Peanuts

There is something quintessentially American about peanuts. While people in other areas of the world eat them, nowhere else are they devoured in so many diverse ways or with the same gusto as in the United States. The peanut (Arachis hypogaea), which is a legume rather than a nut, originated in the Guarani region of Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and central Brazil. In pre-Columbian times, peanuts were disseminated throughout South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. When European explorers arrived in the New World, they discovered peanuts and introduced them to Africa, where they were quickly adopted, particularly for use as food in the slave trade. Through the slave trade, peanuts were introduced into the British North American colonies, where they were grown by slaves in their gardens. Although some children and teenagers consumed peanuts occasionally at Christmas, they were mainly considered a trash food inappropriate for “genteel” society.