If a tasty bag of peanuts is one of your favorite go-to objects for a healthier snack, take notice: That’s actually not a nut you are munching on. While they sport the “nut” title, peanuts are actually a legume, making them a member of the household of plant-primarily based objects that includes lentils, beans and soybeans. True to the legume household, a peanut is composed of an edible seed that grows inside a pod. One cause chances are you’ll not readily affiliate peanuts with these extra acquainted legumes is that you do not eat the peanut’s dry and brittle pod, such as you do with many legumes — the green bean, for instance. You will not discover a peanut growing on a tree, as you would with almonds or cashews. Called forage legumes, peanut pods grow under the soil, originating from a bush-like, creeping plant. Once they’re ripe and able to harvest, they’re pulled up, just like a carrot or potato. Because peanuts grow underground, they can change into contaminated with a strain of mold referred to as aflatoxin, which may cause illness.
