They look like nuts, they taste like nuts, they have the typical nutritional composition of nuts... I say they're nuts.

Peanuts till I die.

Well, they are legumes. Nuts grow on trees. Peanuts grow on a plant on the ground. You can call it a nut. Does it really matter what we call it?

Peanuts are legumes and according to Norman Walker they are extremely acid-forming and should be avoided for optimal health.

I would limit them to perhaps a small hand full a day....?
Others?
Opinions?
Other nuts and seeds are better for you....
again..........??

Ha! As mentioned, peanuts are another legume (bean) that is roasted or fried in oil to a nut-like consistency. This is also done to soy beans (soy nuts) and corn (corn nuts) and others as well. They are all tasty - and not so good for you. You decide. Heh..heh.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

davidzanemason Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ha! As mentioned, peanuts are another legume
> (bean) that is roasted or fried in oil to a
> nut-like consistency. This is also done to soy
> beans (soy nuts) and corn (corn nuts) and others
> as well. They are all tasty - and not so good for
> you. You decide. Heh..heh.
>
> -David Z. Mason

Ughhh... no, I'm sorry I want to be clear on this but this is complete ***NON*** ***SENSE*** SORRY BRYAN, BUT I have to get this out of my system, I have seen this drivel before. I'M SO SICK OF THIS!!!

Usual beans are HARD THINGS THAT YOU CANNOT EAT. THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO PEANUTS.

THAT is just SOMETHING that *YOU* and other clueless internet people just MADE UP IN YOUR HEAD!!!!!

Just because it seems like it could be that you figured that must be it... well it's not... don't make it up as you go along!!!!

What you're saying is like saying that TOMATOES are a food that has been fried or roasted. They're only fried or roasted if you did that to them!!!

Peanuts have *NOTHING* to do with whatever you Americans are packaging.

In europe the USUAL thing that's done to peanuts, 90%, is that they're placed there RAW and packaged in vegetable oil and salt. They are COMPLETELY raw like this, some might say the whole putting them in vegetable oil etc. does things to them or they are heated in some way but they ARE RAW.

You can also buy completely unprocessed peanuts so you just get the nut.

You can also buy peanuts actually in their original hulls they grew inside, you have to pick apart the huge hull surrounding them to get at the peanuts inside.

So just because Americans have never even SEEN an actually raw peanut in its hull, don't spread that advice around the place like it applies to everyone.

"roasted or fried to a nut-like consistency" my hole. No, it seems you're guessing a bit here I'm afraid.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2009 04:02AM by SuperInfinity.

If you like I can make you a video to show you what peanuts actually are like raw from their hulls!!! They're nuttier than nuts themselves...!!!

The whole tree vs legume thing... well, some people vehemently claim that peanuts are not a fruit but nuts are, others claim that paleolithic man wouldn't have had any legumes including peanuts but had lots of nuts, and they'll go so far as to limit their peanuts substantially because of that.

superinfinity,

It seems you are getting quite emotional about this subject. It it really that big of a deal, whether a peanut is a truly a nut or a legume?

Raw peanuts can harbor aflatoxin, a mold byproduct that grows on peanuts in storage, which can make you real sick. Well, so can cooked ones, for that matter.

Sure, go ahead, eat raw peanuts. Raw peanuts packaged in vegetable oil and salt? sure, sounds really healthy to me... *NOT*

A simple search on Google will turn up all kinds of interesting facts about the peanut.

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
We are all in this together!
Namasté

I have purchased and eaten raw, green peanuts in the past. I was not impressed with their taste or sustaining value. This was just my personal experience/opinion. YOU may find them very sustaining for YOUR stage in YOUR diet. I support you 100%.


-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I've never seen anyone so excited about a legume before. I'd give it up.

I have, just yesterday talking to a man from El Salvadore. His father would plant the peanut seeds in furrows plowed with a cow shared with three other families. He described the planting process from the seed pouch he wore around his waist to pacing out the spacing, planting and harvesting almost 100 kilograms a year.

Peanuts are seeds -- embryonic plants. They are nuts, legumes, fruits or seeds depending on in what context they are being discussed, imo. I like them.

Peanuts are legumes, botanically. This is irrelevant. What matters is whether they help or harm the one consuming them. I like peanuts occasionally, but don't kid myself that they're the same thing as almonds, say. Each has its nutrients and such. Variety is good.

SuperInfinity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In europe the USUAL thing that's done to peanuts,
> 90%, is that they're placed there RAW and packaged
> in vegetable oil and salt. They are COMPLETELY raw
> like this, some might say the whole putting them
> in vegetable oil etc. does things to them or they
> are heated in some way but they ARE RAW.

I find it hard to believe that packaged peanuts with an ingredients list of peanuts, vegetable oil, and salt would be raw. What is your source for this information?

Bryan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> superinfinity,
>
> It seems you are getting quite emotional about
> this subject. It it really that big of a deal,
> whether a peanut is a truly a nut or a legume?

I know Bryan it's just that I've seen this over and over again. I feel a bit sad for people who can't get raw peanuts or think they're not raw when they might actually be raw.

davidzanemason Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have purchased and eaten raw, green peanuts in
> the past. I was not impressed with their taste or
> sustaining value. This was just my personal
> experience/opinion. YOU may find them very
> sustaining for YOUR stage in YOUR diet. I support
> you 100%.
>
>
> -David Z. Mason

Ah, I see, that must be where much of the misunderstanding came from. I did a check for green peanuts online: "Green (also called "raw" peanuts are ones that haven't fully matured yet; they've reached full size, but haven't dried out." They might be a bit like green bananas.

The reason I got emotional is because how would you like it if someone told you one of your most beloved foods wasn't raw at all when you knew it was? It's not a nice feeling is it? But I can understand your post on it a bit better now. Well here are the peanuts that I purchase in their hulls...:

[dl.getdropbox.com]
[dl.getdropbox.com]

I've had these for weeks and they taste just as delicious now, although their expiry date is december '09. I can't speak for American peanuts, but they taste the exact same as peanuts you'd get here. They actually taste better this way. It says they're imported from China, I recommend you try to get them.

Here is a monkey eating them in the wild:

[www.youtube.com]

And on wikipedia a picture shows "freshly dug pods", just in case you thought maybe the others were sundried for days or something: [en.wikipedia.org]

Notice that the monkey eats the hulls and all. This could be why it's possible to overeat on peanuts... because primordially we would take the hulls with them. The hulls are nice enough to eat, and save you opening up the peanut. I've eaten them before, however I'm worried about pesticides that may be on them so I can't really justify eating them now.

I emailed someone who had done research on peanuts and peanut nutrition about whether it was safe to eat the hulls and do you know what she said? She said the hulls aren't considered food. They are sooooo far removed from our natural foods that they wouldn't even consider them to be food!!!! All primates can eat them, they're nice and have some nutrition so they are food!!! This is why I get so sad and a bit passionate about it, even on the raw food board people don't know. What ISN'T food is bread and chips etc.!!!

> Sure, go ahead, eat raw peanuts. Raw peanuts
> packaged in vegetable oil and salt? sure, sounds
> really healthy to me... *NOT*

Well personally I nearly always take the ones that have raw written on them, partly because they're cheaper!! The ingredients on this one is "peanuts, peanut oil, seasalt". Did you know that peanut oil IS vegetable oil??? Also they taste the EXACT SAME. If someone has made a mistake, no need to be so sarcastic about it. Why the hatred??? Peanuts are definitely a good food, a little cooked or otherwise. Why be so sarcastic?

> A simple search on Google will turn up all kinds
> of interesting facts about the peanut.

All kinds of interesting facts about how great peanuts are for you and how a couple of lunatic conspiracy theorists are calling it a "toxin", along with fructose and other complete nonsense maybe.

Tamukha Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Peanuts are legumes, botanically. This is
> irrelevant. What matters is whether they help or
> harm the one consuming them. I like peanuts
> occasionally, but don't kid myself that they're
> the same thing as almonds, say. Each has its
> nutrients and such. Variety is good.

I agree, that is a lovely post Tamukha thank you.

Omega Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find it hard to believe that packaged peanuts
> with an ingredients list of peanuts, vegetable
> oil, and salt would be raw. What is your source
> for this information?

hmmm... I don't know and I can't find the information on it. But they taste the exact same, they are also a very similar price and expiry date etc. It doesn't make a difference to me for the future apart from that it might have been a mistake for me to eat them that didn't specificlly state raw in the past. They have peanuts, dry roasted peanuts and other flavours. The dry-roasted ones taste totally different, different texture and everything. The ones I usually eat... apart from the chilli peanuts and when I get other peanuts from that store... have raw on them and just "peanut oil, seasalt". I don't know, they taste the EXACT SAME. I can't seem to find much in regard to it. But verily, I will try to avoid the KP peanuts until I can find out more.



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 10/03/2009 05:19PM by SuperInfinity.

SuperInfinity:

<<The reason I got emotional is because how would you like it if someone told you one of your most beloved foods wasn't raw at all when you knew it was? It's not a nice feeling is it?>>

I don't understand this statement at all whatsoever. If I was 100% secure that something I thought was a fact and someone told me otherwise, why should I feel disturbed? I would feel secure in knowing this so called "fact" and go along my merry way.


I may be wrong but I think you would be a lot better off taking 100% responsibility for your own emotions. It is not Bryan or David Mason's fault that you feel the way you do. You are not a marionette. They are not the puppeteers controlling your emotions with magical strings tied to different lobes of your brain. They are simply doing what everyone else is doing including yourself , which is giving their own perspective. That's all. I don't take everything as gospel either. Nor do I take offense if someone's information does not match up to what I experience. So what? You just go with what works for you. Period. So simple. Everything else is just a bunch of peanuts, anyhow.

SuperInfinity:


<< THAT is just SOMETHING that *YOU* and other clueless internet people just MADE UP IN YOUR HEAD!!!!!>>

I wouldn't exactly call Bryan or David Mason " clueless internet people".
Their contributions to the raw community have been outstanding and they have my highest respects.

Do you think that just because you are anonymous, it is alright to spew abusive words? It is not. It never has been and it never will be. That is what cowards do.

It is possible to be passionate about something while being respectful as well.


Try it sometimes. You might like it.

> I may be wrong but I think you would be a lot
> better off taking 100% responsibility for your own
> emotions. It is not Bryan or David Mason's fault
> that you feel the way you do.

I never said it was their FAULT. I would NEVER say that someone else made me feel bad so it was there fault, I think that is an ugly and disingenuous practice. I strongly believe people should be based on what they actually did or said, NOT how they made others feel.

> You are not a
> marionette. They are not the puppeteers
> controlling your emotions with magical strings
> tied to different lobes of your brain. They are
> simply doing what everyone else is doing including
> yourself , which is giving their own perspective.
> That's all.

err... actually David was saying something that wasn't quite true.

> I don't take everything as gospel
> either. Nor do I take offense if someone's
> information does not match up to what I
> experience. So what? You just go with what works
> for you. Period. So simple. Everything else is
> just a bunch of peanuts, anyhow.

Okay, that's fine. I'm not one at all to go blaming others because "I got upset".

LaVeronique, I am the exact opposite. That sort of crap has been pulled on me before with terrible consequences.

<<LaVeronique, I am the exact opposite.>>

Okay. Glad to hear it

Superinfinity, where are you getting your raw peanuts?

As, I think you're in the UK and although most supermarkets in the UK sell peanuts in their shells/hulls, I've always understood that, although these are usually termed 'raw', these aren't actually raw, although I'm unsure of the details of processing.

Even when I was in Thailand, the peanuts in shells there weren't raw either. Pity. I asked the lady in the Thai market whether they were cooked, and she said 'yes, cooked!' delightedly.

And the reason I've edited this post a few times is...I'm really not sure about this...in my three years of raw every time I've seen peanuts mentioned on UK forums consensus has been that the peanuts in shells here aren't raw. But, having googled, I can't find any firm evidence that they're not, either!

Can anyone give us chapter and verse on this?



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2009 08:43PM by debbietook.

Superinfinity, I've posted the question on rawness of in-shell nuts on the Raw Food UK Forum, and I'll try to remember to report back.

I've followed your links, and it's not really possible to tell from them whether our in-shell nuts are truly raw. I would say though that the monkey's crunches suggest the shells of his nuts are a little harder than ours? Which would suggest ours aren't quite the same as they are in natural state.

But - I would love to be told that I've been misinformed all those years and have in-shell peanuts get the green light!

Re nuts v legumes, I remember someone saying that if there's more than one in a pod/shell it's a legume rather than a nut. But, sure, we call them nuts in everyday speech because they're not hard, or...at least...not by the time they get to us (!) and they taste 'nutty'!

debbietook Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Superinfinity, where are you getting your raw
> peanuts?
>
> As, I think you're in the UK and although most
> supermarkets in the UK sell peanuts in their
> shells/hulls, I've always understood that,
> although these are usually termed 'raw', these
> aren't actually raw, although I'm unsure of the
> details of processing.
>
> Even when I was in Thailand, the peanuts in shells
> there weren't raw either. Pity. I asked the lady
> in the Thai market whether they were cooked, and
> she said 'yes, cooked!' delightedly.

Man... well I would be really sad and shocked if I found that even the ones in their hulls aren't raw. I'll agree that the ones with vegetable oil made me a tad unsettled before, but then there are ones with peanut oil that are labelled as raw... and peanut oil is vegetable oil.

"Even when I was in Thailand, the peanuts in shells there weren't raw either. Pity. I asked the lady in the Thai market whether they were cooked, and she said 'yes, cooked!' delightedly."

Maybe she didn't know herself or took you up wrong or something. Or maybe those ones actually happened to be lightly cooked, even though I can't imagine why. Or maybe she was just trying to sell you the peanuts!!! It even says on the back of the bag I have here: "Raw monkey nuts", and you'd be able to find out what they do to them if they did something to them.

I think they're definitely raw, unless regulations are far worse than any of us ever imagined. We can enjoy peanuts. I'm sorry if I sounded like an ass earlier, but considering I eat so many of them it's not nice to be told that even the ones in their hulls aren't raw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2009 09:50PM by SuperInfinity.

I now believe that if they've got any oil with them they're not raw. I think that the practice of cooking them is really dumb for a few reasons:

1. They hold very well in their hulls for weeks, even if the hulls are exposed to air.
2. They hold a long time raw outside of their shell as well, months if kept airtight. How long do they have to hold? Fruit only lasts a few days or short few weeks at the most.
3. How much does it cost them to do all of that when they could just put it in raw and gain even more customers and say it was an even healthier food???
4. Cooking doesn't change the taste for the better, if anything it actually makes it a bit worse. I thought that was the vegetable/peanut oil I was tasting.
5. So I guess the whole "roasted peanuts" idea is all BS then as the peanuts are all ALREADY ROASTED!!!!
6. While it doesn't say raw IMPLICITLY on these products, I would have thought that plain "peanuts" meant raw peanuts. If you buy "mushrooms" or "apples" you don't expect them to have been heated treated.

I get raw ground nuts straight from the farm, with their hearts in tact and mud on the shells. They're kind of damp. It's hard to eat a lot of them as they are more satisfying than roasted ones.
So i would imagine the ones in bags for sale in UK would have been washed and dried somehow, for storage. In hot places they lay them out on the ground in the sun.

Peanuts that are going to be sitting on a shelf for months need to have some protection from molds and fungus. One way to do this is to cook or dehydrate it, to remove the moisture and make the peanut less likely to go rancid or to spoil or to rot.

Yes, a little more googling reveals the in-shell peanuts would definitely have been dried. It's whether they've been dried at so hot a temperature that the living qualities have gone that's key.

And, of course, the test of that is whether they sprout. Which...is going to be one of my projects this week!

The drying of nuts is a bit of a bummer actually...I tend to stick my neck in the ground re the drying, eg walnuts are thought of as raw in the UK, although could well be dried to very high temperatures. But, although I've sprouted a walnut found in the ground successfully, I've not managed to do that with shop-bought walnuts.

I'm hoping for both our sakes, Superinfinity, that in-shell peanuts will sprout, as I've been avoiding them all these years as not part of the raw diet!

One thing though -'raw' on a label doesn't necessarily mean raw as a raw foodist would understand it. I don't think there are any regulations that govern the use of the word 'raw' in the UK. For example, cashews nuts (that are not roasted) are often labelled raw, but are not remotely raw, having been steamed to remove them from their shells. (I expect you know this, but truly raw cashews, hand-cracked, are available from the online stores such as freshnetwork.com)

I know there will be some people reading this who will think this is nit-picking, but as many of us like to be 100% raw, it's good to have chapter and verse on what nuts (or legumes!) are raw and which aren't.

I have heard that there are no regulations in the US about calling anything raw regardless of processing. A good example of this is "Pepsi Raw" a soft drink that is not a raw food as the raw food community would define it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2009 04:47AM by EZ rider.

A little more googling tells that good "seed peanuts" are delicate and expensive to produce. They have to be promptly dryed at low temperature and then stored in a cool dry place, and that the seed coatings are thin and easily damaged so it is best to store in the shells. [edis.ifas.ufl.edu]

My US grocery chain store sells them in the shell but they are processed (cooked). So if I were looking for truely raw peanuts (and I have) I guess they would be in the refrigerated section or in dated containers? Edit -- more likely to find them online?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2009 02:03PM by loeve.

debbietook Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, a little more googling reveals the in-shell
> peanuts would definitely have been dried. It's
> whether they've been dried at so hot a temperature
> that the living qualities have gone that's key.
>
> And, of course, the test of that is whether they
> sprout. Which...is going to be one of my projects
> this week!
>
> The drying of nuts is a bit of a bummer
> actually...I tend to stick my neck in the ground
> re the drying, eg walnuts are thought of as raw in
> the UK, although could well be dried to very high
> temperatures. But, although I've sprouted a
> walnut found in the ground successfully, I've not
> managed to do that with shop-bought walnuts.
>
> I'm hoping for both our sakes, Superinfinity, that
> in-shell peanuts will sprout, as I've been
> avoiding them all these years as not part of the
> raw diet!
>
> One thing though -'raw' on a label doesn't
> necessarily mean raw as a raw foodist would
> understand it. I don't think there are any
> regulations that govern the use of the word 'raw'
> in the UK. For example, cashews nuts (that are
> not roasted) are often labelled raw, but are not
> remotely raw, having been steamed to remove them
> from their shells. (I expect you know this, but
> truly raw cashews, hand-cracked, are available
> from the online stores such as freshnetwork.com)
>
> I know there will be some people reading this who
> will think this is nit-picking, but as many of us
> like to be 100% raw, it's good to have chapter and
> verse on what nuts (or legumes!) are raw and which
> aren't.

Okay Debbie, the best of luck!!! From what I just read sprouted peanuts actually taste BETTER than when they're not sprouted. With all the peanuts I've had, how can I not already know all of this??? I suppose we live and learn, sometimes the important information comes easy and sometimes it has trouble getting there...

Even if they don't sprout and were sundried for days, I still think they're fine to eat and qualify as being fully raw. Peanuts grow best in direct sun, the only difference is they're taken off the shoot. Seedless grapes won't produce offspring either!!! Melons and other imported fruit could have been sitting there for weeks, with pesticides and all sorts of things put on them to make them last. The peanuts inside don't shrivel up to 1/8th their size like fruit does, they're not even exposed to the sun themselves. So I think maybe people are/were a little unfair to the humble peanut, I personally don't take any other legume or nut, partly because I don't think I'd have managed to open them up consistently in primitive times.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2009 04:34PM by SuperInfinity.

'I personally don't take any other legume or nut, partly because I don't think I'd have managed to open them up consistently in primitive times.'

Aha, but don't you think we've been designed/evolved/whatever to the point where, unlike most other animals, we've been given the brains, the ingenuity, the inventiveness to be able to get inside them? Should we ignore that gift from our maker/evolutionary development (depending on your perspective) and refuse to eat them?

And, even if we couldn't get into them with using our hands thousands of years ago, chances are we'd have used our teeth, as they'd have been in better nick.

I can crack open the hazelnuts in my garden with my teeth. Easily.

Go on, SI...go nuts! Try some creamy almonds...(not pasteurised in UK, before anyone jumps in!),

(I differ from many in raw that I think nuts are...wonderful, tasty little nutrition-packed powerhouses, and they don't give me any digestive problems.)