The Wonderful World of Peanuts

Written by Lara Velez


THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PEANUTS

By: Lara Velez

HISTORY

Before I begin withrepparttar history of peanuts you should probably know thatrepparttar 113105 peanut is not a nut. The "pea"nut is actually more closely related torepparttar 113106 pea. It is a member ofrepparttar 113107 legumes family. Also, peanuts do not grow in trees like nuts do. They grow onrepparttar 113108 ground. They start out as flowers, and eventually wind up burrowing underground. Under ground is where they become a delicious peanut.

OK - so where did these little guys come from you ask? Well, they are thought to have originated in South America...possibly Brazil or Peru. Whenrepparttar 113109 Portuguese began to explore "The New World," they took peanuts back home with them. Portuguese traders took them as far as Asia and Africa.

Inrepparttar 113110 United States, peanuts became popular duringrepparttar 113111 Civil War. Then aroundrepparttar 113112 1900's many mechanical devices were invented to help withrepparttar 113113 processing of peanuts. As a result their popularity increased even more. Speaking of inventions...George Washington Carver invented over 300 uses forrepparttar 113114 peanut, including; medicine, ink, soap, shampoo, ice-cream, and axle grease.

Today, peanuts are eaten all overrepparttar 113115 world. They have become a huge money making industry. Inrepparttar 113116 United States alone they contribute well over 4 billion dollars yearly torepparttar 113117 economy

PEANUT TRIVIA

Americans consume 700 million pounds or 3.3 pounds per person, of peanut butter per year….that's enough to coatrepparttar 113118 floor ofrepparttar 113119 Grand Canyon.

To enhancerepparttar 113120 flavor of a cola drink, Southerners put peanuts intorepparttar 113121 bottle.

There are approximately 810 peanuts in an 18 oz. jar of peanut butter. The peanut is unusual because it flowers aboverepparttar 113122 ground, but fruits belowrepparttar 113123 ground.

Peanut oil has a very high smoking point. This allows peanut oil to be heated to a higher temperature than most oils, making it an excellent choice for frying. Since peanuts are a legume, they reducerepparttar 113124 need for additional fertilizers as they return nitrogen torepparttar 113125 soil as they grow. HEALTH BENEFITS Peanuts are packed full of healthy stuff, including; antioxidants, niacin, Vitamin E, monounsaturated fat, bioflavnoids, protein, and they have more resveratrol than grapes (which lowers LDL - aka "bad cholesterol") That's not all...Some medical researchers say that they lowerrepparttar 113126 risk of heart disease and provide protection from some types of cancer (colon, prostate, and breast). Well, as you can see there are some great reasons to eat peanuts...as ifrepparttar 113127 fact that they are delicious isn't enough. THE DARK SIDE Peanut proteins can act as powerful allergens, even in tiny amounts. That is why Peanut allergies arerepparttar 113128 most common cause of death by food inrepparttar 113129 United States. Some people can have a ruthless reaction just for inhalingrepparttar 113130 scent of a peanut. People can die from very small amounts.

20 Ways to Add Personality and Punch to Your Cooking!

Written by Joi Sigers


Let's get right to it!

1. Add Sour Cream to your mashed potatoes.

2. After icing your cinnamon rolls, dustrepparttar tops lightly with cinnamon.

3. Always use special napkins - use seasonally-appropriate patterns and colors. If your family has a favorite sports team, serve their colors onrepparttar 113104 days they're playing. If you are NASCAR fans, by all means, go with your driver's colors on race day!

4. Never underestimaterepparttar 113105 elegance of candles. They setrepparttar 113106 mood and add mood to your setting.

5. Use freshly-grated Parmesan and leaverepparttar 113107 cans onrepparttar 113108 shelves.

6. Serve only coffee that has been freshly-ground and freshly-brewed. Top this coffee off with a dollop of whipped topping, and if you're really feeling "high brow", fresh shavings from a block of chocolate.

7. Use REAL crumbled bacon on top of your salads and baked potatoes. Leaverepparttar 113109 plastic containers of wanna-be bacon bits onrepparttar 113110 shelves besiderepparttar 113111 Parmesan.

8. Speaking of salads, add crumbled feta cheese to your tossed salads. You'll never want salads without it again!

9. Never, ever, under any circumstances - make salsa without fresh cilantro. If your store is out, drive torepparttar 113112 next store. If, three stores later, you still haven't found any cilantro, skiprepparttar 113113 idea of salsa all together! Yes, it's that important.

10. Add zip to your loaf of French Bread. Spray, or brush,repparttar 113114 top ofrepparttar 113115 loaf with olive oil. Then sprinkle on dried red pepper flakes and dried onion flakes. Bake as usual.

11. Get a rounded ice-cream scoop of ice cream, roll in crushed nuts and serve on top of a plate that's been swirled with caramel or chocolate syrup. Then squeeze more overrepparttar 113116 top.

12. Dorepparttar 113117 same as above, but use coconut in place ofrepparttar 113118 crushed nuts. This time, placerepparttar 113119 balls of coconut-covered ice cream on top of slices of pound cake. Now, pour some pineapple bits, juice and all, on top ofrepparttar 113120 servings.

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