# What did the first peanut butter taste like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540 "2011-05-03T02:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/1 "2011-05-03T02:26:57Z")
What did GW Carver’s first recipe taste like? Was it anything like modern PB? ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/2 "2011-05-03T02:44:00Z")
Of all the wonderful uses for peanuts that G.W. Carver came up with, peanut butter isn’t one of them. [About.com](http://About.com) article: \*[Who Invented Peanut Butter?](http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpeanutbutter.htm) \*[Whoinventedit.net](http://Whoinventedit.net) article: _[Who Invented Peanut Butter?](http://www.whoinventedit.net/who-invented-peanut-butter.html)_ I suggest that if you used a food processor to grind dry-roasted peanuts into a paste, it would taste rather like the first peanut butter. You may discover that while the flavor is good, you might want to tinker with the ingredients list to add oil to smooth the mix and aid spreadability, something sweet (honey, molasses or sugar) or savory (salt) to adjust the flavor to suit you. Which is what actually happened, more or less. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/3 "2011-05-03T02:45:32Z")
Carver definitely did not invent peanut butter. > **[Who Created Peanut Butter? Historians Aren't Sure](https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-peanut-butter-4082744)** > > Peanut butter has been around since ancient times, but the kind that comes in a jar was an all-American creation. > [@](#): > > Peanut butter was invented and reinvented many times during history. Peanuts were known as early as 950 B.C. and originated in South America. The ancient Incas used peanuts and were known to have made it into a paste-like substance… > > According to the Corn Products Company, Dr. Ambrose Straub of St. Louis patented a peanut butter-making machine in 1903 and some unknown doctor invented peanut butter in 1890. [However](http://www.enotes.com/science-fact-finder/food-nutrition/who-invented-peanut-butter): > [@](#): > > earlier evidence of the existence of peanut butter can be found in South American and Asian cooking, and in African cooking in the United States. A note in an 1883 Savannah newspaper suggests that peanut butter was already a Georgian favorite. Whatever. It probably tasted like healthy food store peanut butter today. Just peanuts. Maybe with salt, maybe not. > [@](#): > > By 1900 grocers were selling it by the pound in big tubs, stirring the oil that rose to the top. In the 1920s, sweeteners and hydrogenated fats were added to peanut butter. (Hydrogenated fat is a combination of hydrogen and unsaturated oil. This produces a solid fat and prevents oil separation.) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/4 "2011-05-03T02:49:02Z")
This looks like it may be the recipe he developed from this [site](http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/guides/carver_peanut.html). It doesn’t look like it’s as sweet as say Skippy. NO. 7, PUREE OF PEANUTS NUMBER TWO (EXTRA FINE) Take 1 pint of peanuts; roast until the shells rub off easily (do not brown); grind very fine; add a saltspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar; pour on boiling water, and stir until thick as cream. Set in double boiler and boil from 8 to 10 hours; set away and allow to get thoroughly cold; turn out. Can be eaten hot or cold. When sliced, rolled in bread crumbs or cracker dust and fried a chicken brown, it makes an excellent substitute for meat. A generous layer between slices of bread makes an excellent sandwich. That [About.com](http://About.com) article says that Carver developed peanut butter before the others, but did not patent it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/5 "2011-05-03T12:15:10Z")
Yes, I know there’s a form of peanut paste that tastes bitter that precedes peanut butter. I’m talking about the early forms of the sweeter, more modern analog. Same as Skippy, or not? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/6 "2011-05-03T12:20:45Z")
The ingredients are fairly simple, and peanuts are peanuts - there’s not a great deal of scope for it to taste radically different from what you can buy today, is there? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/7 "2011-05-03T12:27:20Z")
I think most commercial peanut butters today have molasses added. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/8 "2011-05-03T12:33:45Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Yes, I know there’s a form of peanut paste that tastes bitter that precedes peanut butter. I’m talking about the early forms of the sweeter, more modern analog. Same as Skippy, or not? Probably not as sweet. Pepper mill is a fan of “natural” peanut butter, like the locally-produced Teddy brand peanut butter. Once you taste it you’ll realize that Skippy and Jif and Peter Pan have been sweetening the stuff. It’s good, but it’s an acquired taste. (It also tends to separate into “whey” and oil, so you have to stir it before spreading. And store it in the fridge after it’s been opened.) ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/9 "2011-05-03T13:20:21Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I think most commercial peanut butters today have molasses added. This is not true in the US. Some products include honey, but it is typically stated on the front of the jar. Going by memory, the standard of identity for peanut butter in the US is: -at least 90% peanut product -salt, natural sweetener (usually sugar), and stabilizer. Full disclosure, I work for the company that makes Skippy. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/10 "2011-05-03T13:25:38Z")
> [@SSgtBaloo](#): > > Of all the wonderful uses for peanuts that G.W. Carver came up with, peanut butter isn’t one of them. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Carver definitely did not invent peanut butter. The invention of peanut butter cannot be credited to one individual. It is believed to have been the Incas that invented it. While Carver did not invent peanut butter, he is credited for it’s popularity in the U.S. and for the proliferation of peanuts as a cash crop in the southern U.S. in the late 1800’s. Carver is also credited for encouraging Alabaman’s to eat tomatoes, which were considered a decorative fruit and not widely planted or consumed. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/11 "2011-05-03T14:09:50Z")
The earliest peanut butter was probably like the kind I eat today: just peanuts and salt. It’s one of my favorite foods, but the addition of other ingredients makes it disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/12 "2011-05-03T14:43:03Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > This is not true in the US. Some products include honey, but it is typically stated on the front of the jar. > > Going by memory, the standard of identity for peanut butter in the US is: > -at least 90% peanut product > -salt, natural sweetener (usually sugar), and stabilizer. > > Full disclosure, I work for the company that makes Skippy. I guess some do and some don’t. [Jif](http://www.jif.com/Products/Details?categoryId=339&productId=954): “MADE FROM PEANUTS, SUGAR, PALM OIL, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, MOLASSES.” [Peter Pan Honey Roast Crunchy](http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Pan-Crunchy-16-3-Ounce-Plastic/dp/B002O12YHA): Peanut Butter (Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils [Cottonseed And Rapeseed], Molasses, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil), Sugar And Honey. Contains: Peanuts. Jif has sugar much higher on the list than molasses; Peter Pan (despite being called “Honey Roast,” has more molasses and sugar than it has honey) has it lower. I wonder how much molasses is used for color rather than for sweetener. ETA: I’m probably not reading that right. First they have the parentheses, and then the brackets. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/13 "2011-05-03T14:43:15Z")
Yeah I’m with **panache45**. The kind I eat is from Trader Joe’s and it’s just peanuts and salt. It tastes like mashed peanuts and salt. To me, other peanut butters taste like sugar. In fact this weekend I tried both kinds together (I had a jar of Jif and a jar of Trader Joe’s) and they taste quite different. If you compare them side-by-side, the amount of sugar in “regular peanut butter” will knock your socks off. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/14 "2011-05-03T15:01:32Z")
Besides the natural peanuts-and-salt-only peanut butter in jars, I’ve been in stores that you can get fresh-ground peanut butter. In the bulk bin section, there’s a machine with a big hopper full of (probably lightly salted) peanuts on top, and a grinder below. Put your container underneath, turn it on, and turn it off when your container is full of fresh peanut butter. So the difference between that and the first peanut butter would be solely due to the difference between the first peanuts and modern varieties. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/15 "2011-05-03T15:24:53Z")
Anyone else recall the toy that made peanut butter? > **[mr\* peanut \*butter maker for sale | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=mr*%2Bpeanut%2B*butter%2Bmaker)** > > Get the best deals for mr\* peanut \*butter maker at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/16 "2011-05-03T16:06:50Z")
American Dad already took care of this one, but I can’t divulge the secrets of the Illuminuti. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/17 "2011-05-03T16:27:46Z")
At my local gourmet store (HEB Central Market), they have peanut butter machines that make what I imagine the first peanut butter tasted like. It’s basically a big grinder with a hopper full of peanuts on top (salted or unsalted) and you put your container under the spout, hold down the button, and it poops out a big turd of peanut butter into your container. Basically it’s not terribly sweet- like ground up peanuts basically. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/18 "2011-05-03T18:42:13Z")
> [@bump](#): > > like ground up peanuts basically. Would’ve never guessed that. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/19 "2011-05-03T19:49:53Z")
It turns out that if you grind up peanuts, it tastes very much like the first peanut butter. Also, the first applesauce was probably nothing more than mashed up cooked apples. I guess I’m just so used to plain peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts, salt) that it’s hard for me to remember that most people eat stuff loaded with sugar and hydrogenated oils. But it ain’t like the concept of peanut butter–take some peanuts and grind them–is mysterious. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540/20 "2011-05-03T20:59:26Z")
Also: > [@Jack Handy](#): > > Probably the earliest fly swatters were nothing more than some sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-the-first-peanut-butter-taste-like/580540.md?page=2)