# Peanuts in the shell - yea or nay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [April 10, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739 "2021-04-10T12:00:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/41 "2021-04-13T03:57:24Z")
I’ve always loved them boiled, but boiled peanuts are best when harvested younger than the point at which you’d generally harvest them to roast. (They’re still entirely okay boiled when older but they’re a more delicate taste and more tender if you nab 'em younger) ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/42 "2021-04-13T09:45:15Z")
Ooh yeah, I’ve had canned ones. They do not compare well to ones you boil yourself, but yes, it looks like I could get those if I’m desperate enough. Thanks for the link, which I don’t recall seeing when I googled. But I was only looking for the raw peanut to boil myself. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/43 "2021-04-13T10:12:34Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > peanut plants with a ground cover, > Making up more than 80% of the peanuts grown in the U.S., runners are mostly used to make peanut butter and confections.[[1]](https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/more/entertainment/peanut-types.htm#_ftn1) Given that [peanut butter](https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/wellness/the-journey-peanut-butter-jar.htm) is a pantry staple in over [90% of households](https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/9-surprising-facts-about-pbjs.htm), it’s no wonder that 1.3 million acres of runners were planted in 2020 across all [12 major peanut producing states](https://www.nationalpeanutboard.org/peanut-info/peanut-country-usa.htm). The kernels for runner peanuts are mostly uniform in size, which makes them perfect for evenly roasting so that your peanut butter has a consistent taste in every jar. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/44 "2021-04-13T12:01:19Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I have _never_ heard of boiled peanuts. What’s up with that? How do you eat them? What are they like? I’ve never had the southern U.S. version, but I would compare the Asian version (that my wife makes) to edamame. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/45 "2021-04-13T16:31:37Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > My local grocery store sells unshelled peanuts in large burlap bags They have to be green, not roasted. So, I can’t get those here either. At least, not burlap sacks full at the regular grocery store. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/46 "2021-04-13T16:38:08Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > At least, not burlap sacks full at the regular grocery store. Well, I do live in rural South Carolina. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/47 "2021-04-13T16:59:11Z")
Yep, you’ll have the right ones, then. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/48 "2021-04-14T03:21:11Z")
> [@naita](#): > > > [@AHunter3](#): > > > > Too much fibre. > > I’m not eating the shells. Well, I am! Started eating Salted-In-The-Shell peanuts that way as a li’l shaver, at Milwaukee Braves games with my dad. Plenty of salt and crunchy ‘fibre’, and you get your peanuts a lot quicker than taking the time to shell them. Oh, it’s neater, too. Still a favorite snack while driving (I tried shelling them on a car trip once, and made quite the mess). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/49 "2021-04-14T03:37:27Z")
Just thought about how if you buy “unshelled” peanuts they have shells and if you buy “shelled” ones they don’t. Sounds kind of backwards once you think of it. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/50 "2021-04-14T14:13:24Z")
I was just shocked to learn there was no artillery range involved. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2021, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/51 "2021-04-15T12:33:45Z")
Parched, Unsalted, in the shell peanuts are wonderful. I buy a bulk box online. They’re fresher than the ones at the grocery. Salted is ok. But I can only eat a few at a time. The salt makes me queasy if I over indulge. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/52 "2021-04-20T01:38:49Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > The absolute best are roasted salted-in-shell Circus Peanuts. 😅 I imagine those would melt into a gloppy mass of slime mold, but somewhere there’s somebody who likes them that way. [**Cecil Hisself** dissertates on the subject here.](https://www.straightdope.com/21342305/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts) The Old Timers here will certainly remember this column. > **[Does anybody actually like Circus Peanuts?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342305/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts)** [The Teeming Millions react here.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circus-peanuts/465052) > [@Circus Peanuts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/circus-peanuts/465052): > > Regarding Cecil’s column about [Circus Peanuts](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1159/does-anybody-actually-like-circus-peanuts) and the enjoyment thereof … I noticed a couple references to “grandma”, and that made me think of one possible reason why some of us honestly enjoy Circus Peanuts. I’d be willing to bet that most of us got our first taste of this fine candy as a child at Grandma’s house. I certainly did. Assuming that visiting Grandma was typically a pleasant treat (for me, it was always a treat when, several times a year, the family would pile into the car for the … ---
**Author:** ![ASGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@ASGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/53 "2021-05-10T02:52:17Z")
I’m with digs. I will happily eat salted peanuts, shell and all, when the occasion arises. Lot’s of fiber there and it is my personal opinion that the hard-to-break-down shell acts as a scraper for my intestinal tract. Never felt any pain or discomfort by doing so. On the other hand, don’t eat too many at once. I’ve had shell “backup” in the intestine. A lot of water was necessary to clear those shell fragments out. But I continue to enjoy peanuts shell and all. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/54 "2021-05-16T00:23:06Z")
Yea. Unsalted. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/55 "2021-05-16T01:35:03Z")
Yea. Salted or what’s the point. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739/56 "2021-05-16T02:11:21Z")
I found some raw peanuts at my local store yesterday! I’ll be boiling those up pretty soon. I’m going to wait until it’s not quite so hot. Can’t wait. Yum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peanuts-in-the-shell-yea-or-nay/939739.md?page=2)