This weekend we celebrate a Canadian food invention. I wonder if you know what it is…
It was the quintessential sandwich filling of my childhood, and also the main ingredient in a favourite cookie. As a grownup(or should I say “big kid”?), I enjoy it in cheesecake with chocolate or to make a satay out of skewered meat.
Yes, it’s that delectable stick-to-the-roof of your mouth stuff that comes just like life, chunky or smooth – peanut butter.
Peanut butter was first eaten by the ancient Incas and Aztecs, but was not adopted by later civilizations. Modern peanut butter was invented by Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Bedford, Quebec in 1884. He patented a machine that milled roasted peanuts to create a paste.
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yes, that Dr. Kellogg) was the man who took care of the marketing. His machine made peanut butter from raw peanuts; his suggested audience was people who could not chew much solid food. At his Sanitorium (combination spa, medical centre and hotel) his other invention, Corn Flakes, was also served. It was marketed as an anaphrodisiac (the opposite of aphrodisiac), for Mr Kellogg was all about temperance.
Peanut butter was put on the map as a snack food at the Worlds Fair in St. Louis in 1904, and it featured strongly during WW1 when meat was rationed. It was a favourite alternative on the first Meatless Mondays.
The real modern innovation came in 1922 when Joseph Rosefield came up with the idea of using hydrogenated oil to stabilize peanut butter so it would not separate. That increased the shelf life and meant it could be shipped further.
Mr. Rosefield was a peanut butter king of sorts – his brand Skippy is still one of the biggest in the U.S. today. He came up with churning the mixture instead of grinding to make it smoother. He also invented chunky, or crunchy, peanut butter. He even pioneered the wide-mouth jar we all use.
This stuff is a North American phenomenon. I remember trying to get my English students to taste it years ago when I was in France – they were disgusted. My British friends would much rather put Marmite on their toast, thank you very much.
Sunday January 24th is Peanut Butter Day. Do we need to do extra celebrating? Apparently the average North American child eats about 1500 peanut butter sandwiches before they graduate high school. Then there is peanut butter on toast, peanut butter ice cream and cheesecake, Reese’s cups… you get the idea.
Whether you are a smooth or chunky fan, regardless of your preferred brand, I think you will admit that peanut butter is something that binds us all together as North Americans.
Peanut butter seems to defy pomp and ceremony anyway. It is the glue of everyday life. Perhaps that is why it deserves to be lauded. Where would we be without a jar of this wonderful stuff in the cupboard to sustain us?
I’m off to make myself a piece of toast and slice a banana, so I can pay proper homage to that delicious spread. Later I might even whip up a batch of Criss-Cross Cookies
