Name: Stewed Peanuts
Ingredients: 1 pint raw peanuts; 2 quarts water; ¼ teaspoon salt

Stewed Peanuts

Oven, in the book's wordsA slow oven

Ingredients

1 pint raw peanuts
2 quarts water
¼ teaspoon salt

Directions

The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the peanuts

Shell the raw peanuts.
Blanch them by pouring boiling water over them. Let them sit for a few minutes.
Rub off the skins.

Stew

In a bean pot, combine the blanched peanuts and water. Heat to boiling.
Place in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) and cook for 9 to 10 hours.
Add salt to taste.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Raw peanuts: Provide the main ingredient that softens into a tender, creamy stew during long cooking.
Water: Covers the peanuts and cooks them gently, softening the nuts through slow simmering.

The step that matters

Place in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) and cook for 9 to 10 hours. Long, gentle heat lets the starches and tough cell walls of the peanuts break down slowly. Too hot an oven can scorch the bottom or boil the liquid away before the nuts become tender.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.