Who invented Peanut Butter?

Peanut butter is every kid’s favorite food. From celery stick dips to sandwich spread, all mothers swear by peanut butter. The American Culture is obsessed with the creamy yet chunky flavor of the peanut butter and hence has made it one of the highest-selling food products. Presently about $800 has been spent annually on purchases of peanut butter.

What’s more is that the utterly delicious peanut butter even has a day in its honor. National Peanut Butter Day, which is celebrated on January 24 every year, is every fan’s favorite day in the calendar. But do we know who the real face of this genius invention is? Let’s find out.

Who Invented Peanut Butter?

Peanut butter’s invention has been credited to some people beginning from the Aztec Times. It is said that peanut butter was invented by the Aztec people who mashed roasted peanuts into a smooth paste. Later, the invention of peanut butter was attributed to George Washington Carver, who actually didn’t invent the concept but promoted its usage along with other 300 products.

It was in 1884 when Marcellus Gilmore Edson, Canada patented peanut butter along with its process which involved its manufacturing and machinery. He named his product as ‘peanut-candy.' Peanut butter was conceived as a flavoring paste, and the process thus involved converting the roasted peanuts into a fluid or semi-fluid paste that cooled down to a thick butter or ointment. So, people started believing that peanut butter was invented by him. Later in 1895, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, who created Kellogg’s cereal patented another process of producing peanut butter which used raw peanuts. He promoted his product as a healthy alternative for teeth-less patients. 1903 witnessed another name, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis, from Missouri who patented the peanut butter-making machine. Following this chemist Joseph Rosefield, in 1922 furthered the invention and processed smooth peanut butter which helped in keeping the oil from separating by using partial amounts of hydrogenated oil. He licensed his invention to Peter Pan peanut butter company in 1928 and by 1932 began producing his peanut butter under the name ‘Skippy.'

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Just as interesting is the history of peanut butter’s invention, is the history of how was it made. Supposedly, the peanuts that were used for making peanut butter were first cultivated about 3000 years ago in the lands of South America. The process involved mashing of roasted peanuts between two hot utensils. The final product tasted way more different from how peanut butter tastes today. Another version of the story marked its beginning in the 19th century when farmers commercialized the cultivation of peanuts after the civil war.

There’s another historian named Eleanor Rosakranse who credited Rose Davis, who on her son’s insistence made the peanut butter around the 1840’s.

George A. Bayle, a St. Louis based businessman began the packaging and selling of peanut butter via his food manufacturing company. The idea was said to be a collaboration of Bayle and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg who wanted to find a way to feed their patients who in the absence of teeth were not able to chew any other food item. They advertised the product claiming that they were the ‘Original Manufacturers of Peanut Butter’.

On the one hand, when it was said that both men came up with the idea together, on the other hand, some believed that it was the genius of Dr. John Harvey Kellogg alone who received his well-deserved patent in 1896. He (mass) advertised the product by traveling to vast lengths. He delivered lectures on the health benefits of peanut butter and even served it to his patients in the Battle Creek Sanitarium health Centre. He later came to be known as the ‘Father of modern-day peanut butter.'

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We may not have come out with a certain name of the inventor, but peanut butter’s invention has been a blessing to the 20th century. Whoever it was, he (or she) surely knew what was needed to make the world a better place to live in. A peanut butter toast with a glass of milk, what else do you want?

Can you imagine a life without peanut butter? Let us know in the comment section below.

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