On Food and Cooking

century that the remarkable agricultural
scientist George Washington Carver
encouraged southern farmers to replace
weevil-ravaged cotton with peanuts.
Today India and China are by far the
largest peanut producers, with the United
States a distant third. Most Asian peanuts are
crushed for oil and meal; in the United States
most are eaten as food. Peanuts are now
prominent in several Asian and African
traditions. Pureed, they lend richness,
substance, and flavor to sauces and soups.
Whole and pureed peanuts are used in Thai
and Chinese noodle dishes, in sweet bun
fillings, in Indonesian dipping sauces and
sambal condiments, and in West African
stews, soups, cakes, and confections. A
popular snack food in both Asia and the
southern United States is peanuts boiled in
salted water. When boiled in their shells,
peanuts develop a potato-like aroma, with
sweet vanilla highlights thanks to the