Boiled Peanuts?

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MrsLMB

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I am a west coast girl transplanted to the east.

Today while shopping I saw something I have never ever seen before. It was a huge mega sized display of canned boiled peanuts.

I have no idea what in the world a person does with these.

I'm sure there are a few here who can teach this old dog a new trick :)
 
Here on the west coast in a Korean market I see what appears to be canned locusts. There's no accounting for regional taste... (I think they had them marked "not for human consumption" to get around FDA regulations.)
 
Boiled peanuts are a big thing in the South. I personally didn't care for them when I lived in Texas. Unless they say salted on the can, they have no flavor at all. Even a boiled steak would have more flavor than boiled peanuts without salt. :rolleyes:
 
Boiled peanuts are one of those things that seem to evoke utter disgust or pure ecstasy with little middle ground. I like 'em.... Mrs Hoot, on the other hand has no difficulty expressing her dislike of them. Right out the can is ok with me. I have heard of folks making hummus with them and I seem to recall a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that used boiled peanuts. I reckon they can used pretty much like any other nut in a recipe...only the texture of boiled peanuts is kinda soft. I won't tell you what Mrs Hoot says about the texture.
 
So I am getting that this is simply a snack then and not an ingredient.

Think I will stay away from them. The photo on the label was not at all appealing to me.

Thanks for your replies everyone.
 
There are recognized variants of Georgia Boiled Peanuts, Cajun seasoned, Texas Style, and Chinese (with star anise). All begin with green (raw) peanuts. For the true boiled peanut lover, they are a seasonal food, using only freshly harvested peanuts from the green nuts in spring, through the summer end of season. Just as the peanut is a legume and not really a nut, boiled peanuts have little nut-like about them. They are more like what you would anticipate from a bean. Probably best you don't get involved with them. They can become a serious addiction.

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Vegetables and boiled peanuts - Beijing
 
Probably best you don't get involved with them. They can become a serious addiction.

LOL Don't need another addiction .. coffee and chocolate are good enough for me. Thanks for the info though. Perhaps I will encounter them at a fair or the likes sometime and give them a try.
 
Sorghum syrup production has been falling since the 1940's in the U.S. It takes a lot of time and energy to make, and it's been overtaken by cane syrup, a very sweet syrup produced early in the boiling of sugar cane juice, a favorite U.S. brand being Stein's

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and molasses from the second boiling/extraction of syrup, and blackstrap, the low sugar but high nutrient product of the third boiling.

It's not that there isn't a lot of sweet sorghum grown for livestock feed. Where I am, sorghum and cotton are the predominate crops, because both do better than corn when it doesn't rain.

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The cold cider would be fresh soft cider, although this nation was largely built on hard cider. The first thing people moving west would do was plant apple trees so they could start fermenting cider. In some places, you couldn't claim ownership of the land you settled on unless you planted apple trees. Jonathan Chapman, the semi-legendary Johnny Appleseed was providing for hard cider. He started apple nurseries from seed and left them under local care, and apples from seed generally produce tart apples valued for hard cider.

Likely, if you were friends with the operator of the stand in the photo, you could have access to the hard cider jug or the more potent applejack brandy jug behind the counter.
 
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Likely, if you were friends with the operator of the stand in the photo, you could have access to the hard cider jug or the more potent applejack brandy jug behind the counter.

:LOL:

GLC, thank you for the info. I'm always very interested in all food things around the globe.

Now I'll open another thread, to avoid going off topic, about soft and hard cider :ohmy:
 
Likely, if you were friends with the operator of the stand in the photo, you could have access to the hard cider jug or the more potent applejack brandy jug behind the counter.
What kind of proof or percentage alcohol would that be? :)

I'll have to check out the cane syrup. I often get better results by substituting ingredients with less processed versions they come from.
 
Figure something like 96 to 100 proof for commercial straight apple brandy, less if diluted like Calvados down into the 80's. The homemade might vary considerably, from mild to leaving holes in your clothes if it gets on you.

There's some variation in what some words mean here. "Applejack" can refer to apple brandy, but it can also refer to a beverage made by freezing finished apple wine and removing the crystalized water. It was popular in the New England area, because the colder you can get it, the more water can be removed, and they had the cold and apples to spare. As you remove water, the proof rises, and the freezing point drops. At 30F below zero, it can drive the percentage of alcohol to 30%.

So hard cider is about 5%. Apple wine is 10%-12%. And fractionally freeze crystalized applejack 14% (at zeroF) to 30%. The interesting thing is that it doesn't matter how strong the apple wine is in the beginning. The strength of the applejack is determine by the temperature. The apple flavor also concentrates, which another of its charms. Works with all wines, too.

There's also an "ice cider" or "icewine" that's made with cold fermentation, either from apple cider that's frozen or from apples that have been left on the tree to freeze. 7% to 13% alcohol.
 
I am a west coast girl transplanted to the east.

Today while shopping I saw something I have never ever seen before. It was a huge mega sized display of canned boiled peanuts.

I have no idea what in the world a person does with these.

I'm sure there are a few here who can teach this old dog a new trick :)

All I can say is that it must be an acquired taste, or you have to grow up with it, because I tried them one time and never, never will again. I can't even describe it, or relate it to anything else I've ever eaten, but I found them to be quite disgusting.
 
Living in the South, boile peanuts are a favorite snack. I have tried them and do not care for them, give me dry roasted anytime. There are roadside stands all over the place in the summer months of locals who make their own. Once I found out some people make them in their bathtubs that did it for me. Ewwww!
 
In the Slow Cooker:

Sina's Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts


Southern boiled peanuts are easily made in your slow cooker . They typically take all day on the stovetop, but with this recipe you can start them before bed and have them ready for tailgating the next afternoon.

Yield: 18 cups

2 pounds raw peanuts -- in shell
3/4 cup salt -- (3/4 to 1)
12 cups water

1. Combine all ingredients in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 18 hours or until peanuts are soft. Drain peanuts before serving or storing. Store in zip-top plastic bags in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

2. Cajun Boiled Peanuts: Add 1 (3-ounce) package boil-in-bag shrimp and crab boil and 1/3 to 1/2 cup hot sauce (we tested with Frank's) to slow cooker before cooking.

3. Freeze It!: Freeze these peanuts in zip-top freezer bags up to 2 months. Reheat them in the microwave before serving.

Web Page: Sina's Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts Recipe | MyRecipes.com

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In the Pressure Cooker:

Boiled Peanuts

1 lb of raw, in-shell peanuts

1. Wash 1 pound of raw, in-shell peanuts thoroughly in cool water. Place 6 cups of water in a 6- or 8- quart pressure cooker. Stir in 1/3 cup salt. Add peanuts. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Cook 40 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure. Let pressure drop of its own accord. Let peanuts cool in cooking water, then drain.
 
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