There were some situations we didn’t expect when we started boiling our peanuts with no shells.
One of those was that we didn’t anticipate what happened with the skins. We cook with the skins on, yet during the boiling process, many of the skins softened up and sloughed away leaving just the ‘nut’ but the skins were still in the pot.
They didn’t vanish.
To figure out what to do about them, we investigated what they actually are. The “skins” are the seed coat that protects the legume from the hard shells and other assassins in the growth phase. We don’t have a shell, but our peanuts do have a seed coat.
What we learned is the seed coats have significant value on their own. They are rich in antioxidants, add protein, add fiber, and the make-up of the skins is believed to help some with regulating blood sugar.
Sure, sure, we know healthy doesn’t mean they taste good, and we are talking about a snack here, so what does this matter?
The seed coat also retains a lot of flavor. Imagine eating boiled peanuts from those other folks, or from a roadside stand. They have to cook a long time just to get the flavor through the shell, and even then the seed coat absorbs some. You are left with a peanut that had to wait a long time for a little flavor.
With Gameday Nuts, the seed coats, or skins, tend to slough off, but they still sit in the brine cooking. They are porous so they just absorb all of our special seasoning. They are LOADED with intense flavor.
So what we were questioning was simply a matter of aesthetics, do the skins look appetizing? Maybe not. But do they taste great? Absolutely. So we kept the skins.
Our peanuts come in black bags so you really don’t see all of them anyway. And because you can eat them without shelling, you can pour it all, nuts and skins, directly in your mouth for maximum flavor and no mess.
It seems sort of silly at this point to consider naked nuts. But there is one more thing that came out of the process. When the peanuts start to reach their best texture, some may break up a little, especially when stirring and scooping.
We call them “chippies” because they have chipped away. They look a little like chopped roasted peanuts you might sprinkle on ice cream. They are a slightly different texture due to their size and provide a nice companion to the full-sized nuts. They give the bag of Gameday Nuts some character and variety.
What we thought might be negatives for our product, turned out to be flavor-loaded advantages in how we make Gameday Nuts. So what do you think, if you’ve tried our flavors, are you in favor of the skins?