Talk:Boiled peanuts

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US Centric[edit]

This article is too US centric. The bulk of the article describes how boiled peanuts are consumed traditionally in the South of the US, while a section denoted "International Appreciation" describes how it's consumed in all other areas of the world. The title seems to imply the dish originated in the US but is also appreciated in other areas of the world, which is false.

This is a common dish in China, for example, boiled with star anise. The article needs to be reworded to get rid of the US bias. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.118.124.38 (talk) 21:07, 8 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Varieties[edit]

The peanuts described here were what you could commonly buy when I lived in South Carolina but very different from what I grew up eating in Florida. I never had boiled green peanuts until I moved to Beaufort, SC. The article seems to state that there is a "proper" way to prepare them but someone from other parts of the south would be confused by the description. I was always under the impression that the peanuts we ate were roasted, then boiled. I'm going to look around then come back with a decription of the snack that I'm familiar with to supplement what's already here.PvtDeth 21:27, 18 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Health Benefits[edit]

Someone knowledgable should make a post about boiled peanuts being an good source of resveratrol, the potent antioxidant that is also in red wine and rumoured to have several health benefits.

Thai-style boiled peanuts[edit]

As the article mentions, boiled peanuts are eaten as street food in Thailand, but they are prepared in a different way than in the US. There, the peanuts are boiled and then dried. The resulting peanuts have very small, dry kernels that nevertheless taste just like a regular boiled peanut. I have never seen a "wet" boiled peanut (US style) in Thailand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by PohranicniStraze (talk • contribs) 02:48, 1 October 2012 (UTC)[reply]

History Section[edit]

My father's family is from Orangeburg, South Carolina (see article), and I have considerable first-hand knowledge of boiled peanuts. Because it's first-hand, and not from secondary sources, I'm not putting it into the article. Unfortunately I don't have time to find secondary sources, but maybe somebody else will be interested in tracking down some sources to support applying some or all of the following to the article. (While I'm about it, I also offer some stylistic criticism.)

  • Boiling peanuts has been a folk cultural practice . . .
What is a "folk cultural practice"? How is it different from a cultural practice or from a folk practice? On the chance that somebody might be able to give intelligent answers to these questions, I have restrained myself from rewriting the sentence in the article; but why shouldn't it read, "Boiled peanuts have been popular in rural areas of the Southern United States since at least the 19th Century."?
  • . . . in the Southern United States, where they were originally called goober peas . . . .
I'm skeptical about the use of "originally" here--do we know that "goober peas" is the original Southern term for peanuts? Peanuts are still (or were until recently) called "goobers" in parts of the South. I never heard the term "goober peas" until I learned the old song by that name. When I was a boy in the 1960s, we called them mostly "peanuts", but also "goobers" as a sort of nickname. My father (born 1932, Orangeburg, S.C.) told me that when he was a boy, the old men around Orangeburg called them "pinda", as in "You want some pinda?". Mary Chesnut, who was raised in the South Carolina Upcountry, but married into a Low Country family (Orangeburg is in the Low Country), wrote of them as "pinders", which she would presumably have pronounced the same as "pindas". The Dutch word for peanut is pinda, which derives from the Congolese (m)pinda.[1]
  • The practice of eating boiled peanuts was likely brought by slaves from Africa.
This sort of speculation, without support from any source, provides no real information. Doubtless enslaved Africans brought with them whatever peanut culture and cuisine they had when they were taken to America, but unless Africans of that day are known to have eaten boiled peanuts at home (which is not indicated by the article), it's equally likely that a later generation of African-Americans, or some European-Americans, or American Indians, invented the practice.
  • In July and August, when the peanut crops would come in, unsold and surplus peanuts would be prepared in a boiling, and extended families and neighbors would gather to share conversation and food. Like a fish fry, peanut boils have been organizing principles for social gatherings. Like okra, black-eyed peas, collard greens and pork barbecue, boiled peanuts are symbols of Southern culture and cuisine.
This heartwarming picture of country life does not logically follow what precedes it, cites no source, and ends with a completely meaningless assertion. The first sentence is suspect, because, for the best flavor, peanuts must be boiled green, within half an hour of being pulled from the ground. Unless they could be "unsold and surplus" while still in the ground, it seems unlikely to me that boiling "unsold and surplus" peanuts could have been the organizing principle for a traditional social occasion. I can't prove that it's not true, but it rings false to me. I've never heard of a "peanut boil" as a communal activity comparable to a fish fry, or a taffy-pulling, or a corn-shucking, and the process of boiling peanuts doesn't strike me as conducive to such an event. I admit the possibility, but given the lack of citation to any source, and especially in light of the final sentence in the passage quoted, I suspect a romantic imagination is at work here.
Almost any distinctive Southern food could be called "a symbol of Southern culture and cuisine" with equal or greater validity. Surely boiled peanuts don't evoke images of Southern culture & cuisine as readily as, say, ham hocks, hominy grits, or hushpuppies? Non-Southerners usually respond to the mention of boiled peanuts, not with, "Ah, another exotic delicacy from the mysterious Southland!", but with something along the lines of, "Boiled peanuts!? Are you f#&@ing kidding me? Gross!"

Jdcrutch (talk) 01:14, 12 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have to retract one part of the foregoing: my father tells me that peanut-boils were social events, especially for teenagers, during his youth in South Carolina. J. D. Crutchfield | Talk 00:02, 19 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Groot Woordenboek van de Nederlandse Taal, (Utrecht:Van Dale Lexicographie bv., 2005)

can u boil roasting peanuts?[edit]

I'm from florida and are craving some boiled peanuts, but I'm in ohio! I bought a bag of peanuts but there not green I think there roasted.

I'm not aware of peanut varieties cultivated for roasting vs. boiling... But I know you should't boil roasted peanuts! Some people boil green peanuts (fresh peanuts that have recently been harvested/dug out of the ground) and enjoy them. Others (like me) prefer raw peanuts for boiling (these have basically just been dried for long-term storage). They have not been roasted or cooked. Look for raw peanuts at your grocery or a farmer's market. Soak 'em overnight and boil 'em all day (jumbo peanuts can require up to 8 hours of boiling). As you surely know, do add lots of salt (and a six-pack never hurts). Enjoy! THIS PENUT BAG OF BOIL

The foregoing anonymous paragraphs were posted at the top of this page, not under any subject heading. I moved them here, though I would have preferred to delete them. SineBot came along and attributed them to me, so I've removed that erroneous attribution and replaced it with this explanatory note. I hope that will satisfy SineBot.

Jdcrutch (talk) 16:55, 11 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You can boil dry raw peanuts although green are preferable. Roasted peanuts will not produce the same texture or absorption that raw and green peanuts will. Bastique ☎ call me! 23:16, 3 October 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Purple?[edit]

Are boiled peanuts really as purple as the opening image suggests here?--Lord Belbury (talk) 12:39, 23 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

How are they eaten? Are they shelled first?[edit]

I've never heard of this, so I don't know anything but what the article says - from context I gather the peanuts are removed from their shell first? It would be good to include in a few lines a description of the usual method of eating them.--91.119.227.69 (talk) 07:08, 26 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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