Peanut Gallery - Recap

Alton sleeps, peanut books on his nightstand and a book about George Washington Carver across his chest. Moaning fills the room, “Alllltonnnn Brownnnn... Alllltonnnn Brownnnn... Alllltonnnn Brownnnn.” But Alton sleeps soundly. Finally, an exasperated ghost materializes and yells Alton’s name, startling him awake! The ghost is a tall, black man adorned with chains whose links are made of peanuts. For a moment Alton is confused. Then he looks from the book on his lap to the ghost and realizes that this is the ghost of George Washington Carver, peanut pioneer!

Alton has shirked his duty, claims the ghost. He’s in Georgia, the country’s peanut Mecca, and he hasn’t given the goober the time of day. Alton explains that he has other projects, and the ghost scoffs – another potato show? That tuber cannot hold a candle to the significance of the peanut. Alton dismisses the ghost and returns to sleep. Somewhat menacingly, the ghost fades away.

The next morning, Alton wakes up and decides maybe it is time for a peanut show. After all, the peanut is historically significant, culturally relevant and culinarily versatile. Not to mention... Suddenly Alton snatches the covers aside. His bed is full of peanuts! As he screams and screams, the Good Eats theme plays...

Alton shows off a peanut plant. Evolution has selected an excellent defense for this plant; after fertilization, the flowers drop to the ground and the fruit – peanuts – develops underground in about a hundred thirty five days. America is the third largest producer of peanuts, Alton continues, behind China and India. While those nations produce their crop mostly for oil, over here we produce it mostly for munching.

At a stadium, Alton notes that mass consumption of peanuts goes back to soldiers during the Civil War. But the association between the peanut and public spectacles dates to P.T. Barnum, who sold them at the circus as early as the 1870s. The jump to the national pastime seems a no-brainer and by the 1920s ballparks sold most of the peanuts.

Alton has the peanut vendor toss him a bag. The man comes over and Alton sees that it’s George Washington Carver again. Carver asks six dollars for the bag of peanuts, a price Alton find excessive. Apologetically, Carver explains that it’s not his fault the peanut is the most popular flavor on the planet. Alton corrects him, suggesting that it is in fact his fault, since he popularized the vegetable. In 1925 Carver published a pamphlet explaining how to grow peanuts and offering a hundred and five recipes. That pamphlet is still in print. Fifteen years earlier, boll weevils had largely wiped out the cotton crop, and Carver’s teachings changed what a lot of farmers grew. Later, in his lab, he invented hundreds of uses for peanuts: milk, shampoo, peanut flakes and peanut sausage. Peanut orange punch, a kind of chili sauce, mock chicken, mock goose, mock oyster, face cream, hand lotion, a peanut drink, and on and on until another fan calls for peanuts and Carver leaves to take care of him.

Alton cannot smell the fresh roasted smell in his bag. That’s because that smell comes from volatile chemicals that quickly dissipate. But, says Alton, there’s an answer. At a nearby Whole Foods, Alton notes that worldwide, the peanut family is diverse. But in the states, four varieties dominate. Valencia peanuts have very hard paper and for that reason are unpopular with roasters. When Alton can find them he likes to bake with them. Spanish peanuts are very small but have the highest oil content. The runner peanut is among the most popular. Runner peanut plants have a good yield and the specific fat composition is popular. Most peanut containing candy contains the runner sort. Finally, there are Virginia peanuts. These peanuts are generally large and are excellent for roasting. They’re what folks buy at the ballpark.

Alton looks for a firm shell with no cracks, no black mold spots and little dust when he selects peanuts. He grabs a basket each of Virginia peanuts and Spanish peanuts.

Unshelled peanuts, Alton notes, will keep for as long as a month in a cool place. Alton cannot fit his container of peanuts into his cabinet so he decides to roast them right then. His first step is a bath. Vendors clean the peanuts, but they do grow in dirt so the bath helps remove any remaining bits of dirt. When he’s satisfied his peanuts are clean, Alton removes them from the water and pats them dry. Alton uses Virginia peanuts but Valencia will also work.

Alton moves his peanuts to a large bowl where he drizzles them with oil and tosses them with salt until they are evenly coated. Then he moves them to a pair of half sheet pans (in a single layer) and stashes them in a 350º oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Halfway through, he moves the top pan to the bottom and turns the pans so the front moves to the back. This promotes even roasting. Alton splits the shells and decants the meats into his mouth, ensuring the perfect amount of salt from the shell. Alton recommends those roasting for peanut butter use the oilier Spanish sort.

George Washington Carver sits in Alton’s kitchen as Alton reclines on the couch and eats peanuts. Alton rather nastily reminds us that Carver did not invent peanut butter – that was a doctor from St. Louis – but when Alton cannot recall the doctor’s name, Carver scoffs, suggesting perhaps he wasn’t so great an inventor after all. Peanut butter finally hit the big time when C. H. Sumner started selling it as a health food at the World’s Fair in 1904.

In this country... [Suddenly the FDA men in black appear to explain that...] ...peanut butter must contain ninety percent peanuts. In natural peanut butter the remainder is peanut oil and salt. Mass market brands add sugar, stabilizers and additives to enhance the shelf life and promote creaminess.

And the focus shifts back to Alton, who professes that homemade smokes them both and it is easy to make. Alton adds Spanish peanuts, honey and salt to his food processor, then spins that until it’s kind of mealy. He breaks that up, fits the lid back on, and while spinning it again drizzles in a little refined peanut oil (the refined variety adds little flavor). He spins that until it is smooth – between one and two minutes. Homemade peanut butter lacks preservatives and so much be refrigerated. And it contains fat, which absorbs flavors, so Alton keeps his tightly lidded.

In a burst of blue, the Lady of the Refrigerator appears. She tells Alton that while peanut butter is high in fat, it is primarily poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids that can help lower cholesterol. George Washington Carver appears behind Alton and he introduces the pair. The Lady then continues, explaining that peanut butter contains a lot of fiber as well as potassium, riboflavin and folate (important vitamins that defend the heart and prevent certain birth defects). It contains much protein, especially lysine and isoleucine. But it lacks tryptophan, cysteine, and methionine so the Lady suggests pairing it with wheat for a more complete protein profile. That, Alton realizes, might explain the peanut butter sandwich. George Washington Carver claims he invented that and Alton disputes him. As Alton closes the refrigerator, their argument fades...

There’s nothing new about the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter. Heck, the Incas worked this out thousands of years ago. But they never had chocolate peanut butter pie! Alton starts by adding chocolate wafers and sugar to his food processor, and spins that until it is a fine crumb. Then he pulses while adding melted butter (pulsing, he explains, keeps the butter from pooling on the bottom of the processor bowl). He packs that in a pie pan (much like a graham cracker crust) and works it up the sides using his knuckles. When the whole pan is covered he slides it into a 350º F oven for a 10 minute blind bake while he mixes up the filling.

To a freshly washed food processor bowl, Alton adds a batch of his homemade peanut butter and some ordinary butter and buzzes that for a minute. Then he adds some powdered sugar and some vanilla extract and processes that until it is very smooth – about a minute and a half. He allows the crust to cool completely before he spreads this filling into it (working in one direction around and out from the center), then slides the pie back into the oven (still at 350º F) for another ten minutes. While it cools he prepares a topping by heating some heavy cream in the microwave and then adding some chopped bittersweet chocolate. When that melts he whisks it together to make a ganache that Alton pours over the completely cooled pie. The pie then goes into the refrigerator for a few hours to chill.

For eleven million people this pie will never be good eats. They’re allergic to peanuts. When Alton reveals this fact George Washington Carver is shocked! Alton then notes that some allergists believe the high incidence may be due to overexposure – perhaps George invented too many uses for the versatile legume!

A good southern boy like Alton appreciates boiled peanuts. They’re delicious and a gateway to still more culinary possibilities - like African peanut soup. Alton gives a couple pounds a soak for a half hour to dislodge any dirt, while he brings three gallons of water and some kosher salt to a boil. He pours the peanuts into the water and replaces the lid, leaving them to boil for four hours. And he keeps a pitcher of water handy to recharge the boil as needed.

Boiled peanuts are best hot, so Alton removes some with a spider and offers a cup full to George Washington Carver, who says there’s nothing better... except perhaps his peanut colada. He offers to fix one for Alton, but Alton’s not done cooking. He’s got soup to prepare.

For an African style peanut soup, Alton starts with a 6 quart pot on medium high. He browns some bacon and then removes and drains it, leaving the fat behind. In that, he sautés onions. When they’re nice and brown he adds chicken broth and shelled boiled peanuts, plus a little thyme. He brings that to a boil and then reduces it to simmer for 20 to 25 minutes (until the nuts let go of their skins and the broth reduces by a quarter). Next he kills the heat and applies a stick blender to mostly grind the ingredients into a smooth, but not too smooth, stock. This would be harder (but possible) to do in a regular blender; the stick blender works well here. That done, he adds some 2% milk, rice wine vinegar, kosher salt and white pepper, returning that to a simmer before serving it with a little (or a lot) of bacon in the bottom of the bowl.

Eating his soup, Alton notes that a wise man once commented that he did not know of another vegetable that has such a range of food possibilities as the peanut. George Washington Carver claims credit and Alton agrees with the claim and the sentiment. Taking another spoonful, he asks about Carver’s new peanut project. Carver calls it an iPeanut and admits he doesn’t know what it does, but is sure it will be big...

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