Can you just boil the peanuts in water?

by Russell
(Florida)

Do you have to have anything added to the water in the boiling process? Do you need some form of salt and if so why? I'd like to try boiling the peanuts first to the desired texture, then add salt and or seasoning to desired flavor and simmer.

Comments for Can you just boil the peanuts in water?

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Mar 05, 2014
 Boiling peanuts in plain water
by: Bret

Russell,
Yes, you can boil peanuts in just water, without salt. We recommend this because the peanuts cannot absorb any liquid until they soften.

Texture is certainly the first property to notice and control when boiling peanuts. Boiled peanuts can only absorb the brine after they soften.

After softening, the boiled peanuts must soak in the cooling brine to fill them with it's flavor. Simmer and soak for more flavor.

You're on the right path to some tasty boiled peanuts!
Mar 19, 2014
 Salt
by: Bill

Russell,
Peanuts absorb water, and salt, or seasoning during the cooking process. The trick is to add the right amount of salt in the beginning. If you wait until they've softened, they won't absorb anything further. As they absorb the water, which softens them, they absorb the salt during the cook. There is no need to soak or simmer once they are done. Add a one pound box of salt to each ten pounds of raw peanuts at the start of the cooking. Cook for about ten hours, and you're done. If they're too salty or less salty, adjust the amount on the next cook to get your desired taste. I've done it this way for twenty five years. Try it, you'll like it.

Bill
Mar 22, 2014
 To salt, or not to salt. That is the question.
by: Bret

Bill has boiled peanuts professionally for at least 25 years. He clearly knows how to make great tasting boiled peanuts. I agree that Bill's method is one way to make great tasting boiled peanuts.

I submit that it is possible to boil peanuts without initial salt, and that salt can be added later. In some cases it is helpful to add the salt later in the process of boiling peanuts.

While boiling peanuts at home, I've added my measured salt to the water at various times in the process. When the right amount of salt is used, it can be added either at the beginning, or near the end of the boiling process, in my opinion. Good results can be obtained either way.

Saltiness can also be adjusted after the peanuts are boiled, by controlling the salinity of the water used to reheat them. Plain water will leach salt from boiled peanuts, and saline water can infuse salt into the already boiled peanuts. This occurs until equilibrium is achieved between the water and peanuts.

I usually pressure cook my boiled peanuts at home with 15 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes, without salt. I let the pressure cooker cool naturally until it reaches zero pressure, and the safety lock releases. I remove the lid, add the measured salt, and simmer them until the salt has infused the peanuts.

Even with a pressure cooker, peanuts must soak in the liquid to infuse the juice into the pod. Until boiled peanuts become soft, then wet, they cannot absorb the flavor of the brine.
Mar 15, 2015
 Boiled peanuts great with no added salt!
by: Chrisgg

I just made and tasted boiled peanuts for the first time today, with no salt at all. Being in the UK, we never see boiled peanuts on sale anywhere. I didn't even know you could cook them that way, I thought they would go rubbery. We don't often see raw peanuts sold in their shells over here, they nearly always come ready roasted.

I've been roasting my own peanuts to eat as a snack and also making peanut butter for a long while, so when I came across boiled peanuts on the internet I just had to try them. Only trouble is I don't like to add salt to anything I cook, and all the recipes say you have to add it to boiled peanuts in copious quantities.

Anyway, I tried just bringing them to the boil and simmering them in water in their shells for a total of about 8 hours. I cooked them for about 4 hours yesterday evening, turned off the heat and left them to soak overnight. Today they were still crunchy so I put them on to boil again and left them to simmer for another 3-4 hours.

They are delicious and remind me of chick peas and chestnuts, really sweet, plump and tender. So I can recommend cooking them without salt if you prefer them that way. It seems to work fine!
May 28, 2015
 Starting off with just water is best IMO
by: Russell

So, I've been making boiled peanuts for just over a year now. I've found that boiling raw peanuts first in plain water is best. I boil the raw peanuts in plain water and check them every hour or so until they're at a nice texture.

In doing this, the peanuts get thoroughly cleaned in the process. Once they're done, I pull them out and dump the used water.

I now add fresh water, bring it to a boil, then add my seasoning. I allow the seasoning to boil for a few minutes then add my peanuts.

I bring the water back to a rapid boil for 30 - 60 minutes and then allow them to soak for 6 - 8 hours. I do this for 2 - 3 days. Doing this allows the seasoning to penetrate the husk and get into the meat.

I have a 120 quart pot, boil about 20 pounds at a time and use a Cajun recipe with 12 gallons of water. I must be doing something right, because my neighbors and friends will always ask when I'm making more peanuts and they're gone in a few days.

Jun 13, 2018
 Basic information
by: Ronnie

I'm really thinking hard about this. I live in Kentucky, on the Ohio river. Nobody around here sells boiled peanuts except a few gas stations and Walmart. They are always sold out btw. I do have a couple questions before I invest so much and was hoping you could help. At my home, my water has a lot of calcium in it. Enough that we don't drink it but sometimes cook with it. Unfortunately it's city water. Would this affect or hurt the peanuts if I used it to boil them in?
And my other question is, what type of license or permits are usually required? Being in the north kind of doesn't help much I know. But I would be working both sides of the river if I could, Ohio and Kentucky.
Another question I have about your trailers is, do you pretty much keep one ready made, or build it when someone contacts you and wants one? If so how long is the wait for a basic 2 pot trailer?
Thank you very much for your time, I hope to hear from you soon.
Jun 22, 2018
 Boiling peants in Water with High Calcium
by: Boiled Peanut World

Hi Ronnie,
That's a good question.

If your water has a large concentration of calcium then it may be hard water. Hard water increases the boiling time for dried peanuts, and dried beans.

There are articles on the internet saying that adding baking soda to hard water helps soften dried beans, but that may come with negative changes to their taste and texture.

I have no experience with hard water when boiling legumes, and don't understand why it increases the boiling time for them. Perhaps it is pH.

BPW
Jun 26, 2018
 Hard Water
by: Russell R Rose

Hey Ronnie,
I'm not real knowledgeable when it comes to water. I found this information on line.

Hardness is mainly due to dissolved Ca(HCO3)2 in the water. The Ca2+ ions react with soaps to form scum. If the water is boiled this happens:

Ca(HCO3)2(aq) = CaCO3(s) + H2O(l) + CO2(g). Thermal decomposition.

The symbols of state are important here!! The limescale formed in your kettle is the CaCO3 which has a low water solubilty ..so effectively the calcium ions have been removed from solution. The water is now much softer. This type of water is called temporary hard water, as boiling fixes the problem . It doesn’t work if Mg2+ ions are present and this causes permanent hard water.

As far as needing a license? I just give what I make away to family and friends, so I wouldn't know.

I also don't have anything other then a huge pot and burner. Hope I've been able to help you out some.
Apr 27, 2019
 No salted brine boiled peanuts
by: Anonymous

I am on a low sodium diet and I cook my peanuts without salt. I add lots of fresh garlic, no salt seasoning, peppers, red and green, celery, onion bay leaves, peppercorn, pepper flakes, chunks of corn on the cob....whatever strikes my fancy, Let them soak in the brine in the frig once they have simmered ion a Crook Pot till tender. Then I can add a little kosher salt to the shell per serving. I measure the amount and record to keep my Sodium intake way down. So a I cup serving for me will have 150 mg of sodium versus over 400 plus per serving. Really a great substitute and so much more healthier. Salt is a killer.
Jul 05, 2019
 Low sodium diet
by: Anonymous

Mr/Mrs anonymous...thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart, literally, with all that salt in these recipes,, my heart would explode! And I love garlic...even garlic ice cream, yum! Thank you for the alternative, totally appreciate it.
Jan 13, 2021
 fresh or roasted
by: Rex R. Bahr

I notice they people never say wither the peanuts are fresh or roasted. My Vietnamese wife cooks roasted peanuts in oil. We raised some peanuts on the Nebraska Farm and they are most interesting. They have pretty purple flowers then just as the petals fall off the stem is bent down and stuck in the ground. They grow a large plant, I would say about four >4< feet diameter. When the plant has turned brown and it has rained, get a good hold of the plant and raise up and up. The peanuts should come out of the ground and hang under the plant. Now you can plant these if you want to raise more and we roasted ours in the woo cook stove oven for about a day as Mom cooked. seven >7< miles south of Spalding Nebraska.
Jan 28, 2021
 We love boiled peanuts
by: Njeri

I just moved to Uganda. They eat peanut sauce with matoke (mashed cooked plantain) and it's the most delicious thing. Anyway, my mother in law gives me raw peanuts from her garden. I shell them and boil for 30-40 mins in slightly salted water. They never last even a day! 😂 😂 😂
May 07, 2022
 Overthinking boiling peanuts
by: Greg from orlando

You only have to boil peanuts for 3 hours. I put a little salt in the beginning two other times in the process turn the water off and soak in the salt. That's the way I have found get the salt in them the soaking process after they've been softened for 3 hours. The longer you soak them the saltier they get. Only Valencia peanuts take longer you don't have to cook them 10 hours.

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