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 The Uses of Peanuts
| Peanut Butte |
The peanuts are roasted and cooled, then the skins are removed. The kernels are inspected again and then ground, usually through two grinding stages, to produce a smooth, even-textured butter. The peanut butter is heated to about 170° during grinding. After the stabilizer is added, the peanut butter is rapidly cooled to 120° or below. This crystallizes the stabilizer, thus trapping the peanut oil that was released by the grinding. Peanut granules can be added at this point to make crunchy peanut butter. |
| Snack Peanuts |
Most snacking peanuts are shelled and blanched(to remove the skins) prior to roasting. Peanuts can be oil-roasted in continuous cookers that take a steady stream of peanuts through hot oil for about five minutes or dry-roasted in a large oven with dry, hot forced air. The peanuts are conveyed over sizing screens that let the smaller pods fall through for shelling. In this way, only the largest pods are sold as in-shell peanuts. The peanuts are then roasted and packaged for sale. In-shell peanuts often are roasted with salt and occasionally with spicy seasonings. |
| Confectionery |
The confectionery industry uses about 25% of the U.S. crop to make candy. Five of the eight top selling chocolate confections contain peanuts or peanut butter. Peanut butter and chocolate seems to be one of America's favorite pairs. |
| Peanut Oil |
Peanut kernel range in oil content from about 43% to 54%, depending on the variety of peanut and seasonal growing conditions. Peanuts supply one-sixth of the world's vegetable oil. Oil is extracted from shelled and crushed peanuts by one or a combination of the following methods: hydraulic pressing, expeller pressing and/or solvent extraction. Peanut oil is an excellent quality cooking oil with a high smoke point(440° Fahrenheit), neutral flavor and odor. It allows food to cook very quickly with a crisp coating and little oil absorption. Peanut oil is liquid at room temperature. Highly aromatic 100% peanut oil and peanut extract are high value products with a strong roasted peanut flavor and nut aroma. These products have applications in flavor compounds, confections, sauces and baked goods. |
| Peanut Flour |
Roasted and naturally processed to obtain flour with a strong roasted peanut flavor, partially defatted peanut flour works well as a fat binder in confectionery products or to add flavor and extend shelf life. Peanut flour is also high in protein (40-45%). |
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