Beyond the Roof: National Peanut Butter Lovers Month

You love it or hate it. And if you love it, you're either a die-hard fan of crunchy or smooth. If you love it, we hope you are enjoying the month that is just for you! We're talking about National Peanut Butter Lovers month (yes, we had to do a double take too). Before we dig into some great recipes, we thought you might like some random peanut trivia that will impress your family and friends during your Thanksgiving gathering.

Did You Know:

  • Peanuts are not nuts. They are legumes, like beans, peas and lentils.

  • 7 States account for approximately 99% of all peanuts grown in the United States. You probably have a good idea that Georgia is the top producer with 41% of all peanuts grown, but what about the others? Texas (24%), Alabama (10%), North Carolina (9%), Florida (6%), Virginia & Oklahoma (5%)

  • There are 25K peanut farmers in the United States

  • The average peanut farm is 100 acres.

  • U.S. peanuts fall into four basic types: Runner, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia. Each of these peanuts is distinctive in size and flavor.

  • It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter and almost 850 peanuts to make an 18-ounce jar.

  • One acre of peanuts will make about 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches!

  • Almost 90 million jars of peanut butter are sold annually. That’s almost 3 jars every second!

  • By law, any product labeled “peanut butter” in the United States must be at least 90 percent peanuts.

  • The average peanut farm is 100 acres.

  • There are six cities in the U.S. named Peanut: Peanut, California; Lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; Upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut, Pennsylvania, Peanut, Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia.

  • George Washington Carver was known as the “plant doctor” and the “grandfather of peanuts”. Though he did not invent peanut butter, he discovered many ways to use peanut and innovative farming methods, including crop diversification and soil conservation.

  • Two peanut farmers have been elected President of the United States: Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.

You can find more fun facts here, here and here.

What better way to end a blog post about peanut butter, than with peanut butter recipes! And it’s just in time for the Holidays!

Disneyland Peanut Butter Cookies

Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Reese's Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Alton Brown’s Peanut Butter Fudge