Boiled Peanuts: What's the big deal?

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The weekend of Memorial Day and our son PJ's high school graduation we had my sister-in-laws in town from Pennsylvania. Yes I married a non-southerner. My husband now professes that he has lived in South Carolina most of his life so he is a southerner. 

We enjoyed spending time with them and always love taking them to southern spots and eating southern cuisine. This trip we tried to get items off their list of collards, shrimp-n-grits, fried green tomatoes, and to re-try "bald" peanuts.

My husband loves "bald" peanuts and his sister wanted to try them one more time to see what the big deal is. For those who don't know what "bald" peanuts are, they are boiled peanuts. We just have a one syllable way of pronouncing things in the south!

Boiled peanuts in the south can be traced back to the African culture. Other names for them include "groundnuts" or "goobers" which is the adaptation of the Gullah language word "nguba" meaning peanut. This delicacy is a staple of southern culture as much as okra, fried green tomatoes, collard greens, pork bbq, and black eyed peas.

Almeda Lambert receives the credit for the first written recipe back in 1899. Kids were know to sell bags of boiled peanuts on the street for 5 cents each as a snack. Due to the history and the consumption of the boiled peanut in South Carolina, former Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill on May 1, 2006 making boiled peanuts the official snack food of South Carolinians.

For a basic recipe you retrieve some raw or "green" peanuts. The peanut is actually part of the legume or bean family, and most people prefer the Valencia type for their recipes. 

Basic Recipe
2 lbs green peanuts
2 gallons of water
1 C of salt
1 large pot or crock pot for smaller recipes

Directions
Place all ingredients into pot and boil for about 45 minutes. Try one after 45 minutes and if it still has crunch to it, continue to boil until no crunch left. NOTE: If doing a small recipes cook in a crock pot on low for about 24 hours! 

Cajun Recipe - Let's spice it up!
1 lb green peanuts
2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning
2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 C salt

Place all ingredients in large crock pot with water to cover. Cook on low for 24 hours!

Boiled peanuts contain 4x more antioxidants then raw or roasted peanuts.

In South Carolina you will see road vendors throughout the state selling their recipes on the side of the road. Next time you see one if you haven't tried them, stop say hi and get you a bag!

Each August their is the SC Peanut Party in Pelion, SC where you can try all sort of peanut recipes!
 

Nichole