mixture
Spray a pan or griddle with non-stick cooking spray
Cook sandwich thin slices at a medium-high heat until egg mixture is set, flipping once
Remove sandwich thins from griddle and spread one half with peanut butter mixture and layer peach slices on the other half
Press two halves together and cover in syrup and sprinkle with nutmeg, if desired

This recipe is provided by Margie Slivinske at the San Jose Easy Meals Examiner. She also has a savory version called Kulikuli.

Ingredients

1 6.5-oz can salted peanuts
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Reserving about 48 whole peanuts for the tops of the cookies, place the rest of the peanuts in a food processor or blender and process or blend until peanuts are finely ground.
Add the ground peanuts to a large bowl along with the softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and flour.
Using your hands, knead these ingredients together until well-blended.
Using your hands, roll pieces of the cookie dough into dime-sized balls and place on prepared baking sheet.
Press 1 whole peanut into the top of each ball.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 - 15 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool.

This recipe was found at Shine Food by Babble.com on Yahoo.com.

Recipe Notes: If you don't have Chinese egg noodles, you can substitute spaghetti. The peanut sauce can be used with many other dishes, and can even be used as a dipping sauce. If you are going to be using it with something else, start out by adding only 1/4 cup of the hot water, then add additional hot water until you reach the consistency that is appropriate for the use of the sauce.

Ingredients

10 ounces Chinese egg noodles
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
For the peanut sauce:
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup hot water
3 cups steamed vegetables (I used a frozen stir-fry mix)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions. When al dente, drain and rinse the noodles under cold running water. Put the noodles in a large bowl and toss with the sesame oil.

2. Make the peanut sauce: Whisk together all of the ingredients except for the hot water until all of the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the hot water into the bowl in a slow steady stream while whisking. Whisk until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

3. Toss the noodles with the peanut sauce. Add the vegetables and chicken, toss, and serve.

Makes 6 servings

This lens is to inform and celebrate National Peanut Butter Day on January 24th. But, there are other days and months to celebrates Holidays related to Peanut Butter such as:

National Peanut Butter Month - March - It started as National Peanut Butter Week in 1941, in 1974 "promoted" to a full month.
National Peanut Butter Lovers' Day - March 1st
National Peanut Cluster Day - March 8th
National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day - April 2nd
I love Reese's Day - May 18th
National Peanut Butter Cookie Day - June 12th
National Peanut Day - September 13th
National Peanut Butter Lover's Month - November
National Peanut Butter Fudge Day - November 20th

So Peanut Butter Lovers and Peanut Lovers every where unite and celebrate your common love of the Peanut.