In general, peanut butter only exists today because of its close cousin, the peanut. But it had a more interesting beginning than simply being something we put in-between two pieces of bread. Peanuts have been around for thousands upon thousands of years in which during the times of the ancient Incas, they used substances created with peanuts, reminiscent of peanut butter but not for eating, mostly for pasting.
Dr. Ambrose Straub
By the time peanuts were officially put on the commercial mass-market in around 1840, about 50 years later, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg would “invent” peanut butter out of peanuts to be used for the purposes we have created for it today. But to tact on a name would be to fast-forward to the year 1903, where Dr. Ambrose Straub created a machine meant for the purpose of making peanut butter. He didn’t invent peanut butter itself but he made it easier for consumers to create their own.
Joseph L. Rosenfield
Of course, it took years before the peanut butter substances really became defined as what it is today. Earlier versions of the substance had a lot of the original peanut still intact within the paste, thus creating the crunchy peanut butter we know today. But it wasn’t until around 1928 that peanut butter became it’s own substance as opposed to just being an invention made from peanuts. Within this year, it would become smooth and developed on its own thanks to Joseph L. Rosenfield who was responsible for the churning process that would flatten and smooth out peanut butter.
The Pond Company
Once this process was mastered, Rosenfield pitched the idea to what was known as the Pond Company. They love the idea so much it was patented almost instantly. This company would be the ones responsible for the inception of Peter Pan peanut butter and the first one to mass produce peanut butter for all to enjoy. A few years later, Joseph would create his own version of peanut butter and sell it on his own. This peanut butter would be called Skippy, which would not only include his smooth style version but also the crunchy style.
It’s been around a long time
Peanut butter has been around for thousands of years but it wasn’t until the 20th century that it truly left its mark on humanity. Now a day, kids can’t have a good sandwich without peanut butter added to the mix, because if you have jam, you must have peanut butter.
