Peanut milk is a plant milk, which is an alternative to animal milk. It is made with peanuts, water, and sometimes other additional ingredients like salt, sugar, or cinnamon.[ citation needed ] Peanut milk is high in fat and protein compared to other plant-based milks. This milk is sometimes used by people who identify with lactose intolerance, veganism, or a casein-free diet, as it has no lactose, but includes nutritional benefits like being high in magnesium, [1] Vitamin E, [2] Vitamin B-6, [3] and protein.
In the northern region of Nigeria it is a popular drink known as Groundnut milk. [4]
George Washington Carver, a well known botanist, scientist, conversationalist and professor in the early 1900s, was most likely to have been the modern inventor of peanut milk. With a fond curiosity and great skill in chemistry and physics, George was known for his valuable research on the peanut. Through the isolation of fats, oils, gums, resins and sugars of the peanut, he found many ways to use the nut, including peanut milk. [5] [6]
There are very few manufacturers of peanut milk, despite plant-based milks being mass-manufactured, such as cashew, almond, and rice milk. As dietary preferences shift, as evidenced by the fact that online searches for diets like veganism have doubled in the United States since 2015, tripled in Australia, France, and Spain, and more than quadrupled in Sweden, demand for non-dairy milk has increased. Plant-based milk purchases in U.S. grocery stores rose by 5% over the previous year, accounting for 14% of total milk sales, according to the Plant Based Foods Association's examination of store sales statistics. [7] Sales of regular milk, on the other hand, had risen by 0.1 percent. [8]
In order to make a basic form of peanut milk, the following is needed: peanuts, water, a blender and a Cheesecloth. The first step includes putting peanuts in a jar big enough to hold them, and then soaking the peanuts in water for at least six hours. Then transfer the soaked peanuts into a blender and blend them until smooth. Finally, transfer the blended nut substance into a cheesecloth to squeeze out the peanut milk, now ready for consumption. [9]
In Nigeria, peeled or unpeeled groundnuts are blended and boiled for few minutes. [10] Groundnut milk is served cold and chilled using refrigerator and ice cubes. [11]
Though little research has been done on the sustainability of peanut milk itself (due to lack of mass-production), there is information available on the sustainability of peanuts. Peanut production is mainly concentrated in drier climates like in the Mideast and Midwest parts of the U.S. [12] Peanuts in comparison to other nuts are the most water-efficient nut, as it takes around 3.2 gallons of water to produce one ounce of peanuts. This is because of its compact plant structure and its ability to grow underground, as it takes less biomass to intake water. The peanut plant also keeps water intake to a minimum through its vine's growth structure, allowing for a microclimate conserving water. [13]
The following is an illustrated graph, showing the water usage of the 4 most harvested nuts in America. [14]
Gallons of water per oz | grown in | |
---|---|---|
Almonds | 28.7 | USA |
Pistachios | 23.6 | USA |
Walnuts | 26.7 | USA |
Peanuts | 3.2 | USA |
Peanuts have the lowest carbon emissions among popular USA nuts, allowing for sustainable farming. Peanuts are also unique compared to other nuts, as they improve soil composition and benefit other crops around them. [13]
(kg CO2-Ceqv per 1 kg | grown in | |
---|---|---|
Almonds | 3.56 | USA |
Pistachios | 0.76 | USA |
Pecans | 1.61 | USA |
Walnuts | 2.00 | USA |
Peanuts | 0.57 | USA |
Researchers developed a vitamin and mineral fortified infant formula that used peanut milk as a source of protein, fat and food energy. [16] When compared to other plant-based milks, peanut milk has one of the highest protein and fat contents, allowing for a creamier milk. The macro nutrients in a cup of peanut milk include the following:
Nut milk (1 cup) | Peanut milk |
---|---|
Calories | 150 cal |
Fat | 11 g |
Protein | 6 g |
Carbs | 6 g |
Controversially, lectins, which are found in soy, peanuts, and other beans, may limit glucose absorption in the intestine, hence affecting total calorie consumption. [17]
Peanut milk is generally used as a dairy substitute for items such as coffee creamer, peanut soup, yogurt, parfait, cheese, tofu, or by itself. [9]
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutrients, including calcium and protein, as well as lactose and saturated fat. Immune factors and immune-modulating components in milk contribute to milk immunity. Early-lactation milk, which is called colostrum, contains antibodies and immune-modulating components that strengthen the immune system against many diseases. The US CDC agency recommends that children over the age of 12 months should have two servings of dairy (milk) products a day, and more than six billion people worldwide consume milk and milk products.
Vegetarian cuisine is based on food that meets vegetarian standards by not including meat and animal tissue products.
The peanut, also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large commercial producers, both as grain legume and as an oil crop. Atypically among legumes, peanut pods develop underground leading botanist Carl Linnaeus to name peanuts hypogaea, which means "under the earth".
A food pyramid is a representation of the optimal number of servings to be eaten each day from each of the basic food groups. The first pyramid was published in Sweden in 1974. The 1992 pyramid introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was called the "Food Guide Pyramid" or "Eating Right Pyramid". It was updated in 2005 to "MyPyramid", and then it was replaced by "MyPlate" in 2011.
In botany, a nut is a fruit from a tree consisting of a hard or tough nutshell protecting a kernel which is usually edible. The shell is indehiscent, meaning it does not open to release the seed. Most seeds come from fruits that naturally free themselves from the shell, but this is not the case in nuts such as hazelnuts, chestnuts, and acorns, which have hard shell walls and originate from a compound ovary.
Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Consumed in many countries, it is the most commonly used of the nut butters, a group that also includes cashew butter and almond butter.
A meat alternative or meat substitute, is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qualities of specific types of meat, such as mouthfeel, flavor, appearance, or chemical characteristics. Plant- and fungus-based substitutes are frequently made with soy, but may also be made from wheat gluten as in seitan, pea protein as in the Beyond Burger, or mycoprotein as in Quorn. Alternative protein foods can also be made by precision fermentation, where single cell organisms such as yeast produce specific proteins using a carbon source; as well as cultivated or laboratory grown, based on tissue engineering techniques. The ingredients of meat alternative include 50–80% water, 10–25% textured vegetable proteins, 4–20% non-textured proteins, 0–15% fat and oil, 3-10% flavors/spices, 1-5% binding agents and 0-0.5% coloring agents.
Rice milk is a plant milk made from rice. Commercial rice milk is typically manufactured using brown rice and brown rice syrup, and may be sweetened using sugar or sugar substitutes, and flavored by common ingredients, such as vanilla. It is commonly fortified with protein and micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, or vitamin D.
Almond milk is a plant-based milk substitute with a watery texture and nutty flavor manufactured from almonds, although some types or brands are flavored in imitation of cow's milk. It does not contain cholesterol or lactose and is low in saturated fat. Almond milk is often consumed by those who are lactose-intolerant and others, such as vegans, who do not consume dairy products. Commercial almond milk comes in sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla and chocolate flavors, and is usually fortified with micronutrients. It can also be made at home using a blender, almonds and water.
Vegetarian nutrition is the set of health-related challenges and advantages of vegetarian diets.
Plant milk is a category of non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Nut milk is a subcategory made from nuts, while other plant milks may be created from grains, pseudocereals, legumes, seeds or coconut. Plant-based milks are consumed as alternatives to dairy milk and provide similar qualities, such as a creamy mouthfeel, as well as a bland or palatable taste. Many are sweetened or flavored.
A milk substitute is any substance that resembles milk and can be used in the same ways as milk. Such substances may be variously known as non-dairy beverage, nut milk, grain milk, legume milk, mock milk and alternative milk.
Almond butter is a food paste made from grinding almonds into a nut butter. Almond butter may be "crunchy" or "smooth", and is generally "stir" or "no-stir" (emulsified). Almond butter may be either raw or roasted, but this describes the almonds themselves, prior to grinding.
Oat milk is a plant milk derived from whole oat grains by extracting the plant material with water. Oat milk has a creamy texture and mild oatmeal-like flavor, and is manufactured in various flavors, such as sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate.
Koh-Kae is a Thai brand of nut snacks manufacturing by Mae-Ruay Snack Food Factory Co., Ltd. and was first sold in 1976. In its early days, Koh-Kae only came in their original flavor, which is coconut cream coated peanuts, but they developed others flavor such as tom-yum and chicken flavor later on. By 2000, Mae-Ruay Snack Food Factory Co., Ltd. was awarded ISO 9001 certification by BVQI Institute, followed by the GMP and HACCP system certification by BVQI in 2002. In year 2019 Koh-Kae holds 50% of Thailand nut snacks market share.
Cashew butter is a food spread made from baked or roasted cashews. It is rich and creamy in flavour and when stored the oils and solids separate easily.
Vegan cheese is a category of non-dairy, plant-based cheese analogues. Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products.
As in the human practice of veganism, vegan dog foods are those formulated with the exclusion of ingredients that contain or were processed with any part of an animal, or any animal byproduct. Vegan dog food may incorporate the use of fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes including soya, nuts, vegetable oils, as well as any other non-animal based foods.
Elmhurst 1925 is a plant-based food and beverage company located in Elma, New York. The company manufactures and sells non-dairy, plant-based milks made from nuts, grains, and seeds. The first four nutmilks – almond, cashew, hazelnut, and walnut – debuted at Natural Products Expo West in March 2017. A number of additional products have launched since, including their line of unsweetened plant milks made with only two or three ingredients, award winning barista editions, dairy-free creamers, and single serve ready-to-drink options.