As a kid in Norway I almost never saw peanuts roasted in the shell. It was an exotic oddity in the grocery store from time to time, and I can’t remember ever buying any.
I’ve had them as an adult though and recently, not looking too carefully while grocery shopping through a website, got a large bag salted and roasted in the shell. I sort of enjoy them, it’s a fun little ritual. But it’s also a messy business and slow going. Other than slightly decreasing the contamination risk of shared bar snacks, what is the point of peanuts in the shell?
Also, are there any good videos on YouTube showing how a shelling machine works? I seem to either find lengthy industry videos showing ever step of the way from seed to bag, but glossing over how the actual shelling works, or manufacturer videos showing which bearings to grease and how often.
Like pistachios, I prefer peanuts in a shell. I think working for each morsel kind of makes you appreciate them more. It also slows down your consumption so you can enjoy them longer. I think the same theory holds for shellfish.
My personal life hack. I keep cashews in a paper bag. Then I leave that bag in the car during summer. So every time I go for a ride, I have myself a nice toasty treat. Just like at the ballpark.
I used to throw a handful of peanuts out on the deck when I heard bluejays calling. They would each land like little blue bandits, sort thru the peanuts to find a ‘good one’, and take off with their prizes. Sometimes swallowing one into their gullet, the other in beak. It got, of course, too messy eventually. Now I throw a handful of shelled ground up bird-food peanuts.
I buy them by the 25 pound box and feed them to the jays and squirrels (and the occasional crow) all winter. They’re so used to me now that they come right down onto the deck, look me in the eye and then do a grab and go.
IMHO pistachios degrade rapidly once shelled. Texture gets softer and chewier - blech.
Peanuts on the other hand seem to hold up reasonably fine on their own. I’m not typically a big peanut fan, but I do like Feridies. Large and very crunchy.
Tried them in South Carolina and much to the amazement and mild disgust of my SC born and bred friend I pronounced them “meh” . Didn’t hate them, but I wasn’t blown away either. And these were genuine back-country boiled peanuts, procured from a stand that was also selling “lizzards” (salamanders) for fishing bait.
. Didn’t hate them, but I wasn’t blown away either. And these were genuine back-country boiled peanuts, procured from a stand that was also selling “lizzards” (salamanders) for fishing bait.