1800 Traditional Peanut Brittle

Size: 4 ounces in a 4x6" bag

Peanut brittle, aka “Ground Nut Candy,” started out in the
mid-1800s. Rumor has it that peanut brittle was a Southern favorite invented there around 1847. Not so – sightings of peanut brittle was everywhere from Pittsburgh
to Boston. Civil War soldiers received peanut brittle in packages from home. And the stories of peanut brittle ran rampant! In fact, one unlikely Appalachian legend describes the origin of peanut brittle this way:

Folk Perspective: Tony Beaver and the Peanut Brittle
Incident

When Tony Beaver was born, he was your average West Virginia baby: normal weight, normal size. But soon, he went through a growth spurt that would not stop. He grew to be a large, strapping guy with a fondness for the
outdoors. In fact, he was so fond that he lived at a lumber camp he built near the mythical “Eel River.” A congenial guy, he made himself available to those in distress, their summons passed on to him by a seemingly tireless jaybird.

To get a better idea of Tony Beaver’s greatness, one cold
winter, when the snow was so high the mountain folk couldn’t gather firewood, Tony single-handed crossed the snowbanks, cut off the tops of the trees and dropped them down the local’s chimneys. When the spring crop failed, Tony, whose garden sprouted produce as oversized as he was, grew ‘‘tater’’ that spread across four acres of ground, and kept the entire town fed for weeks.

So, you can imagine the magnitude of what occurred when
peanut brittle was involved. Apparently, the Eel River breeched its banks and threatened to flood the town, destroying everything. Quick-thinking Tony Beaver
stopped the flood by pouring vast quantities of molasses into the river then adding, to ensure the safety of one and all, peanuts. The locals were saved and, in the process, a new candy was created. West Virginians, in their
jubilation, started making the peanut brittle and have been making it ever since.