The Peanut Plant: Its Cultivation And UsesJones, B. W.
Science
The Peanut Plant: Its Cultivation And Uses
Jones, B. W.
Peanuts
=Peanut Bread.=--If peanuts are first mashed or ground into a pulp, and
then worked into the dough in the process of kneading, no lard will be
required to make good biscuit, and the bread will have an agreeable
flavor, different from that imparted by lard, but of such a mild and
pleasant taste as to be entirely unlike the peanut flavor. The skin of
the kernel must first be removed, or it will impart a bitterish and
nutty taste. There is some difficulty in doing this. Scalding does not
do it very well. Strong soda water or lye, will quickly loosen it, so
that it may be readily removed by rubbing with the hands, but either
fluid would soon convert the Peanut into soap, and is, therefore,
impracticable for this purpose. Could some cheap and handy machine be
invented, that would remove the skin from the kernel without loss, no
doubt large quantities of peanuts would be used for bread-making
purposes. Whether or not it would be economical, we cannot at present
say.
=Peanut Soap.=--If a fair article of soap can be made of corn shucks, as
was done in the South during the late war, then there can be no doubt
that a better quality can be made from Peanuts. Surely a vegetable
product containing such a large per-centage of oil, would be easily
acted upon by lye. The writer has not experimented in this direction,
but we hear of some who have tried it, and who say they have made a good
and serviceable soap from the kernels of the Peanut without the addition
of other oil or grease. We have no doubt but very good soap may be made
from the Peanut, but whether the manufacture of such an article would be
profitable at present prices, is another question. Perhaps for ordinary
laundry soap it would not, but for the higher grades of toilet soap it
might be. Here is a field for experiment, and yet we mention this use,
as well as those of bread-making and coffee from the same article, as
one of the possibilities of this plant, rather than a result to be
looked for in the near future, if at all. It is well that manufacturers,
and all others, should know what is capable of being done with this
promising product. The more we can multiply the uses of any product of
our farms, the wider will be the demand for it, and this is what the
farmers desire.
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