Boiled Peanuts! Fried Peanuts! The South is Nuts for Peanuts.

Roasted, that’s the “normal” preparation. And salted. Get them at any baseball game. Great bars in the north serve them and tell patrons to discard the shells on the floor. I like those bars because I like peanuts. But boiled? Gross.

So I tried them. I think they have a branding problem. They’re not peanuts … call them “Southern Edamame” and us Northerners would gobble them up. They’re salty and good but squishier than a roasted nut — like an edamame. Not bad.

Then there are fried ones. Deep fried like the chicken served everywhere, including gas stations. Not breaded, though. Taste like a roasted nut, but you can eat the shell without getting a dry-mouth salt bomb. I like these too, but I’d still go roasted given the choice. Just how I was raised. But I’ll never turn down a peanut. Especially served alongside a beer.