Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Peanuts grow in a Fascinating Manner

We keep a five pound box of peanuts in the freezer for quick snacks.

Peanuts are almost ubiquitous in the U.S. culture: baseball games, circus elephants, cocktail snacks, and the ever-popular peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yet, contrary to what their name implies, technically, peanuts are not nuts. They are, in botanical fact, legumes and are related to other foods in the legume family including peas, lentils, chickpeas and other beans.

Peanuts grow in a fascinating manner. They start out as an above ground flower that, due to its heavy weight, bends towards the ground. The flower then burrows underground, where the peanut matures.

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