January 24 marks National Peanut Butter Day, and no matter if you’re a creamy or chunky kind of person, this food has been an American staple for generations. Here are some amazing facts about peanuts and peanut butter!
1. About 540 peanuts go into every 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
According to the National Peanut Board, any product labeled “peanut butter” in the United States must be at least 90 percent peanuts. That’s just a minimum — most brands are a lot higher than that!
2. The average peanut farm is 200 acres.
And they’re relatively good in terms of utilizing water. It takes fewer than 5 gallons of water to produce 1 ounce of peanuts.
3. Peanuts lend their name to cities.
The National Peanut Board points to six cities in the U.S. that include the name “Peanut”: Peanut, California; Lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; Upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Tennessee; and Peanut, West Virginia.
4. Preferences differ, that much is undeniable.
Data show that women and children tend to prefer creamy peanut butter, while most men opt for chunky. But it’s not just gender-specific, it’s also geographic. People living on the East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the West Coast prefer the crunchy style.
5. ‘Ground nuts.’
Because peanuts grow underground, they are sometimes called “ground nuts” or “ground peas.” They are in the same plant family (legumes, which are edible seeds enclosed in pods) as beans and peas. The biggest peanut-producing states are Georgia (which grows more than 40 percent of all U.S. peanuts), followed by Florida, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, according to The Peanut Institute.
