Peanuts

It’s hard to imagine that the world-famous peanut lives in a constant state of identity crisis. While it has the flavor characteristics of a nut, boasts the nutritional content of a seed, and develops underground like a tuber, the peanut actually belongs to the same plant family as beans and peas, called Leguminosae. As a legume, it is like no other in its class. Roasted, it releases aromatic oils and becomes undeniably crunchy; boiled, the peanut turns soft and creamy. It can be ground into peanut butter, pressed into cooking oil, and milled into flour. The peanut may forever struggle with the existential question, “Am I a pea, or am I a nut?” Whatever the answer, it remains the perfect baking companion in every way, shape, and form.

The peanut was first brought to North America aboard ships transporting enslaved Africans. It wasn’t always a pantry