The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Try peanuts 3 ways, sweet or savory
We’re lucky that there are no peanut allergies in our household. If that’s also the case for you, we’ve got three ways for you to enjoy this favorite legume.
Souvenir packets of Georgia peanuts
The Georgia Peanut Commission is celebrating 60 years of supporting Georgia’s $2 billion peanut-growing industry. Its website has information for growers and for the rest of us, including recipes using peanuts, ranging from oatmeal with peanut butter and PB&J candied bacon, to the desserts you’re probably expecting. As we were doing a little research on peanuts, we discovered that the commission also has a shop with a select offering of Georgia peanut products. You can find chef-favorite Oliver Farms green peanut oil, cans of honey-roasted Georgia peanuts and our new go-to snack, three-quarterounce packets of roasted and salted Georgia peanuts. The packets come packed in bags of 25, or a case of 300, and are perfect for putting out in a big bowl, so everyone can enjoy a handful of peanuts while watching the game.
$3.50 per bag of 25 threequarter-ounce packets, $40 per case of 300 packets. Available at gapeanuts. com.
Peanut brittle
Bobby and Jean Salter founded Plain Peanuts in 1988. They started small, in Billy Carter’s old service station in Plains, but business soon grew to the point where they moved to the old Carter’s peanut warehouse office on Plains’ Main Street, and that’s where you can find them to this day. When you visit Plains, dropping by the shop is a must, so you can enjoy a cone of peanut butter ice cream while touring the other sites in former President Jimmy Carter’s hometown. If you’re not going to be in Plains, you can’t order the ice cream, but you can mail-order boiled peanuts, fried peanuts, peanut clusters and, our favorite, peanut brittle. It’s a classic American candy, but some brittles are so hard that you run the risk of breaking a tooth while eating a piece. The Plain Peanuts brittle is light and crunchy, so your teeth aren’t at risk, only your waistline.
$3.49 per 6.5-ounce bag. Available at plainpeanuts. com/#/.
Sea salt and black pepper peanuts
Georgia is not the only state that grows a bounty of peanuts. One of our neighbors to the north also grows its share of delicious peanuts, and we haven’t felt a bit disloyal while enjoying our container from Bertie County Peanuts in Windsor, North Carolina. The company has been in business since 1915, and it claims it grows the best peanuts in the country on its farms. You can decide for yourself when you sample the company’s raw peanuts, blister-fried peanuts, spicy peanuts, and seasoned and salted peanuts, including the salt and black pepper ones we’ve been enjoying. These peanuts are perfectly roasted, and the black pepper is there, but in no way overwhelms — just a nice peppery bite at the end. There are lots of flavors, including dill pickle, smoky, wasabi and soy, as well as the ones we think must appeal to a very specialized audience: chocolate-covered Weeping Mary’s ghost pepper peanuts.
$14.20 per 10-ounce jar of sea salt and black pepper peanuts; $22.55 for a twopack. Available at pnuts.net.