"peanuts" news and stories

Peanut brittle might remind you of something grandma kept in a jar and doled out during special visits. Crunchy, sweet and translucent brown, brittle tasted of peanuts in a way far different from peanut butter. But it was also one of those candies the dentists warned you about -- with brittle's adamantine hardness, you were bound to lose a filling or chip a tooth. Spoilsports.

Now, according to Nation's Restaurant News, peanut and other nut and seed brittles are undergoing a revival in restaurants across the country, where pastry chefs are crushing them and sprinkling them over other desserts such as puddings and cakes (think pistachio brittle over creamy cheesecake), to add texture. They're also using brittle as a component of layered confections, spicing it up with cayenne and cloves, or simply incorporating it into the mix of components on the dessert plate (such as a panna cotta served with olive-oil cake and figs).

With a startling protein content of 24 percent, making it the most nutritious of legumes, peanuts may be making a comeback, and in its simplicity and ease of preparation, peanut brittle will be leading the charge, followed by brittles made from, among others, pecans, pistachios and pumpkin seeds. (Visit Kitchen Daily for a selection of peanut brittle recipes.)

In response to pressure from lawmakers and peanut producers, The United States Department of Transportation has promised to comply with a federal law that prohibits the agency from imposing peanut restrictions on airplanes unless a scientific study verifies there are serious in-flight medical problems from airborne peanut particles.

The agency is considering several controversial measures to accommodate people with peanut allergies, including an outright ban on the serving of peanuts and all peanut products by both U.S. and foreign airlines. The proposed peanut restrictions are part of a broader proposal to enhance airline passenger protections.

In a letter sent to members of Congress last week, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood affirmed the agency would abide by a 1999 law that prohibits it from imposing any restrictions on "airline peanut practices."

Airline passengers, buckle up: Peanut snacks may soon go the way of friendly security lines and hot in-flight meals. The U.S. Transportation Department is considering a ban on the little bags of nuts, once ubiquitous on the nation's flights. The move has nothing to do with terrorists, or even budget cuts. It's a concession to the 1.8 million Americans who suffer from peanut allergies.

This ban was briefly considered back in 1998, but after a massive uproar from peanut lovers, the measure was reconsidered. But peanut allergies continue to pose a serious threat, however, triggering potentially life-threatening reactions in people who consume even trace amounts. And in an airplane, where all of the air is re-circulated, breathing in peanut dust is virtually unavoidable.

The peanut industry obviously isn't keen on losing such a huge revenue stream. "The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack," Martin Kanan, CEO of the King Nut Companies, an Ohio company that packages the peanuts served by most U.S. airlines, told the Associated Press. "What's next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?"

Here's some promising news for the more than 1.5 million Americans with peanut allergies: Researchers with the United States Department of Agriculture say they are getting closer to developing a safer, hypoallergenic peanut.

In a presentation this week at the congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) in London, USDA research scientist Soheila Maleki described how her team measured the allergen levels of 900 peanut varieties and found that some with genetic mutations lacked, or had lower amounts, of a major allergen.

They also discovered it was possible to breed these varieties to get peanut seeds with lower levels of allergens, and that these allergens were less able to bind to antibodies that cause allergic reactions.

Happy National Peanut Cluster Day!

For those unfamiliar with this salty-sweet treat, it's a crunchy bundle binding handfuls of nuts with chocolate and more. Popularized as early as 1912 by the Goo Goo brand, which uses caramel and marshmallows, peanut clusters are easy snacks that can be made in a matter of minutes.

As e-how.com explains -- with a recipe including butterscotch chips -- you simply melt the chips in a double boiler, drop the nuts in, then plop tablespoonfuls of the concoction on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet, cooling until hardened. Try this classic treat yourself today!

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