Green peanuts: Is it different from raw peanuts?
Who does not love peanuts in their super delicious nutty flavor? But most people don’t know peanuts can be enjoyed in boiled form too. “Boiled peanuts have been a staple of Southern cuisine since the 1800s. You can find boiled peanuts just about anywhere in the South, usually boiled with salt or a “Cajun style” spice.” Nathan Watson – August 15, 2019.
But, without peanut experts, no one knows well about green peanuts. It is also difficult for them to differentiate between raw peanuts and green peanuts.
So, here we are to give you an obvious idea of these two peanuts, their differences, way of cooking, health benefits and also recipes. Have a look.
What is a Green peanut?
Green peanuts are raw peanuts that result from fresh harvesting and perishable. They come with a full moisturizer directly from the soil. They have a high moisture content of 35 to 50%. Most people consider green peanuts for boiling only for the freshness.
They are only available during harvest season and no need for any dehydration. So you need to refrigerate as soon as they come because these peanuts rot quickly.
Anyone can easily find them in a grocery store, farmer markets, or food distributors during the growing season, and they directly come from the forest. If you want to store this peanut for a long time, you will need to store it in a well-ventilated, dry cool location. But if you don’t freeze them, they will spoil even stored under the best conditions.
Key differences between green peanuts and raw peanuts:
As both peanuts are used for boiling, there have some differences between the two. Let’s have a look at it.
Raw peanuts have a moisture content of around 10% which is less than the green ones. They must need dehydration before boiling. For this purpose, they are kept in salted water overnight, and then they are used for boiling for long time storage with the shell. After that, they can be used conventionally.
Raw peanuts take a longer time to cook than green peanuts because they are dried. It takes around four to seven hours depending on quantity. You can add flavor or seasoning at the time of boiling. After boiling, the peanuts turn out very soft in the shell which one can enjoy entirely.
Green peanuts need at least 1 hour of boiling for cooking compared to raw peanuts, and they don’t need any dehydration. One can collect it freshly from the market and can use it for cooking. They are available only in a particular season and one can get them normally from the end of July to late November.
Wherein, raw peanuts are available in all season as they are dehydrated for using a long time.
’The majority of NC (North Caroline) peanuts are consumed out-of-hand as cocktail peanuts, instead of processed into peanut butter or other candies. “(The Free Press).
Are boiled peanuts healthy?
Boiled peanuts provide four times the number of antioxidants than other forms of peanuts. They are also helpful for cancer prevention, reducing inflammation. They also prevent you from cardiovascular diseases.
Green peanuts recipes:
If you never test boiled peanuts, this is the higher opportunity for you to take the taste of peanuts in their boiling form. For that purpose, here we are with some recipes for green peanuts.
Peanuts seasoning:-
Ingredients:-
Raw peanuts: Around 2 pounds
Kosher salt: 1/3 cup
Crushed red pepper: Half teaspoon
Garlic powder: 2 teaspoon
Water: 4+ quarts
How to make:
You can follow various techniques for cooking green peanuts.
Cooking on a pressure cooker:
- First, place the peanuts in a big size bowl.
- Add all the ingredients.
- Add in water.
- Lock the lid and set on the pressure cooker for 77 minutes.
- Then put off the stove and enjoy.
Cooking on pot:
- Take a large pot
- Then add all the food items together and put them in the pot.
- Take enough water to cover the peanuts.
- Then cover the pot and bring it to the bowl.
- Then, stir the peanuts well and let them cook in the lower heat.
- Cover and cook for around 2-3 hours.
- If need adds in more warm water later.
- Then check it out and enjoy.
It depends on you what texture actually you like to eat. Some like soft and swallow peanuts, some like little hard like the chickpea. However, it is best to try them at different stages of cooking and decide for yourself.
Boiled peanut nutrition:
1 cup boiled peanuts serve:-
Calories: 333kal
Carbohydrates: 11 gm
Protein:15gm
Fat:29 gm
Saturated fat: 4gm
Fibre:6 gm
Calcium:83gm
In conclusion, the unique fact about Green peanuts is their freshness and flavor. You get them within a week of digging. They take a shorter time to eat than raw peanuts and serve more nutrition.