January 24 is National Peanut
Butter Day. Although not writing-related, unless you’re an author who eats
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while penning your books (and what’s wrong
with that?) I thought we’d all like a little fun.
The history of peanut butter is
interesting, and other than those with peanut allergies, most of us like peanut
butter. I confess to not eating it often now due to its fat content, but I
loved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a child. And I still love peanut
butter ice cream. And Reese’s Peanut
Butter Cups. Yum! I’m partial to Smuckers Uncrustables, which are pockets of
white bread filled with peanut butter and jelly. They come frozen so I keep
them in my freezer and treat myself to one when the mood strikes or if I want
to reward myself. They make a great breakfast too!
From the National Day Calendar:
Creamy or chunky, with chocolate or with jelly, peanut butter has
been an American staple for generations. Peanut
butter is a good source of vitamin E, B6, niacin, calcium, potassium and iron,
is packed with protein and is rich in healthy monounsaturated fat.
The Aztecs and Incas made peanut butter around 1000 BC but it was
more of a paste and not the creamy stuff we have now.
The peanut was considered animal feed until the late 1800’s.
Peanut butter didn’t become widely used until the 20th century. At
the turn of that century, inventions in planting, cultivating, and harvesting
the legume (peanut isn’t a nut at all), made it possible to see the peanut as a
retail food.
Contrary to population belief,
George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter. Washington Carver
discovered over 300 uses for peanuts and made the peanut a staple in American
diet.
We can thank four men for the inventions and processes that bring
us the creamy, smooth peanut butter we enjoy today: Marcus Gilmore Edson of
Canada; Dr. John Harvey Kellogg; Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, Missouri; and
chemist Joseph Rosefield.
In 1884, Edson developed a process to make peanut paste
from milling roasted peanuts between two heated plates. The famous cereal maker
and health food specialist of the time, Kellogg, patented a process with raw
peanuts in 1895. Dr. Straub is responsible for patenting a peanut butter making
machine in 1903.
Peanut butter was introduced to audiences at the 1904
Universal Exposition in St. Louis at C.H. Sumner’s concession stand.
But the man who brought us the peanut butter we know and
love today was Joseph Rosefield. In 1922, through homogenization,
Rosefield was able to keep peanut oil from separating from the peanut solids.
He later sold the patent to a company that began making Peter Pan peanut
butter. He went into business for himself selling Skippy peanut butter through
Rosefield Packing. He also supplied peanut butter for military rations during
World War II.
Use #NationalPeanutButterDay to post on social media.
Other peanut butter facts:
- ·
The U.S. is the third largest producer of peanuts (Georgia and
Texas are the two major peanut-producing states).
- China and India are the first
and second largest producers, respectively.
- ·
More than half of the American peanut crop goes into making peanut
butter.
- ·
U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Thomas Jefferson were peanut
farmers.
- ·
It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut
butter.
- ·
Americans eat around 700 million pounds of peanut butter per year
(about 3 pounds per person).
- ·
An average American child eats 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before
graduating from high school.
- ·
The peanut butter and jelly sandwich was originally a fancy-pants
treat, but the invention of sliced bread in the 1920’s made it an everyday
staple. The first reference to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was made by
Julia Davis Chandler in 1901.
- Now you know. If you’ve been hard at work writing your next
blockbuster, take some time out today and celebrate National Peanut Butter Day
with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Or a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.
For you writers of historical romance, if you have story set
around the turn of the 20th century, wouldn’t it be cool to have
your characters eat that new gourmet treat, the peanut butter and jelly
sandwich?
Valentine’s Day is coming, and I have a sweet treat for all of
you.
Her
Red Riding Hood Valentine (Snow
Globe Magic Book 3) is my sweetly sensual novella with a touch of magic,
like biting into a rich, dark chocolate Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. And it’s only 99 cents!
A magical snow globe sets the stage for romance
between a drama teacher who no longer believes in love and an enticing
photographer picturing a different life.
Manhattan drama teacher Carlyn Cameron used to
be a firm believer in happy-ever-after, but since the last smooth-talking
charmer devoured her heart, she’s sworn off men, especially those of the
arrogant, too-good-looking variety. And the “wolf in an Armani suit” hired as
photographer for the school play she’s written and is directing definitely
falls into that category. Like the Big Bad Wolf, she fears he’s hiding his true
self.
Photojournalist Wolf Martinez has seen more than
his share of ugliness through the lens of his camera. The nomadic life he leads
doesn’t allow much time for serious relationships, especially now, but the
feisty red-headed drama teacher looks good enough to gobble up. Once he finds
his way out of his current forest of troubles, he’ll be back on the prowl to
his next adventure.
Carlyn can’t seem to escape this particularly
scrumptious wolf, especially after he moves into the apartment next door and
charms her grandmother. He may be smokin’ hot, but can she trust him not to
steal her heart? And Wolf finds himself irresistibly drawn to Carlyn, but can
he picture a new life for himself, with room for two?
Universal Link:
https://books2read.com/u/31M0OD
