A Blank Canvas For Your Imagination and Your Spice Cabinet

July 14, 2023 12:02 AM

But the full story of boiled peanuts, and peanuts in general, is far from celebratory, as it is also the story of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. When the Spanish colonized the Americas, starting at the end of the 15th century, they brought peanuts back to Europe, and the heat-loving legume was later brought to Africa by the Portuguese. According to Robert Deen's The Boiled Peanut Book, the peanut’s nickname, goober, is said to come from the word nguba, or peanut, in the Kongo and Kimbundi languages. The plants thrived, and the peanuts returned to the Americas alongside people who would never see their homelands again. So while the peanut itself is indigenous to the Americas, the cooking process is African, and this process has spread around the world, the result of intercontinental trade, colonization, slavery, and immigration. from The Global Love of Boiled Peanuts
posted by chavenet (23 comments total)

Oh, that is something I miss about the South, and while my Canadian husband can usually get behind some of the more unique foods he encounters when we visit, boiled peanuts were just a bridge too far. I have often thought about if I could get my hands on green peanuts here in Ontario, could I make my own? And then I remember sometimes having the food where you're from is more special than making it where you are at.
posted by Kitteh at 4:09 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I can't think of boiled peanuts without thinking of this comment from 2017.

The only time I ever had boiled peanuts was driving from Panama City Beach, FL to Tennessee. We stopped at a gas station along the side of the highway for a Coke and some boiled peanuts.

Not for me. I can get it, I think, but not for me. I love peanuts to an almost unhealthy degree, but the texture just felt wrong.

“I saw how people in New Orleans do a crawfish boil and thought, what if you do a peanut boil the same way?” Using crawfish boil spices, but adding honey to mimic the sweetness of the corn, Mbaye makes a boiled peanut that proves even this old dish can learn new tricks.

Boiled peanuts are sometimes eaten as a “chaat,” an umbrella term for a type of spicy and tangy street food served all across India, where boiled peanuts are mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander, lime juice, and red chili powder.

I'm for sure willing to give them another try, though. Because daaaang.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:50 AM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I'm in Chicago and my grocery store actually had green peanuts a few months ago! So I scooped myself a bag and made soft boiled peanuts, and they were so good, and I was so happy. Haven't seen green peanuts for sale before or since.

When people ask me if there's anything I miss from growing up in the south, this is it. It's soft boiled peanuts, and nothing else.
posted by phunniemee at 4:51 AM on July 14, 2023 [5 favorites]

They made their way to Australia, or at least to the part of not-too-regional Queensland where I grew up. They were a staple of a visit to the "fruit and veggie shop", after which my siblings and I would munch on them until our lips were swollen from the salt. Such a delight I miss in very ordinary ways here in the North East of the US.
posted by onetime dormouse at 5:32 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

In the brief few months I lived in the Carolinas, I saw them for sale but never tried them. Largely due to my father-in-law, who said he had tried them, but said they were “slimy” and not worth buying. Which makes me a bit annoyed at myself, because in the years since it’s become increasingly obvious that my father-in-laws views on gastronomical pleasures are suspect at best. Should have known better, and wish I’d have given the man with the “Biled P-Nut” sign in his yard a shot…
posted by caution live frogs at 5:49 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Boiled peanuts are sometimes eaten as a “chaat,” an umbrella term for a type of spicy and tangy street food served all across India, where boiled peanuts are mixed with chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander, lime juice, and red chili powder.

Oh does this bring back some very specific memories of travelling through the golden triangle of India and stopping on the side of the road for a peanut-spice-infused “chaat” dish. There's also a lot of just random pop up road stands where people in more rural parts of the country are roasting or boiling fresh peanuts and you can just buy a bag or a dish. My mouth is salivating a little bit just thinking about this. I need to go back to India soon, it's been too long.

Great share. :)
posted by Fizz at 6:25 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I just bookmarked a couple of recipes for boiled peanut chaat. Sounds totally like my jam.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:42 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

One of the few things I miss from living in Charlotte is easy access to boiled peanuts from most roadside joints. I don't even know where you could buy green peanuts up north.
posted by Ferreous at 6:45 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've never had boiled peanuts but all of these flavor descriptions sound amazing. What's the texture like?
posted by mcduff at 6:57 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

texture: warm soft but with a light firmness that goes from peanut to peanut butter with a slight pressure. kind of under-cooked kidney bean, not unpleasantly or abruptly so.

Love them here in coastal Georgia, they were a wonderful addition to chat(s) we had in Kerala India.
Just the idea of hot-masala-peanuts YUM!~ If you like Mikes hot-honey and or/honey roasted peanuts.
posted by djseafood at 7:22 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

The closest approximation is a canned pinto bean that has been drained, salted, and microwaved for 15 seconds.
posted by phunniemee at 7:22 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Another way to think about them texturally is if they made an "Oops All Lumps" version of mashed potatoes. Perfectly straddling the line between soft and toothsome.

Boiled peanuts done roadside-Southern-style are wonderful, especially the spicy Cajun seasoned varieties, but gosh dang that chaat described above sounds tremendous.
posted by saladin at 7:27 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

Grew up in Tidewater VA and lifelong Southerner, plain boiled peanuts mostly are meh unless hot, right out of the pot. My family moved to Baton Rouge and I discovered Cajun and chili boiled peanuts. Then, my sister started making wasabi ones - totally addictive. So, yeah, knock yourself out. Cool ranch or nacho cheese anyone?
posted by sudogeek at 8:11 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I lived in Togo (West Africa) for two years and afterwards moved to North Carolina. It was interesting to see the differences in boiled peanuts in the two places. I’m Togo I found the texture to be more firm and never slimy (wet, sure, but not slimy). When women cooked them I think they’d also come out of the pot earlier, then sit in a sieve and then a little plastic bag for sale. I’m NC I’ve largely seen them sitting in warm crockpots, heavily spiced, but also the shells are much softer and so are the peanuts, again I think due to sitting in the crockpot.
posted by raccoon409 at 8:57 AM on July 14, 2023 [2 favorites]

I’m baffled by folks who will eat edamame, but are averse to boiled peanuts.

Spiced are best, if you’re making your own (instapot!), try using Old Bay. So good.
posted by rock swoon has no past at 9:10 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Wait are they similar? I used to love edamame but can’t eat soy protein anymore. Would boiled peanuts be a worthy alternative?
posted by nat at 9:47 AM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I read this article a couple of weeks ago and started craving some boiled peanuts. I live in the Atlanta burbs and you’d think they’d be easy to come by, but I’m a little too close to the city for roadside stands and the grocery stores don’t carry green peanuts. I’ve had a student shadowing me for the last few months and she heard me talking about it and about 45 minutes later, her mom showed up with a quarter bushel (10ish pounds) of green peanuts for me! Apparently her father “knew a guy.” I boiled the whole batch, shared them, and froze the rest.
posted by Fritzle at 12:04 PM on July 14, 2023 [4 favorites]

My mother grew up on a Georgia family farm where peanuts were one of the crops, and her mother sent us a big shipment of raw (Virginia, I believe) peanuts out to Colorado every year.

But peanuts must have been one of the many things from that farm my mother had had more than enough of, because no one ever ate them that I saw, and they weren’t even stored in the house; they ended up in a couple of those big cylindrical sheet metal Plaid branded coolers in an outbuilding across the walk from the garage.

I was aware of them, and one terrible winter when it snowed three feet and then the temperature dropped below zero for several weeks, the squirrels all woke up from hibernation, and when I was out riding my little fat-tired bike around on the squeaky squeaky snow, amusing myself with hearing my spit freeze with a sharp crackle before it could hit the ground, I saw many squirrels sitting in the crotches of maples chattering for all they were worth.

So I went back home, loaded up with peanuts, and spent the afternoon throwing handfuls up to the squirrels sitting in their bowers of last years leaves.

They went crazy for them, of course, so I had to give them a try myself. They were pretty good, I thought, and I actually liked the bitterness, which reminded me of the pecan pith I always saved up on Christmas Day and ate just before bed to counter the overwhelming sweetness of all the candy I’d eaten that day.

After that, I ate most of those peanuts every year, though I always gave some to the squirrels. I don’t think my parents ever caught on.

If I had access to those babies these days, I’d boil them in brine with a head or two of garlic in my pressure cooker and eat them as I wondered about all the questions I have about my mother's life and was too stupid to ask while she was still alive.
posted by jamjam at 1:15 PM on July 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've heard of boiled peanuts but despite growing up South adjacent (Oklahoma is not really the South or the Midwest or the Plains or Texas; no one wants to claim us) I've never had the chance to try them. They seem like something I'd enjoy so hopefully I'll get the opportunity some time. However it's boiled okra that's the one Southern food I can't get behind. My mom would make it and all I could think was "Gross, why couldn't you fry it like everyone else?"
posted by downtohisturtles at 6:29 PM on July 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Peanuts don't absolutely have to be green to be boiled and taste great. The real difference is just in cooking time. Mature peanuts just take longer to soften. The important thing is that they be /raw/, not green.

I like mine very very salty, so I use a pound of salt for five pounds of peanuts. Throw them in a pot, weigh down the floaters with a smaller pot lid or metal seive, and boil until you like the consistency. (You may need to keep adding water). The great thing about this recipe is that it's really hard to screw up. Too salty? Dump some of the brine and add fresh water, let soak for an hour and try them again. Not salty enough? Add salt, heat on medium for another hour. Want to add some spice? Go for it! Too soft? Drain, bag and put in the fridge for a day, test one, repeat as necessary. Are they perfect? Bag with brine and refrigerate, heat to eat. Made too many? Bag and freeze, reboil when you want more.

To me, they're a great movie food. Shelling then as I go makes me enjoy them longer than popcorn, and keeps my hands busy while my eyes are fixed on the screen.
posted by Vigilant at 9:57 AM on July 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Writer Natalie Ironside educating Tumblr on the delights of boiled peanuts:

I think what's wrong with me is that my dad loved making boiled peanuts but when you say "boiled peanuts" in a thick Mississippi Delta accent it sounds like "bald penis" and we were forbidden from acknowledging that

My dad, internally: “The children must be fed nutriment. I have in my possession a very large pot and a propane burner; I shall make a sojourn to the grocer’s and procure peanuts.”

My dad, aloud: “‘Ey, y'all wansum bald penis?”
posted by BlueNorther at 11:19 AM on July 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Peanuts don't absolutely have to be green to be boiled and taste great. The real difference is just in cooking time. Mature peanuts just take longer to soften. The important thing is that they be /raw/, not green.

"Green" peanuts is just southern speak for raw peanuts. They're not actually green. I guess I can't speak for the others here but neither I in my comment above nor anyone else I've ever met in real life has meant green peanut to mean literally a green color. It's just raw. Nearly impossible to find in North American stores outside the deep south.
posted by phunniemee at 7:25 AM on July 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mm, kind of. Mature peanuts have been dried, whereas green have not. The dried ones store longer uncooked.

I wasn't referring to color
posted by Vigilant at 11:39 AM on July 17, 2023 [2 favorites]