It was only a matter of time before I got around to boiled peanuts. This is the South and to live in the South, I mean really live in the South, we have to discuss boiled peanuts. The subject will find its way in the conversation sooner than later, so we might as well do this while we are still getting to know one another.

In fact one of the ways you can tell you are in the South is when you are on a road trip and you have just passed a peanut hut. You can put your road maps away; because you are in the South. A peanut hut is a better road marker than a road sign to tell you that you have just crossed the Mason-Dixon line. I suspect you can travel through the South just by way of a peanut marker if you had to. The only trouble one might have is when you are in search of the Peanut Man. Every town has a Peanut Man. You could end up in the wrong town depending on whom you ask, how do I find my way to the Peanut Man? That is unless he has a name.

You don’t want to know how many peanut huts and stands I have passed by in the 25 years I have lived in the South. Perhaps it was the thought of a salty dry peanut soaking up water outside over a pile of ashes that deterred me. Or maybe it was the card- board or plywood sign that said hot boiled peanuts that prevented me from putting my foot on the brakes and pulling over to stop.

But as life would have it, my occasional elitist attitude got in the way and I waited to eat my first boiled peanut in the refined and elegant city of Charleston of all places. Fate would tempt me as a co-worker brought a bag of boiled peanuts into work one day.

I saw her eating them and asked, what are you eating?

Boiled peanuts, she said.

You’ve got to be kidding, I blurted out.

Why, haven’t you ever eaten one? she replied.

No, can’t say that I have.

You’re kidding?

No I am not kidding.

Here have one, you’ve got to give this a try.

Uhhhhhhhhhhh no thank you.

I dare say, I was flabbergasted that she expected me to eat a soggy wet peanut while in a skirt and heels.

Aren’t boiled peanuts to be eaten in a beer joint or the side of the road when you are dressed in jeans, I asked?

And you want me to shell it myself? I further asked.

Why the shells are wet and the peanut is wet.

Won’t I ruin my nails?

Why would I want to eat a wet nut? I asked for further clarification.

Because they are good, she said.

While I am shelling this wet nut, I am thinking; honestly these people don’t know any better.

Jeans may be the appropriate attire for the Caviar of the South but eat one anyway, she said.

Well, why didn’t you say Caviar of the South in the first place?

I ate it.

Interesting, may I try another please?

Where do you get these?

You say, Tony the peanut man makes the best boiled peanuts.

Where is his roadside stand?

What time does he set up?

So, I can buy them on my way to work, you say.

Do you mind sharing a few more? I’ll bring in some tomorrow.

Skirt or no skirt, heels or no heels I hunted down Tony the peanut man and stocked up on my Southern Caviar. Sounds much better doesn’t it, Southern Caviar. Sort of refined and dignified. Never mind that sometimes you have to resort to using your teeth to pry these open. Then spit out any peanut shells stuck in your mouth.

I pulled up to Tony’s hut, hopped out of the car and went to the peanut counter.

Hi Tony, may I have three, no better make that five pounds of your spicy Southern Caviar please?

So when I run out, this is how I can find you? You are always in the same space? Thanks, Tony.

Now, I will say I was just a touch embarrassed to be seen hopping out of my fancy little sports car in a skirt and heels walking up to the peanut hut in broad daylight. So a little disguise; dark sunglasses, a scarf around my head and no one would suspect that it was me. I had no other choice but to go incognito. It wasn’t as if I was getting, say the two cup bag of these. No I was going to stock up. Walking back to the car with five pounds would not have been good for my reputation. Certainly not for a lady in heels and a skirt.

Don’t tell me. Most likely each and every one of you are thinking what a snob. Well I am not. I have spent many a day roughing it in the wilderness, carrying my own food on my back. I can search out the local grub with the best of you, lurking down side streets asking locals where to get the best this and the best that. It’s just that sometimes I get it in my head that a certain food just doesn’t sound good, and I avoid it. Boiled peanuts is one of those foods. They just seem so unattractive, until I met Tony the Peanut Man.

Tony changed things for me. I am different since tasting his creations. He doesn’t just make one flavor but a few. I am a spicy kinda girl. So I came to work that day armed with 5 lbs of the spicy brand. They are addictive, and with the high content of salt can cause some serious bloat if you don’t down some pop while eating them. Trust me on this one.Legend has it the way to really eat one of these nuts is to drop it in a RC soda and drink and eat at the same time. This is another one of those controversies, as another camp says it is the dry salted peanut that is dropped in a RC soda. My suggestion, try them both and see which one you like.

Tony has since moved from his downtown location. Rumor has it that he has made the big time. This means that there are lots of peanut huts around the Charleston area, with a Tony at every one of them. How did this guy find so many Tonys who want to work at a peanut hut? This guy is one savvy businessman.

If you can’t find Tony, or don’t live in the South and want to give these a try you have a couple of options. You may order them canned or order a kit. Try the Lee Brother’s catalog. They are from Charleston and have made the BIG time cooking scene just on their love of all that’s Southern, starting with boiled peanuts. If you want to try these at home here is a simple recipe. No, they don’t have to be cooked outside over coals in a cast iron cauldron.

Boiled Peanuts

2 cups peanuts, raw and in the shell

4 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Put the peanuts, in their shells, into a saucepan, add the water and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a good simmer and cook approximately 1 hour. Your peanuts are done when the kernel is swollen and fills the pod well. The taste of raw starch will have been dissipated. There is a hint of chewyness to the. Serve hot still in the shell, or cold after draining. Store leftovers if any, in the refrigerator.

Now a couple of important facts about boiled peanuts. First, Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A & M University’s Department of Food and Animal Sciences, co-authored a study on boiled peanuts. Their conclusion; boiled peanuts are high in phyochemicals that have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. In other words those soggy nuts are good for you, better than their dried counterpart.

On a political note, on May 1, 2006, Governor Mark Sanford came to York County and officially signed into law, H.4585, to make the boiled peanut South Carolina’s official state snack food.

SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds that boiled peanuts are a delicious and popular snack food that are found both in stores and roadside stands across the State, and this unique snack food is defined as peanuts that are immersed in boiling water for at least one hour while still in the shell. The General Assembly further finds that this truly Southern delicacy is worthy of designation as the official state snack food.

So, there it is. It’s official. I can eat my boiled peanuts in broad daylight now without embarrassment or shame. If they are good enough for the Governor and fellow legislators that have made them the beloved snack food of the state, well then, they are good enough for me.

Except…………they left out this whole Caviar of the South wording. It so should have been included. Let’s face it. If the road side stands and huts had Caviar of the South on their signs instead of boiled peanuts, I might have put my foot on the brakes sooner. Perhaps I will write the Governor and see about having the bill amended.