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Olive Cawley, of New York City, National Peanut Queen of 1941
Peanuts, their Food Value and over One Hundred Sure-Fire Peanut Recipes to Add Zest to Your Menus
The National Peanut Council:
The National Peanut Council is the national organization for the entire peanut industry, including the growers, producers, manufacturers of peanut products, crushers, wholesalers and warehousemen, from practically every state in the union.
The object of the council is:
“To improve the quality of peanuts and to promote the sale of peanuts and peanut products.”
The first objective is being achieved through an educational campaign, including the growers, millers and manufacturers of peanut products. The second objective is being achieved through a permanent publicity campaign which keeps peanuts and peanut products before the American public at all times.
The officers for the year 1940-1941 are:
President: Roy E. Parrish, Manager, Georgia-Florida-Alabama Peanut Association, Camilla, Georgia
Executive Secretary-Treasurer: W.B. Jester, Suffolk, Virginia
Directors:
J. H. Bryson, President, Dothan Oil Mills, Dothan, Alabama
R. C. Holland, President, N. C. Peanut Stabilization Cooperative, Edenton, North Carolina
W. T. Parker, Manager, Growers Peanut Cooperative, Inc., Waverly, Virginia
Roy E. Parrish, Manager, Georgia-Florida-Alabama Peanut Association, Camilla, Georgia
H. G. Ray Jr., President, Georgia Peanut Company, Moultrie, Georgia
Edward Stevens, President, Dawson Cotton Oil Company, Dawson, Georgia
Dick Wiekes, Manager, Southwestern Peanut Growers Association, Gorman, Texas
W. P. Woodley, Vice-President, Columbian Peanut Company, Norfolk, Virginia
John Burroughs, Manager, Consumers Cotton Oil Co., Dallas, Texas
Introduction
Everybody loves peanuts! So much so, that they’re saying: “Will power is the ability to eat one salted peanut!”
You often hear people boast that don’t like foods that are good for them! It’s not so with peanuts. In the United States we certainly like peanuts…and they’re just grand for us. And for centuries peanuts have been enjoyed by people all over the world; in India, Africa, China, and Europe. In fact, peanuts have balanced the diet of people who would otherwise have been seriously undernourished. For peanuts are one of the finest foods known to man. And modern doctors and scientists are giving peanuts a prominent place in our diet.
The peanut is not strictly a nut – it is a pea, a member of the bean family, a legume or vegetable. And the delicious nut-like fruit is rich in vitamins and protein. And it is easy to digest – particularly when crushed and in peanut butter. If you look at tables on pages 6 and 7 comparing the value of peanuts with other well known foods, you will see what a high place in our diet the peanut can take.
It is a nourishing food for people who are well; and excellent for people in a run-down condition. In fact, large hospitals sometimes recommend raw peanuts for their convalescent patients. Peanuts are used extensively in the treatment of Pellagra because they are rich in the Pellagra preventative factor, nicotinic acid. And now peanut oil is widely used in massaging infantile paralysis patients.
Many famous athletes depend on peanuts for a “pick-me-up” to give them energy and yet not make them feel heavy or “stuffed”. It’s very important for an athlete to stay absolutely trim and fit – without an ounce of superfluous weight. That’s why champions give peanuts an important place in their diet.
We all think of peanuts in connection with fairs, parties, cocktails and circuses. But few of us realize that peanuts are used in making more than 300 products. To name a few – cheese, instant coffee, pickles, peanut butter, flour, cooking fats, oleomargarine, salad oils, shaving lotions, shampoo, linoleum, printer ink, dyes, wood stains, paper and axle grease. And ever the peanut plant is valuable. The vines, properly cured, are a good fodder.
Although we all eat peanuts, we haven’t really started to take advantage of what they can do for us in the kitchen. They make a great variety of delicious dishes…soups, salads, breads, cakes. And because of their individual, definite flavor, they are a real contribution to the art of cooking.
Peanuts are nourishing, delicious and inexpensive. Why not introduce them into your daily menus in some of the delicious recipes in this book? There are over one hundred recipes for you to choose from. They will give your family a rich supply of the B-complex vitamins, and they will add a new zest to your meals.
Since 950 B. C. …
The peanut has had a checkered career. As early as 950 B. C., it was known to man. Eaten by him. Enjoyed by him. And then for a while forgotten – to be discovered again.
Peanuts are supposed to be real natives of South America – Brazil perhaps, or Peru.
They were carried to Africa by early explorers and missionaries. And then re-introduced into America by the slave traders in early Colonial days. They were fed to the slaves on the Atlantic journey because they were cheap and highly nourishing.
But in the South they were at first neglected – or used as a garden plant, a curiosity. Then, during the Civil War, the hungry soldiers turned to peanuts. And the Union Army liked them well enough to carry them back home from North Carolina and Virginia after the war. That started America eating peanuts – although they were only grown in limited quantities and the crop was confined to the states of North Carolina and Virginia.
Then, twenty years ago, the boll weevil attacked cotton all through the South. The Farmers had to find a crop to substitute for cotton and took up cultivating peanuts.
Although peanuts are one of the most highly nourishing foods known to man, they first became really popular almost as a joke. They appeared in P. T. Barnum’s Circus. The story goes that a peanut vendor went to Barnum and said, “I lika to sell da peanutta in your show; how mucha you charge?” “Get out,” was Barnum’s reply, “Who wants to eat peanuts at a circus?” But the vendor got his way and was soon selling peanuts to the circus crowds. He certainly succeeded because to this day no circus is complete without peanuts. As we have already said, there is a saying that, “Will power is the ability to eat one salted peanut.” If that is the case, then man has had difficulty in showing his will power for some time – as the first salted peanuts appeared in 1887.
Facts About Our Little Friend, “The Peanut”
There are nine distinct varieties of peanuts grown in the United States, the principal being the Virginia Jumbo, Spanish and Runner. The Jumbo is grown in Virginia and North Carolina, and Spanish, the small round nut, is grown mostly in the states of Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Runner is confined mostly to southwest Georgia and the state of Alabama.
The peanut plant buries its pod in the earth to ripen instead of dangling it in mid-air.
D’you know who first made the peanut popular in America? The Civil War Soldiers.
Raw peanuts are rich in Vitamin B1…a precious vitamin in which the average diet is deficient.
Vitamin B1 stimulates the appetite, helps the digestion and affects the structure of the nerves. Get your B1 in peanuts.
The oil in peanuts is similar to olive oil and 98% digestible.
Tests show that one-half a salted peanut supplies you with the extra calories needed to do one hour of intensive mental work.
Peanuts are produced with great abundance in the U. S. A. That’s why, although they are a wonderful food, they are inexpensive.
Peanuts contain protein, carbohydrate, fat calcium, phosphorus and iron.
The total crop of peanuts in this country is over 800,000 tons yearly, 1,611,635,000 pounds in 1940 to be exact.
Peanuts are planted in March, April, and May, and harvested in August, September and October.
First salted peanuts appeared in 1887.
The peanut vendor profession started early in the nineteen hundreds.
Peanut butter was first manufactured in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1890, and sold through the grocer.
Peanut shampoo? Yes, peanut oil is used in some of the best shampoos.
Peanuts can be used in making instant coffee.
Gasoline from peanuts? Yes, peanuts can be used to make gasoline!
Peanuts have higher protein content than sirloin steak!
Peanuts into cheese? That’s right, peanuts are sometimes used in cheese making.
Peanuts are grown extensively in India, China, Java, Africa as well as America.
Many famous athletes use peanuts in their training diet – to get energy without adding body weight.
Peanut flour is excellent for breads and cakes.
1,728,135 pounds of peanut oil was used in 1940 in the manufacture of oleomargarine.
Always Good - buy them by the pound – Salted Peanuts
The National Peanut Week Campaign, January 23-31, 1941, was sponsored by the National Peanut Council. Practically all handlers of peanuts and peanut products throughout the nation cooperated to make the campaign a success. A National Window Contest was conducted, in which $2,000.00 was given in prizes for the best windows in the nation trimmed with peanuts and peanut products. Five thousand and forty-four windows from forty-two states and the District of Columbia were entered in the contest. The average sale of peanuts and peanut products for the week per store entered in the contest was 2,000 pounds. The W. T. Grant Company store in Los Angeles, which won the grand prize, sold 10,375 pounds of peanuts and peanut products that week. Over a quarter of a million lithographed window streamers like these shown on this page were used in displays for the campaign.
The Governors of Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico issued proclamations proclaiming National Peanut Week, and the Legislature of North Carolina passed a joint resolution making the week of January 23-31 legal National Peanut Week in North Carolina. This gave us untold publicity in the nation. A Peanut Festival was held in Suffolk, Virginia. This was covered by photographers and reporters from the various press associations. Three pictures showing peanuts, which were taken at the time, were syndicated and published in over twelve thousand newspapers and magazines throughout the nation. One hundred and twenty national magazines carried stories on National Peanut Week. The national organizations of both the chain store and independent retailers cooperated in making National Peanut Week a success.
National Peanut Week was opened on January 23, 1941, by an announcement by the “Esso Reporter” over thirty-two stations. The “Esso Reporter” also told a story about National Peanut Week over the same stations on January 24. This broadcast was sponsored by the Standard Oil Company. A broadcast was put on from Chicago over eighty-three stations on NBC Network at noon of January 23. This broadcast was sponsored by the Snow Brokerage Company. A broadcast was put on from Washington on the “Farm and Home Hour” program over eighty-three stations on January 28. This was put on by Schindler’s Peanut Products, Inc., of Washington, D. C., over three stations in Washington and Baltimore. Another broadcast was put on by Fred Meyer, Inc., over six stations on the Pacific Coast. There were a number of other local broadcasts.
Your Party Calendar
January 1 --- New Year’s Day
February 12 --- Lincoln’s Birthday
February 14 --- Valentine’s Day
February 22 --- Washington’s Birthday
March 17 --- St. Patrick’s Day
May 11 --- Mother’s Day
June 15 --- Father’s Day
July 4 --- Independence Day
September 1 --- Labor Day
October 12 --- Columbus Day
October 31 --- Halloween
November --- Thanksgiving
December 25 --- Christmas
When you give a party, what is your aim? To give guests such a good time they’ll remember it, talk about it, label it the best party of the season.
For this sort of a party you need a few original tricks up your sleeve to keep your guests guessing and keep them amused. Your guests, of course, should be chosen carefully - people who will get on together like a house afire. And then it’s up to you to see that everything moves easily - the food, the conversation, the entertainment.
We have listed twelve holidays from our calendar. On any of these you can give a gay and amusing party. You can give a Peanut Tea Party or a Peanut Bridge or a Peanut Cocktail Party. Use some of the delicious peanut recipes in this book, decorate your table with peanut novelties and stage a few peanut games to break the ice.
Or why not a Southern Plantation Party? Your guests can come in fancy dress - either amusing, a fat mammy, little Sambo, or a peanut; or an attractive Southern Belle or Beau.
Send out invitations that set the tone of the party - tie little paper Topsies on cards and write the invitation in rough handwriting.
Decorate the table to give a Southern Plantation effect. Put salted peanuts in squares of cellophane paper and tie them up with red and white bows.
Light the table with tall red candles. And place around the base of the candles frilly skirts of red crepe paper on which you have pasted a number of white polka dots. String a chain of peanuts and drape them over the table. And at the center of the table, put a large Mammy doll.
Stand a big licorice lollipop in a small lampshade. Drape the lampshade with crepe paper. Use a rectangle of white paper for an apron. For a blouse use a bright yellow crepe paper and pad with cotton. Paste white gummed rings on her face for eyes and mouth. Tie a polka-dot kerchief round her head and round her neck. You’ll have a centrepiece that is amusing and decorative.
And then games will make your party a barrel of fun.
Nutting Mates - Each girl is given a bright colored paper with an outline of a peanut on it. The men are given the corresponding peanut. They must match up peanuts to outline and become partners. Choose peanuts with distinctive shapes.
Clues - Pass around a bowl filled with clues written on slips of paper. Tell everyone that the safe on the Plantation was broken into and 1,000 dollars in cash was stolen. The robber left these clues behind him. Everybody takes one clue and writes a description of the robber, basing it on the clue which was taken. Your clues should be such things as these:
Drop the Peanut - Give everybody ten peanuts, a soda straw and a custard cup as properties for this game. Range the cups on a table about fifteen feet away from the starting line to his cup at the goal line, by drawing it up against the end of his straw and holding it there during the grand shuttle. One peanut in the cup, then back for the next one. If the peanut is dropped, it must be picked up, taken back to the starting line and started over again. The first player to get all ten peanuts into his cup deserves a prize.
It Is Bad Luck -
The one who checks the greatest number of these superstitions gets a bag of peanuts - nuts for the nutty!
“The Song of the Peanut Vendor”
By Uncle Joe Henry Johnson, old negro peanut vendor who was often seen on the streets of Suffolk, Virginia. Uncle Joe died in 1941.
“I got F-R-E-S-H Pea-nuts.
One bag for a nickel, and two for a dime,
Three for fifteen, and all of ‘em’s mine.
If you don’t think they’re good, just buy ‘em and try ‘em.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
I-I-I’ll sell a who-o-ole five cents’ worth for just one nickel.
I’ll sell a who-o-ole ten cents’ worth for one lit-t-tle dime,
A who-o-oow-ow-o-ole twenty-five cents’ worth for a QUARTER of a DOLLAR.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS! Shelled by hand and parched in the pan.
I ‘spec’ to sell ‘em every one if I can,
Please don’t deny ‘em. Just buy ‘em and try ‘em.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts is what dey lack,
Dey’s good all de way down and half way back;
Not got ‘em sweetened, but dey’s good if’n you eat ‘em.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
I don’t sell peanuts on the sly, You can buy ‘em whilst I’m passing by;
I don’t sell peanuts just for fun.
If you’ll buy ‘em, I’ll sell ‘em every one.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
These peanuts o’mine is mightly fine.
But I can’t sell ‘em on time;
I sell ‘em for cash,
‘Cause they raise ‘em in the patch.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts don’t grow so tall,
But if the people will buy ‘em I’ll sell ‘em all.
And if you’ll buy a few,
I’ll sell ‘em to you!
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts is not like cawn,
You can’t buy peanuts when dey’s gawn;
Fresh peanuts if not like hail,
I got my peanuts for sale!
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts is not like cheese,
SOMEbody buy ‘em if you please!
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts is not like wine,
I know my peanuts is fine;
Fresh peanuts run so shaut,
If people won’t buy ‘em it’s not my fault.
“I got FRESH PEANUTS. One bag for a nickel,
Fresh peanuts is not like cake,
Please buy some for Jesus’s sake!
I’m out here now on my last go-round,
I want to sell ‘em ‘fore the sun goes down!”
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