Boiling "Georganics:" A first taste of a historic crop

Georgia's first crop of certified organic peanuts arrived in the fall of 2007, and we had the good fortune to stumble upon them at the Sevananda co-op in Atlanta. These diminutive beauties from Walker Farms in Sylvania are pesticide-free, Georgia-grown, and a rare treat once properly soaked and stewed.

As this excellent article from Southern SARE explains, southeastern organic farmers have a hard time with the peanut plagues: weeds, diseases, and insects. We were wondering whether we'd ever be able to get anything but the New Mexico Valencia-types in organic form. They're tasty, too, but that's a long way to travel for peanuts.

Plenty of blood, salt and tears went into perfecting and cultivating this crop. According to Relinda Walker, this "Georganic" variety was developed by Dr. Corly Holbrook of the University of Georgia, Tifton Campus. "It has a great disease resistance package, and I love the taste," Ms. Walker writes.

And she's right. We're partial to raw peanuts for boiling, not green. So we soaked our three-pound bag overnight as usual, added salt, boiled them for eight hours, and bit in with great anticipation. They're intense. As opposed to some Runner- and Virginia-type jumbo varieties, these have better consistency and a more vegetal flavor. They're something like Valencias, but even more pronounced and sweet. We dare say they even have an almost buttery finish like a great Côtes du Rhône wine (not that we recommend a pairing).

On the aesthetic side, these are tiny peanuts, which means you spend a fair amount of time shelling for one- and two-seeds at a time. But the reward is such that it just adds to the allure.

Though we know about the beneficence of boiled peanuts generally, we're not sure whether it "pays" to go organic for unshelled peanuts in the Consumer Reports sense. But, given that nutrients concentrate in the shell, it certainly seems logical to assume that pesticides and herbicides could do the same. If the hefty price premium is worth it to you — or if you're just curious — we highly recommend you see here to learn where to find Walker Farms' Georganics.