Peanuts

Peanuts are one of the most popular snacks in the world. Even though we call them nuts, they are really legumes, like peas and beans. They grow under the ground, not on trees. Peanuts have a soft shell and two or three nuts inside.

How Peanuts Grow

Peanut plants are small bushes with yellow flowers. After the flowers bloom, they bend down and push into the soil. The peanuts then grow underground in their shells. Farmers dig up the whole plant to harvest them. Peanuts first came from South America and are now grown in many warm places around the world, including the southern United States.

Peanut Butter and More

Peanut butter is one of the most famous foods made from peanuts. It was made popular by a scientist named George Washington Carver, who found hundreds of uses for peanuts. People also eat peanuts roasted, boiled, or in candy bars. Peanuts have lots of protein that helps your body grow. Some people are allergic to peanuts and must be very careful not to eat them.

Fun Facts

• It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter.
• Peanuts are also called goobers or groundnuts.
• Two U.S. presidents, Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter, were peanut farmers.

Did You Know?

Peanuts are not really nuts at all. They belong to the same plant family as beans, peas, and lentils.