National Peanut Brittle Day in USA

Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts, which are usually less than 1 cm thick.

National Peanut Brittle Day in USA

Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts, which are usually less than 1 cm thick. The peanut-specific version of brittle is popular in USA. Peanut Brittle includes caramelized sugar or corn syrup. Nuts are added to the molten sugar and then poured onto a flat surface such as granite or marble and smoothed into a thin sheet. The candy cools into a hard, brittle treat that is broken into smaller pieces. Some of the best brittles are hand-stretched into a thin, easily cracked candy that melts in the mouth.

The birthplace of this popular crunchy dessert isn't certain. Some food historians support the theory that it dates back to Europe and credit it to Celts, who are thought to make the bark by baking a mix of sugar and peanut butter and serve the brittle during holidays. The candy then presumably made its way to America in the 1830s by way of Irish settlers coming to the New World. Some people are certain that peanut brittle originated as an American invention and its history begins in the southern states of the USA, which also makes sense because that is where peanuts were first officially known to be cultivated. This version of the history of peanut brittle credits a woman from the south for inventing this delightful treat somewhere around the year 1890. The story goes that she was attempting to make taffy, but mistakenly added baking soda to the mix instead of cream of tartar. Not wanting to waste any ingredients, she continued to cook throwing in some handfuls of peanuts just to see what would happen. She ended up with an accidental peanut bark that tasted delicious.

There is another origin story regarding the confectionery that is clearly more folklore than fact. It relegates the invention of peanut brittle to a character named Tony Beaver. The story casts Beaver as the savior of a town when he prevented it from flooding by pouring peanuts and molasses into the river. And the result was peanut brittle!

Anyway the term for this treat “brittle” first seems to have appeared in 1892. The first recipe for peanut brittle was published in an American cookbook, around the turn of the 19th century.

The dessert has become so popular with Americans that it has joined the legion of foods with their very own national day. What is the best way to celebrate National Peanut Brittle Day? Pick up a few bars of this delicious confection from a local store or better attempt to make some in the kitchen at home!