6 Fun Facts You Need to Know About Peanut Butter
Recently, we started selling new toppings, sauces, and syrups. It's the perfect addition to your ice cream shop. Want to learn more about peanut butter? Keep reading!
Here are 6 Fun Facts You Need to Know About Peanut Butter:
1. It's Mainly Peanuts
To be legally considered peanut butter, it has to be 90% peanuts. In 1971, the FDA became concerned with peanut butter manufacturers not using enough peanuts. Originally, the FDA pitched their standard to be 37% peanuts. The Peanut Board wanted that number to be 87%. After coming to an agreement with the Peanut Board, the FDA decided to legally consider peanut butter to be 90% peanuts.
2. George Washington Carver - The Father of the Peanut but Not Peanut Butter
Many know George Washington Carver as the inventor of peanut butter. That's not the case. He popularized peanuts and peanut crops in the south. Peanut crops grew much easier in the soil previously ravaged by cotton crops. His massive list of peanut uses majorly popularized peanuts in the United States.
3. Peanut Butter is Older than You May Think
In the 1500s, Incas and Aztecs ate peanut paste. It was closer to what we know as artisan peanut butter - less smooth, more separated. It's just ground peanuts without any additives.
4. Peanut Butter Was Used as Military Rations
In the First World War, soldiers were given peanut butter as part of their rations. It's protein- and calorie-rich while still being easy to work with. Peanut butter rations also gave the troops a feeling of home and nostalgia while fighting.
5. Peanut Butter Became What We Know and Love in 1920
Hydrogenation is a simple process of adding hydrogen to unsaturated fat to make it solid at room temperature. This shifted peanut butter from something that was very perishable and paste-like to something smooth, creamy, and shelf-stable. Hydrogenation changed the game for peanut butter and made it what we know today.
6. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are Almost as Old as Modern Peanut Butter
Harry Burnett Reese invented the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup in 1923. Previously, the idea of chocolate and peanut butter was uncommon and unpopular. When Reese's were invented, they had near-instant success. The sweet and creamy chocolate surrounding the savory peanut butter was an automatic hit.
Peanut butter is a classic American treat. It's delicious, versatile, and cheap to produce. Our Reese's Peanut Butter Sauce is sure to please even your most picky customers - it's rich, smooth, creamy, and it pairs perfectly with any dessert.
Tell us in the comments about the fun uses you've come up with for peanut butter!
