Peanuts: the homemade crunch 🆙

Peanuts: seeds or legumes?

Le peanuts they are commonly referred to as dried fruit, but actually they are vegetable. They are in fact the seeds of a plant native to South America (also for this reason they are usually called "American peanuts"). Observing them well, in fact, we notice that the shape of peanuts it is very similar to that of beans and which are contained in a small wrinkled pod.

La cultivation peanuts it occurs mainly in South America, but it is also possible in the country. The most valuable are imported from Israel.

How to eat peanuts

In business we find shelled and unshelled peanuts. The pods are collected and dried, in order to remove all the water and keep the oils intact.

Thanks to their monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat content, they can be made into peanut oil and peanut butter.

They are also excellent as appetizing snack: roasted and salted, or natural still to be shelled, they can be easily transported and consumed at any time.

Be warned though: peanuts have a high calorie content (almost 600 calories per 100 g), which increases when they are presented in the form of butter or when they are salted, and even more when consumed in the form of crunchy.

Homemade peanut crunch

Il crispy of peanuts is a delicious and easy to prepare dessert at home.

Ingredients

> 100 g of shelled peanuts, peeled and unsalted;
> 120 g of white sugar;
> a spoonful of honey;
> a tablespoon of lemon juice;
> 25 cc of natural water.

Preparation

Clean the peanuts e break them in two. If you prefer a finer crunch, you can coarsely chop them with a kitchen knife or in a mortar, but be careful to do not grind them into too fine a powder.

Then dissolve the sugar in the water and add the honey; you can choose different types depending on the flavor you want to get.

Add the peanuts while the sugar is still hot and malleable, stir a couple of times with the flame on and then pour it quickly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The consistency must be thick, not liquid, so you can spread everything and shape it with a spatula. Don't use your hands: the caramel melts at 130 degrees, you risk being severely burned.

Keep a layer of crunchy about one centimeter thick, sprinkle it with lemon juice and let it cool for 4-6 hours, depending on the ambient temperature. Once cool, it is ready to be cut with a knife and tasted.

You want to try one curious variant? Just before it cools down completely, drop it a few crystals of pink salt on the surface: the sweet-salty contrast will amaze you.