Who invented honey-roasted peanuts?

Cafe Society
1

Google and Wiki have failed me. I first remember having them on a USAir flight in the mid-1980s, and there was a gag about them on The Golden Girls right about then. It wasn’t long after that that you could buy them in stores, and now they’re pretty widely available.

2

William T. Honeyroast.

3

A patent was issues in 1989 to these men:

Inventors
Holloway, Jr., Oris E.
Wilkins, Howard
Gannis, Peter M.
Assignee
Nabisco Brands, Inc.
I suspect however that it wasn’t the actual inventors.

4

This link says it was a food scientist named Bill Hoover at NCSU who got a patent on them in 1987.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/21/1003843/food-scientists-legacy-is-in-your.html#ixzz1Eb48fwVe

I did a quick check and it found this patent:

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=Pa82AAAAEBAJ&dq=Maurice+W.+Hoover&num=10

However further searching revealed an earlier patent by Hoover in 1978 which is referenced by some Nabisco patents.

http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=id59AAAAEBAJ&dq=honey+roasted+peanuts&num=10

I think this patent is what makes Hoover the father of honey roasted nuts, but there may be different techniques for honey roasting.

5

Planters probably.

6

Hmmm. I know I had them before 1987…

7

Well the earliest patent for honey roasting is from 1978 and I suspect honey roasting existed as a kitchen recipe before that. A lot of the roasting patents are probably process improvements to produce a better or cheaper product or attempts to circumvent earlier patents.

8

Great work, JoelUpchurch.

I find the first ads in newspapers for them from 1978, which would fit with Joel’s dates. They were the Fisher brand, by Beatrice.

9

Mr. Peanut?

10

Thanks, JoelUpchurch and samclem. Good to know.

11

Wow, I wouldn’t have even thought to look for an inventor. I learned something today! :slight_smile:

12

Ha!

13

You should watch some of the Modern Marvels episodes on food tech. There are engineers who have devoted their lives to coming up with new ways of making potato chips.

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/playlists/food#eat-and-run

14

Would it be yummy to make peanut butter from honey roasted peanuts?

15

The inventor actually just died a week or so ago. His obit was in the Chicago Tribune, although I’m having trouble finding it on Google.

16

Please post it if you can find it. What an odd, yet interesting, topic.

17

Very much so; I’ve done it in my Vita-Mix.

18

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/28/2687435/food-scientists-legacy-is-in-your.html

The first link says he died on February 8. Why I wasn’t informed sooner is a real failure in the system.

19

{insert picture of Homer Simpson in food coma}

thanx!

20

Try smearing it on apple slices. Heaven!