The first American patent for something that we would taste and call "Peanut Butter" appears to have been issued to a Québecer. Marcellus Gilmour Edson (born Bedford, Québec on 7 February 1849; died in Montréal 6 March 1940; buried Mount Royal Cemetery). He was a druggist and a manufacturing chemist. On 21 October 1884 he received American patent number 306,727. He had clearly come up with both peanut butter and a way of producing it commercially. But as you'll see from the information supplied in his patent filing, he just hadn't thought of selling it as an end product in itself:
"I take peanuts and roast them in the ordinary manner, and having removed the shells, and preferably (but not necessarily) while the peanuts are yet warm, I place the said nuts in a grinding-mill, such a mill as is used for reducing grain, &c. to flour. Before the peanuts are placed in this mill its grinding or rubbing surfaces must be heated to a temperature of 100 Fahrenheit, or thereabout. If the peanuts were ground cold by a mill having cold grinding surfaces, the result would be peanut flour, which result is old and in use; but by heating the stones or other grinding body of the mill before the peanuts are put into it (and maintaining the heat afterward) the peanuts will be ground into a fluid or semi-fluid state, which comes from the mill having the consistency of rather thick or heavy molasses or cream. This, after it has cooled down to about the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere -- say 50 to 60 F, will set into a consistency like that of butter, lard or ointment. "
In Edson's mind, though, what he was patenting was an ingredient, rather than an end product in itself:
"The above described peanut-paste is particularly adapted for use in the manufacture of sweetmeats and candy, in which it forms a composition of matter. I take, by weight, one part of the said peanut-paste and about seven parts of sugar, and then proceed to treat this substance thus formed in the ordinary way for the manufacture of sweetmeats and any form of candy required. What I claim, and wish to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:
1. The manufacture of a paste of peanuts, which is produced by roasting the peanuts and then grinding them between heated surfaces, substantially as described.
2. The herein-described composition of matter to be used in the manufacture of sweetmeats and candy, consisting of a paste formed from peanuts, as described, compounded with sugar, substantially in the proportions set forth." -- From US Patent 306,727, issued 21 October 1884.
A true Quebecker, he obviously felt that nothing was complete until the sugar was in.
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John H. Kellogg filed a request for a patent for a "Process of Preparing Nut Meal" on 4 November 1895 (he received American patent number 580,787 on 13 April 1897). It's necessary to dwell on this for a moment, as some call this the first "patented" peanut butter; not only is it not the first, but what Kellogg is as akin to peanut butter as potato starch is to Pommes de terre dauphinoises. Here's how Kellogg describes his new nut product (his process and machine actually chopped and ground the nuts in such a way as to create two products):
"The dry product or 'nutmeal', as it is designated, is a very palatable and nutritious substance and readily assimilated by persons of weak digestion, since the starch and fat which it contains with other elements are, to use a convenient if inexact phrase, in a partially-predigested state. The nutmeal is practically as dry as table-salt in its usual condition, and hence does not pack, but may be poured into and out of cans, bottles, or other like receptacles with great facility. The moist and brown product is soft and pasty like butter and is necessarily somewhat less easily digestible than the meal, owing to the greater amount of free oil it contains. It is used as a substitute for butter, either for table use or for shortening in cooking. It is in fact a good substitute for animal fats. It has a slight nutty flavor and is palatably agreeable, besides being far more nutritious than butter."
Note that the "pasty like butter" product described in Kellogg's patent application is a substance that is separated from the half the solids in peanuts, and that has an almost neutral enough taste to be used as a "shortening in cooking". The product would of course only have a "slightly nutty flavor", because before processing the peanuts, instead of roasting them, Kellogg blanched them, then stewed them in an oven:
"In carrying out this part of the process I place the kernels, along with a sufficient quantity of water, in covered crocks or earthenware vessels, which are then set in an oven heated to the requisite degree, and are kept therein for several hours, usually four to six. the fluid remaining in the crocks is drawn or poured off, and since this contains a little oil and some elements that are soluble in water it is a medium for elimination of the strong characteristic flavor of the peanut. In some cases, the fluid is thus drawn off and fresh water supplied one or more times while the cooking is in progress, for the purpose of more completely eliminating the objectionable acrid elements. "
In effect, what Kellogg did was treat the legumes we call "peanuts" as what they really are, beans (or legumes). He produced a bean meal, and a cooking fat substitute made of beans.
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A man named George A. Bayle in St Louis, Missouri, USA, started selling what we would call peanut butter in 1890. He sold it out of barrels for 6 cents a pound.
By 1897, the press in various American states was reporting on peanut butter (see Literature and Lore section below), and it was becoming commonly known, if not used.
A vendor named C. H. Sumner sold peanut butter as we know it at the St Louis World's Fair in 1904.
Peter Pan peanut butter came on the market in 1928; Skippy came on the market in 1933; Jif, owned by Procter & Gamble, in 1958.
Kraft sold peanut butter in Australia in 2 oz jars, starting in 1931, under the Kraft Walker Company name. In 1964, Kraft peanut butter was re-introduced with a new formula. Kraft peanut butter was introduced into Canada in 1960.
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Skippy peanut butter
- © Denzil Green
In 1966, Skippy brand peanut butter introduced a special peanut butter blend called "Peanut Butter with Smoky Crisps."
Newspaper ads said: "This spread is brand new. It tastes exactly like peanut butter and bacon. but there's no bacon in it. New Skippy peanut butter with Smoky Crisps has all the crunch, crackle and old-fashioned smokehouse flavor of bacon. But instead of bacon, Skippy has created little crisps of vegetable protein with remarkably true bacon flavor. These, mixed with Skippy, make a tasty spread -- perfect for snacks, canapes, and sandwiches, even on meatless days. So, for all you people who like taste of a bacon and Skippy sandwich, try them together in new Skippy peanut butter with Smoky Crisps."
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