Oct. 20, 2009 - Peanuts
Kevin experimented this year by growing some peanuts. I am astonished to realize how little I used to know about peanuts. Firstly, I had this vague idea that peanuts would not grow this far north. I knew they were grown by the ton in Georgia, so assumed it was a warm weather plant. Not true! They grew very well here though they were smaller than southern peanuts. But perhaps that was just the variety.
I also didn't realize that peanuts develop and grow underground. The leafy plant has no apparent fruit, which of course meant we didn't know whether the peanuts were growing at all and if so, how many peanuts grew. To our pleasure, we got quite a few peanuts from a few plants.
Once we had them, we had to figure out what to do with them. Kevin read up on how to bake peanuts and gave it a try.
Baking them turned out to be quite a process. He started with 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and they tasted awful. He kept trying more baking in 5 minute increments. He was just about ready to give up when he reached the 40 minute mark. And success! They tasted great.
Here is the finished product. The peanuts take time and effort to extract, so they are not the sort of thing you want to eat when you are starving. But for a light snack, they are wonderful. Perhaps we'll grow more next year, or perhaps Kevin will try something else moderately exotic.
Comments
Oct. 22, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by stillearning
What fun to grow peanuts!
Oct. 25, 2009 - Peanuts!
Posted by 5lilpeppers
He wants to plant it but I am not sure if it will continue to grow out- doors with the weather changing.
We'll be planning to get it into a pot tomorrow and keep it in doors until spring.
We enjoyed reading about your peanuts.
Oct. 26, 2009 - Garden Fun
Posted by AnnieKate
This year we tried to grow sorghum The growing was a success, but we still have to hull the seeds, and that's a new challenge.
Annie Kate
