Did you know that a peanut is not a NUT?

Question

A peanut is not a nut. There is one distinct fact about a peanut that's different from all other nuts. Do you know what that is?

Answer 1

Unlike what the Peanut Cartel would have us believe, the peanut is not actually a nut. Rather, peanuts are to nuts what hot dogs are to meat. That's right, peanuts are actually other nuts, discarded for whatever reason, crushed, reformed into the familiar shape, and baked.

This may seem far-fetched, but for the proof you need look no further than at a peanut itself. Notice how it breaks cleanly in two, along a smooth fault line. There is a good reason why these surfaces seem to have a machined smoothness to them: they are machined! This seeming defect, which is certainly not present in any other nut that I'm aware of, actually dates back to a limitation of the very first peanut ovens, which must now be faithfully replicated in all new peanuts, in order to cover up the charade. Peanut companies now spend millions of dollars every year on research to determine new and cheaper ways of adding this required defect.

The shell is another artifact of the early peanut manufacturing process. Because the woodburning ovens used were much less precise than the gas and electric ones used in more recent times, makers found that the peanuts would burn easily, and yields were low. They discovered that by first wrapping them in a fine paper, and then covering that with a combination of straw, sawdust and cow manure, they could ensure a much more even result, with much higher yields, making the extra cost more than pay for itself. As an added side bonus, peanuts could be shipped much more safely in these shells than without them.

Over the years, the actual materials used to make the shell have changed, but they have maintained the property that the nut always shrinks more than the shell during baking, which is why the peanut is so loose in its shell, while most natural nuts are much more firmly held. With modern advances in ovens, it has become possible to bake peanuts with only the paper wrapping, and, more recently, with no protection at all, which explains why it is now possible to purchase peanuts in all three formats. Of course, the bare peanuts are by far the cheapest and easiest to produce, so these are the most prevalent in today's market.

Answer 2

The peanut or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is a species in the legume family Fabaceae native to South America. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing to 30 to 50 cm (one to one and a half feet) tall.The leaves are alternate, pinnate with four leaflets (two opposite pairs; no terminal leaflet), each leaflet 1 to 7 cm (1/3 to 2.75 inches) long and 1 to 3 cm (1/3 to 1 inch) broad. The flowers are a typical peaflower in shape, 2 to 4 cm (3/4 to one and a half inches) across, yellow with reddish veining. After pollination, the fruit develops into a legume 3 to 7 cm (1 to 2 inches) long containing 2 to 3 (rarely 1 or 4) seeds, which forces its way underground to mature.

Although a nut in the culinary sense, in the botanical sense the fruit of the peanut is a woody, indehiscent legume or pod and not technically a nut.

Peanuts are also known as earthnuts, goobers, goober peas, pindas, jack nuts, pinders, manila nuts and monkey nuts (the last of these is often used to mean the entire pod, not just the seeds).

Answer 3

it is a legume, grows in the ground instead of on a tree, and is closely related to the pea

Answer 4

That'sa cuzing it'da gull darn GOOBER!!! Ding dangit.

Answer 5

That I'm allergic to it and if I eat 1 I'll die!

Answer 6

Yeah, it's a legume. =P

Answer 7

Right it is a legume...Amen

Answer 8

It is a legume.

Answer 9

guessing, it grown on a vine?

Answer 10

No.................... but it ends with the word nut... now im nuts..