Wikipedia Abstract
Peanut butter (also known as peanut paste) is a food paste made primarily from ground roasted peanuts, with or without added oil. It is popular primarily in the United States, and Saudi Arabia. According Andrew F. Smith's book, Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea [University of Illinois Press, 2002] the earliest candidate for the invention of peanut butter was Rose Davis who lived in Alligerville, New York, in the 1840s. According to New York historian Eleanor Rosakranse, writes Smith, "Rose Davis's son, Ross, traveled to Cuba, where he saw women grind peanuts and smear the paste on bread. Ross told his mother about the practice, and she employed the peanut paste for making sandwiches." In 1890, George A. Bayle Jr. began to sell ground peanut paste as a vegetarian protein supplement for people with bad teeth. In 1893, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg originated an early variety of peanut butter at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Kellogg, along with his brother, W.K. Kellogg, patented a process for making peanut butter in 1895, but it used steamed peanuts rather than roasted peanuts. Contrary to popular belief, the agronomist George Washington Carver did not actually play a role in the creation of modern-day peanut butter. Peanut butter was made in Australia by Edward Halsey for Sanitarium Health Food Company on May 29, 1899 and was sold as early as June 16. Peanut butter was widely introduced in 1904 by C.H. Sumner at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (Saint Louis World's Fair) Swift & Company adopted the technology for their E.K Pond peanut butter which they had introduced somewhat earlier in 1920. In 1928 they changed the name to "Peter Pan". Peter Pan was originally packaged in a tin can with a turn key and re-closable lid but switched to glass during World War II because of metal shortages. In 1932, Rosefield left that company. He formed the Rosefield Packing Co. and began selling "Skippy" peanut butter in 1933. Peanut butter became a very profitable business in the United States. Currently, the best-selling American brand is Jif, a product introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1958. Jif is now made by the J.M Smucker Company. Kraft peanut butter is the most popular in Canada. Kraft currently produces peanut butter for the Canadian and Australian markets. Australian health food company Sanitarium Health Food Company has been making commercial peanut butter since 1898. There also exist other nut butters, made from almond, cashew, and hazelnut, such as Nutella."
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