So I have a pretty severe peanut allergy which means Ive never purposely ate a peanut and have therefore never tasted one without being in panic mode. People have told me that they taste like regular nuts which just makes me more confused. If you were given a selection of other nuts like cashews and almonds, what would compel you to go out of your way for peanuts? A lot of my friends who like them can’t even explain why they like them.
I know that most people like them salted or roasted. Is it just a fidget exercise when you eat them plain?
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It’s not everybody I know but a lot of my friends get peanuts as a snack food pretty regularly
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There are certain qualities that other nuts have that people might not like.
Almonds can be bitter, walnuts have a weird “drying” quality to the oil in them that might just feel weird, Brazil nuts are kinda bland. Cashews and peanuts are probably the most imitate and “middle of the road” while still having decent flavor and crunch, and peanuts are cheaper.
I am not much of a fan of nuts in general: I don’t really like the flavours.
Peanuts are not ‘nuts’ of course, and to me it is precisely because they DON’T taste like ‘regular nuts’ that I am more attracted to them - although they are still a long way from the top of my savoury snack list.
Peanuts taste creamier than other nuts which aren’t very substance-filled by comparison; ironically this might explain how peanut allergies work.
Peanuts taste creamier than other nuts
I think cashews might just take that award.
I think this is why cashew based dairy-free cheese is better than every other type of fake cheese, in that it behaves the most like real cheese (it actually melts)
Hello again.
When I was in one of my pizza-making phases a few years back, I bought some cashews, roasted and ground them in to butter, and got everything else ready. One taste of the cashew butter and the plans were quickly scuttled, with me having a load of calories to work off in the following weeks. Never did find out about the melting. >_<
The thing that tastes “creamy” is the saturated fat, the same type of fat in butter and cheese. Peanuts are around 6.3% saturated fat by mass, and cashews are 7.9%.
So you’re right on: cashews are creamier.
The thing that tastes “creamy” is the saturated fat
Interesting, Dr Cog, but isn’t it also possible that it’s more than just sat fat at work?For example-- let’s say we placed three equal mixtures of sat fat side-by-side, each symbolically representing peanuts, cashews, and ‘brand X.’
Now, via the mixture application of esters, aromatic compounds, and whatever else, would it not be possible to mix up one candidate as ‘creamier’ than the other? And if so, then wouldn’t that tend to suggest that sat fat wasn’t the only player in the ‘creaminess equation?’
NOTE: Not trying to be argumentative or assholery, here. I appreciate the knowledge you brought, but I want to understand better as a cook with as much science aid as possible.
Oh, it’s definitely likely to be more than just saturated fats at play. My post was a) a gross oversimplification, and b) probably missing some nuance that I’m not informed on. My doctorate is in cognitive psychology, not nutrition science :)
My doctorate is in cognitive psychology, not nutrition science :)
Oh, hey! Is that still a thing? I.e. the ‘Penn School approach?’ Bahh… I have my local pride, after all, yet still… Cheesesteaks! :D
I like them all, but they are very different so it’s a bit like asking why you like apples when there are also bananas and pears available.
So about peanuts, I guess their selling point is the crunchiness and the particular smell. They’re pretty great salted too, possibly the best salted nut.
Boiled Peanuts enters the chat
Peanuts go well with chocolate, and I sometimes use them in a stew, but for snacking, they’re nowhere near as good as pistachios or cashews.
They’re relatively cheap and provide a lot of nutritional value for the weight - I buy them in big bags straight from the farmer’s market. Tree nuts (peanuts aren’t actually nuts at all - they’re legumes) are literally a luxury only the rich can afford in my country these days - kind of ironic since we’re the world’s top producer of macademia nuts.
Roasting them is actually important since that degrades aflatoxins - they also just taste better.
If you divide the flavor by the cost, they come out as a compelling snack option for us working-class folk.
Most other nuts are better, but their superior flavor scales nonlinearly with the cost – definitely worse than O(n), probably about O(n^x). So for people that enjoy peanuts at approximately the population median value, they achieve more enjoyment by buying more peanuts compared to a smaller quantity of other, more delicious nuts.
So sort of the same reason more burgers are eaten in the USA than steaks. Or more instant noodles than braised abalone, in my part of the world.
Inasmuch as it’s hard to explain why I like anything, peanuts are filling, and taste like oil, protein and salt. They have a nice smell. A bit similar to roasted chickpeas, but richer and oilier.
Just for fun – Professor Science says that none of the items we are discussing are nuts. Cashews and almonds are drupes and peanuts are legumes.
They are one of the better nuts.
I mean, I prefer them because they’re legumes, so they don’t cause me to go into anaphylactic shock, but that’s just me.
Peanuts are gross, I avoid them. I’m not allergic, but they are just so mealy and dry, cloying in scent and taste, overpowering everything they are in. I’d rather remain hungry than eat any peanuts.
Pistachios are amazing though, maybe the best tasting nuts/seeds I’ve encountered. Almonds are also quite good, and sunflower seeds by the handful are so tasty.
