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Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food

Online ISBN:
9780231530934
Print ISBN:
9780231162333
Publisher:
Columbia University Press
Book

Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food

Published:
24 June 2014
Online ISBN:
9780231530934
Print ISBN:
9780231162333
Publisher:
Columbia University Press

Abstract

This book is a popular history of peanut butter, the all-American comfort food that is found in the pantries of at least seventy-five percent of American kitchens. The book shows that, to a surprising extent, the story of peanut butter is the story of twentieth-century America. It details the wide variety of ways in which Americans enjoy peanut butter, shows just how much of the product is consumed each year and provides an explanation for why it is such a deeply ingrained staple of an American childhood. It draws on anecdotes and facts culled from interviews, research, travels in the peanut-growing regions of the South, personal stories and recipes. It covers the stories of Jif, Skippy, Peter Pan, the plight of black peanut farmers, the resurgence of natural or old-fashioned peanut butter, the reasons why Americans like peanut butter better than (almost) anyone else and the five ways in which today's product is different from the original. It also looks at the role of peanut butter in fighting Third World hunger and details the Salmonella outbreaks of 2007 and 2009, which threatened peanut butter's sacred place in the American cupboard.

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