One of the things I love the most about road trips in the southern U.S. is the boiled peanuts. I used to think that I could only buy them at little roadside stands, hauled out burning hot and soaking wet from giant metal barrel vats, into a brown paper sack and my outstretched hands. (No, I don’t want to know what may have been in those metal barrel vats before they became an incubator for my peanuts. I’m sure it was toxic waste or something. Don’t care! )
I’d devour them in the car like a ravenous buzzard on roadkill, mowing through their tender, salty goodness as they practically melted in my mouth; annoyed at the interruptions from my husband and his unreasonable request that I share them with him. No. Sharing means less for me. (Kidding. I gave him a couple). I just can’t control myself when I’ve got a warm, soggy bag of boiled peanuts in front of me!
So imagine my joy when I walked into a gas station and saw this:
It was like the sky opened up to a singing choir of angels. That is, if angel choirs sang about boiled peanuts. Could this be real?? I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Who knows what stupidly unessesary gluten ingredients they could have ruined the peanuts with?
I asked the gas bar goddess if she had the container that the peanuts came in, explaining that I had to read the ingredients to make sure there was no gluten in them before I could buy any. She couldn’t have been nicer or more accommodating!
The lovely lady went to the back and got me an tin to read. No gluten in the “Original” Peanut Patch boiled peanuts! Oooh, wait! They also had Cajun flavor….which she was kind enough to bring me the can for as well. Nope! No gluten! Even in the “contains” allergen warning. And no “may contain” CYA statement…woo hoo!!! As I did that first day of discovery, I still always leave with two large containers. Because boiled peanuts are really delicious cold, should any last that long. And they’re even not bad for you!
Apparently, Peanut Patch boiled peanuts have been around since 1980 and are the product of a company called McCall Farms. Why did it take me so long to find them? They’re now under the brand name Margaret Holmes, who according to their website is/was a real person. I have no idea if Margaret is still with us today, but I’ve gotta say…I like her legacy!
