Is peanut really a nut?

Answer 1

THE PEANUT SECRETS REVEALED

Most folks think of peanuts as little roasted nuts they buy to toss at elephants and monkeys in a zoo, feed squirrels and pigeons in a park, or munch contentedly, themselves, at a circus or a ball game. Actually, a peanut is not a nut. It is a seed or fruit, like a bean or pea, and one of the few true fruits found underground: the fruit of a remarkable plant that buries its own seed.

The late Dr. George Washington Carver, famous ***** agricultural chemist, persuaded southern farmers to diversify their crops and help their land by planting peanuts and sweet potatoes instead of cotton.

Then he developed over 300 uses for peanuts, including such products as cheese, milk, coffee, flour, ink, dyes, soap, wood stains, insulating board, and some important plastic materials.

Peanuts are remarkably rich in food values. One pound of nuts contains more proteins than a pound of steak, as much carbohydrates as a pound of potatoes, and one-third as much fat as a pound of butter -- a total of 2700 calories. They are rich in B vitamins. The nuts are eaten as a fresh vegetable in tropical countries; dried or roasted here.

They are processed to make peanut butter, candies, bakery products and -- above all -- oils for salads and cooking. The lower grades of oil are used for industrial purposes. The "cakes" remaining after some rocesses are valuable for fattening cattle and hogs, and for fertilizer. The stems, leaves and pods make excellent hay.

The height of restraint is to eat just one peanut.

Full article at source:

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/natbltn/200-299/nb254.htm

Answer 2

Yes, peanuts are legumes. most people do not realize this..... along with beans and peas, belong to the single plant family, Leguminosae. Legumes are edible seeds enclosed in pods. As a group, they provide the best source of concentrated protein in the plant kingdom. While their physical structure and nutritional benefits more closely resemble that of other legumes, their use in diets and cuisines more closely resembles that of nuts

Now.. one might ask.. how do they, as a legume, fit into our so-called food chain. The USDA does classify them,in the USDA Food Guide Pyramid with meat, fish, poultry, dry beans, eggs and nuts because of their high protein content.

Another interesting thing is that because they are legumes, they do not contain cholesterol..

Answer 3

A peanut is really a pea and really a nut.

Answer 4

the peanut is a legume fruit also called a monkey nut

Answer 5

Sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don't. When I don't, I have a peanut.

Answer 6

no, of course not, it is a pea. See link.
Even philosophically speaking I don't think a peanut is a nut to crack.

Answer 7

Although it's a legume, it sure looks and acts like a nut.

Answer 8

Sounds like a legume to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut

Answer 9

It's a legume and part of the pea family...

Answer 10

No, it's a legume, like a pea.