A Better Peanut Oil
Posted by b dibble on
vomFASS has done it again!
Gently roasted peanuts are carefully cold pressed by French oil expert Jean Marc Montegottero to create a luxurious and sophisticated oil. Not to be confused with a highly processed neutral frying oil, vomFASS Roasted Peanut Oil, Vierge (virgin) has natural roasted nut flavor, adding a delicious layer of elegance to stir fry dishes, seafood, meats, salads, and vegetables. It is best used in a wok or drizzled over ingredients a few minutes before the end of cooking to preserve its intrinsic flavors.
This highly unsaturated and cholesterol-free artisanal oil pairs well with any dish. With its rich, roasted flavor, it’s prime for drizzling over roasted vegetables, meats, and seafood. Try it in something sweet like a cocktail or baked in banana bread, or something savory like Pad Thai—you won’t be disappointed.
Check out the creative entrée and cocktail recipes below!
Culinary Adaptations
In the US, the culinary uses for peanuts may seem to start with peanut butter and end with peanut butter cookies. In fact, half of the peanuts sold in the US are sold as peanut butter. Other cuisines use peanuts as well, but usually in association with meats, soups and sauces. In Indonesia it is the base for a spicy meat sauce called saté. Egyptians and West Africans use peanut butter to thicken soups and stews, and in Latin America peanuts add texture to a classic Mole. The Chinese make a spicy all-purpose peanut sauce that finds its way into bean curd stews and stir fries of shellfish, chicken, or vegetables.
Not so Nutty History
As many know, the peanut is classified botanically as a legume, not a nut. However, culinarily it is used as a nut. It has traveled the world and been accepted and elevated into the popular foods of the Caribbean, Africa, India, Asian countries as well as a staple in the United States and Canada. Archeologists have traced its wild roots back thousands of years to its birthplace in what is now considered the continent of South America, near Bolivia. There is evidence that it was cultivated and prized by the Incan culture. Today’s top countries for peanut production are China, India, Nigeria and the United States.
The explorers from Spain and Portugal, finding this “new world” crop both palatable and transportable, introduced it around the world as they traveled. Similar to a native plant called the ground nut or nguba, peanuts soon became a popular crop on the coasts of Africa. In China, it was called the “foreign nut” and Japan it was called the Chinese nut. Peanuts followed early European traders back across the Atlantic to North America, where they took root in the American South and slowly rose in popularity during the 1900’s.
Power Packed Plants
Peanuts grow underground but are not formed off the roots. Peanuts are fruits. The fact they grow beneath the soil line is probably an evolutionary adaption. As a peanut plant matures, its stalks bend toward the ground and its flower deposits its fruit beneath the surface. There it can ripen in safety, protected from insects and animal predators.
Of all legumes, the peanut provides the most protein for the least amount of money. Twenty-six percent of its weight is protein. In Africa, peanuts give the highest protein yield per acre of any food crop, making it a chief protein source in both East and West Africa.
Share this post
- 0 comment
- Tags: #artisnaloil, #curries, #madisonwi, #nutoils, #peanutoil, #satay, #seafood, #shrimp, #vegetarian, #veggies, #vomfassmadison, #Wisconsin