Peanuts
I love peanuts but I have never seen a peanut plant growing and I have certainly never consciously observed a field of peanuts. I love roasted peanuts, monkey nuts in their shells, chocolate coated peanuts, satay sauce, peanut butter, peanut oil. Given half a chance I would become a peanut addict but I have trained myself not to pop bags of peanuts in my trolley each time I go to the supermarket. I understand that they are quite fattening so I view them as a guilty pleasure to only be enjoyed once in a while. Peanuts originated in South America in the north western region of that continent. There is evidence of their consumption in that area - going back over 7500 years. The Spanish conquistadors brought peanuts back to Europe in the sixteenth century and now they are grown widely in sub-tropical zones across the world. The biggest commercial harvests are grown in China and India followed by Nigeria (4.5 million tonnes per year) and the USA (2.8 million tonn...