How to Shell Raw Peanuts
Raw peanuts can be purchased at most health-food and grocery stores throughout the United States. Unlike other nuts that grow on trees, the peanut is grown in the ground much like a potato. Also, unlike other nuts, peanuts are simple and easy to shell, making them a fun snack for after school or work. Save the peanut shells for your compost pile. Your garden and other plants will thank you in the future. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Sit in a comfortable chair with a newspaper across your lap. Place a large bowl on a table within reach of the chair. Alternatively, you can spread a sheet of newspaper on a counter top and stand to do this task.
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Place a handful of raw peanuts on the newspaper.
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Pick up a peanut and hold it between your thumb and forefinger along the seams of the peanut shell.
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Squeeze until the peanut shell cracks apart or shatters.
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Place the nuts inside the shell into the large bowl and allow the shell pieces to fall back onto the newspaper. Continue the process with the remaining peanuts.
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Tips & Warnings
To remove the skins from shelled peanuts, roast in a 350-degree F oven on a cookie sheet for five minutes. Allow the nuts to cool slightly and rub them between your hands. The friction will cause the skin to fall from the nuts.
Roast shelled peanuts in a 350-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Roast shelled peanuts for 20 to 25 minutes.
To make peanut butter, place 1 cup of roasted peanuts and 1 1/2 teaspoons of peanut oil in a blender. Blend on high until a thick butter is formed.
Peanut shells can also be used as a mulch to hold in moisture around plants in containers or in the garden.
