Peanut Butter
Flavoring
Functions
Dietary Info
Allergen Warning
About Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a creamy or crunchy paste made by grinding roasted peanuts, often enhanced with salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. In baking, it serves as a flavor booster, adding a nutty, slightly sweet, and savory depth to recipes. Its high-fat content contributes to moisture and tenderness, making it an excellent binding agent. Peanut butter's versatility shines in cookies, quick breads, and gluten-free treats, offering not only its distinctive flavor profile but also enhancing texture and richness, making it a staple in home baking.
History
Peanut butter traces its roots to the ancient Incas and Aztecs, who ground peanuts into a paste. However, modern peanut butter was first patented in 1884 by Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a Canadian chemist. Its popularity surged in the early 20th century thanks to agricultural scientist George Washington Carver, who promoted peanuts as a valuable crop. By the 1920s, commercial production made it a household staple in the U.S. Its creamy consistency and flavor soon found a place in baking, beloved for enhancing both sweet and savory recipes, cementing its status as a pantry essential.