Boiled Peanuts. Acute Colic and Family Notions

I was brought up on a farm in Southside Virginia where peanuts were an important crop. When I was a child, the peanuts, which are not a nut and which grow under ground, were harvested and then piled up around a tall, sturdy stick to dry in the sun. A city friend of mine, meaning she was from 5,000 person Emporia, thought the peanut shocks were peanut trees. I've tried to find out why the stacks were called "shocks", but have come up empty. This may mean I haven't looked hard enough or that I remember the word incorrectly. Much later on, the family farmers began to use large dryers instead, and I remember how loud the fans sounded. The peanuts were sold, of course, but some were always kept back so that the families had some to cook from time to time.

Mother did what she called "parching" the peanuts. This usually meant roasting them in their shells, but occasionally we would shell them first. I remember that they needed to be stirred quite frequently and checked for doneness. This was particularly true when they had been shelled because they cooked much more quickly, and a scorched peanut tastes nasty and smells p the house. My bedroom opened right into the kitchen, so cooking smells were important to me.

Some people rubbed off the skins and cooked the peanuts in oil, but if I remember correctly, Mother rarely did that. She did make peanut brittle at Christmas time. SIL Pat and Del loved to get a box of it. Bubba and I were less trouble. He liked chocolate covered cherries, and I liked "silver tops" (Hershey's kisses).

Having grown up in Georgia, Del's folks loved boiled peanuts, but had a difficult time getting Virginia farmers to sell them freshly harvested "green" peanuts. At that time, we Virginians were of the opinion that green peanuts would make you sick. My uncle Big Bubba believed they would give you the Acute colic and you would surely die. Acute was pronounced with a long /A/, the emphasis was on the first syllable, and it was always proceeded by the word "the". Somehow that sounded much more serious to us kids than if it had been pronounced as it was intended to be. Big Bubba also thought that eating watermelon and drinking co-cola would result in the acute colic and sure death. Big Bubba was not always right, but he was certainly confident in his opinions. He was the oldest of the Robinson siblings, after all.

The first time Del came to the farm during peanut harvest, he asked if he could buy some of the freshly harvested peanuts. This presented a problem. On the one hand, they didn't want to offend a potential prospect. The Robinson women of the previous generation were both old maids, after all. On the other hand, they didn't want to kill him off, and it was well known that green peanuts would, well, you know... What to do? What to do? He assured Mother and Daddy and my uncle garland that his family had eaten boiled green peanuts forever without a bit of trouble, so in the end, he was given a mess of peanuts to take to his parents, but not before yet another warning that they would get the Acute colic and surely die.
The first time I ate Mrs. Williams' boiled peanuts, I was surprised at how good they tasted - very much like black eyed peas. What's not to like? The Williams would assure you that my assessment is just wrong, of course. I learned to make them according to her method, so, once again, it's more a process than a recipe.

Now a days I have seen boiled peanuts for sale in service stations in Virginia, so I guess that as we began to travel more, brave Virginians decided that if they didn't kill everybody else, they wouldn't kill us either.

A man in Huntsville, Alabama used to sell them by the "dip" from an iron pot by the side of the road, and Del swears they were great, but I could not make myself eat anything that came out of that nasty looking slimy water. One of Del's great pleasures was to take northern visiters to the University out to a really nice lunch and then drive them by for a dip of boiled peanuts. I don't know that he ever converted anyone, but he never failed to amuse himself.

Boiled peanuts:

2 lb. GREEN peanuts - dried or roasted will not do, so don't even try

1 3/4 - 2 cups salt

water to cover peanuts by 2 at least 2 inches.

Dissolve 1 3/4 cups salt in a couple of gallons of water. Add peanuts and add more water as needed to have them covered by at least 2 inches. Mrs. Williams always put a heat safe plate on top to keep the peanuts from floating to top of water. Cover pot turn heat to high until the water boils. Reduce the heat so the water simmers. Stir every 20 minutes or so and be sure to add more water to keep level 2 inches above the peanuts. Be sure to bring water back to boil each time you add water and then reduce to simmer.

After about 4 hours, check one of the peanuts to see if it is beginning to taste salty. If not, add the remaining 1/4 cup salt. Cook for 2 more hours and check for desired texture. Ms. Williams cooked them until they were quite tender, so it could take as much as 7-8 hours. She would taste for salt, and if they weren't salty enough, she would leave them in the liquid in the refrigerator over night. Then she would drain them and store them tightly covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. She often put some in zip lock bags and froze them for later. I'm guessing she always cooked a large batch because it took so long to cook them.

You can eat the peanuts hot or cold, and they are kind of messy. The proper way of eating seems to be to open the peanut, slurp up the nuts and the liquid in the shell, chew and swallow.

Note: Treat the green peanuts as you would other fresh vegetables. Refrigerate as soon as you get home and refrigerate cooked peanuts for 3-4 days, or freeze. I suppose you could freeze raw green peanuts in the shell, but I don't really know.