Photos from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.
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| Carolina Black Peanut |
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| Carolina African Runner Peanut |
The green peanuts (small soft ones) need to be picked within a week and boiled….this is a real delicacy…you can’t get green peanuts in the store because they spoil within 10-14 days of harvesting. https://www.boiled-peanut-world.com/green-peanuts.html “Real boiled peanuts are made with fresh, green nuts, so they're a seasonal treat of autumn. To make this delicacy, wash immature pods very well, and place them in a pot of very salty water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. Drain, cool and enjoy. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.”
The rest need to cured (kept in a warm and dry spot) for 1-2
weeks, then they can be roasted with or without the shell on, or boiled.
Green Peanuts: Since peanuts mature at different rates, many of
the peanuts are must boil, roast, or freeze them within a few days of
their harvest. Until cooked or frozen, green raw peanuts must be stored in a
well ventilated, dry, cool location. They need to be refrigerated immediately since
they tend to rot very soon, within a week (or in best case 10-12 days) even
when stored in the best of conditions (well ventilated, dry, cool location).
Boiling Green Peanuts:
Real boiled peanuts are made with fresh, green nuts, so they're a seasonal treat of autumn. To make this delicacy, wash immature pods very well, and place them in a pot of very salty water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. Drain, cool and enjoy. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Curing: Ripe peanuts have a lot of moisture in them when first harvested, so they have to cure for a week or two somewhere warm and dry. (Ours are in the greenhouse.)
Peanut Storage: Once the nuts are properly cured, peanut storage should occur in mesh bags stored in a cool, well ventilated area until you choose to roast them. Peanuts do have high oil content, and as such, will eventually go rancid. To lengthen the life of your peanuts, store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several months or in the freezer for several years.
Boiling Green Peanuts:
Real boiled peanuts are made with fresh, green nuts, so they're a seasonal treat of autumn. To make this delicacy, wash immature pods very well, and place them in a pot of very salty water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. Drain, cool and enjoy. Leftovers may be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Curing: Ripe peanuts have a lot of moisture in them when first harvested, so they have to cure for a week or two somewhere warm and dry. (Ours are in the greenhouse.)
Peanut Storage: Once the nuts are properly cured, peanut storage should occur in mesh bags stored in a cool, well ventilated area until you choose to roast them. Peanuts do have high oil content, and as such, will eventually go rancid. To lengthen the life of your peanuts, store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several months or in the freezer for several years.
Roasting Peanuts:
1.
Place
raw peanuts, in shell or shelled, one layer deep in a
shallow baking pan. Sprinkle salt over.
2.
Roast in
a 350 degree F oven; 15 to 20 minutes for shelled and 20 to 25 minutes for in
shell peanuts.
3.
Remove
from heat just short of doneness desired, as peanuts continue to cook
as they cool.
Carolina African Runner Peanut
According to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: [Brought to the US in the 1600s by West
African slaves, this is the original American peanut] Thought to be
extinct since the 1930s, until Dr. David Shields tracked down a small sample in
NC State University’s seed archives. From a 2013 planting of 20 seeds, Brian
Ward of Clemson’s Coastal Research and Education Center has been building up
the population. The peanuts are smaller, denser, and oilier than other peanuts,
and sweeter than Virginia peanuts. Historically, they were used for making
peanut oil, used in savory dishes, desserts, and beverages, and later for
peanut butter.
Carolina Black Peanut
According to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange: One of the varieties grown during
the 1800s was the African peanut (also known as the N. Carolina peanut). It may
have been a black peanut, possibly the same as ‘Carolina Black.’ According to
food historian William Woys Weaver, the black peanut may have been used as a substitute
for Black Bambarra (African ground nut) by the black community. Black Bambarra
is important in African folk medicine as an aphrodisiac. The N. Carolina
climate won’t support black Bambarra, but black pea- nuts grow there without
difficulty. Carolina Black produces sweet-tasting, black-skinned peanuts that
are slightly larger than Spanish peanuts. 2-3 seeds/ pod.