The Bean Called Peanut When given this writing assignment, I first thought of all the things I know about a peanut. I thought of the simple things like a peanut is a nut that is brown and grows inside a pod. What I did not immediately think about what the actual purpose of this essay—to write about what I observed about the peanut given to me by my instructor. I had grabbed five peanut shells out of the large bag that probably came from Costco. I chose one to observe and I decided on the one that seemed to have the most character on the outside. At first sight, the pod seemed to be brittle and weak due to the breakage of the outer shell which exposed the root-like veins. It was disproportionately shaped where one side was almost twice as large as the other side.
The first thing that came to my mind when I looked at the shape of this peanut was the ultrasound picture of a fetus. It was bent in the center and one side looked like a head. I was immediately distracted by the thought of whether the peanut was salted or unsalted, so I licked the shell to find that it was salted. The texture against my tongue was rough and almost fuzzy and I could also feel the pores and veins of the inner part of the shell. I began to rub the shell with my finger and experienced similar feeling as I did with my tongue, but against my skin it reminded me of the how the bottom of my dog’s paws feel. I examined the imperfections of the shell and found a small pin size hole at the tip of one side, and looking closely I could see the nut inside. I shook the peanut and could hear the two nuts inside rattling around from one side to the other. I could feel the nuts banging against the inside of the shell and little particles of shell were falling onto the floor as I continued to shake it. As I began to squeeze it in between two of my fingers in an attempt to break the shell I noticed a lot of interesting things. I envisioned my two fingers crushing this small peanut with a minimal amount of force, but the shell was strong and did not break. I could hear cracking, as if the shell was receiving small fractures causing it to become weak, but it was unbreakable for my two fingers. As I began to break the shell with both hands, it began to make a mess! The pieces of shell fell on the floor but what was interesting was that I was left with veins connected together like roots. It reminded me of the strings in duct tape that binds the tape to help make it durable and strong. Once I finally got to the inside of the peanut, I examined the inner part of what was left of the shell. It was spotted with all the brown colors that the peanut consisted of, from the light tan color of the outside of the shell to the copper color of the skin that protected the nut. I picked up the nut that still had the skin attached and as I peeled it off I had the urge to taste it. It was paper thin and almost dissolved immediately in my mouth, but the taste was not really good or bad but rather bland. I was then left with two little nuts sitting on the counter staring at me as if they wanted me to eat them. As I picked up the larger one, I noticed the texture was complete opposite from the shell, like night and day. The nut, which is actually a bean, felt very smooth like it was coated with wax. It was unevenly shaped and had one pointed tip that looked like a tooth was spouting out of it. It had a tan color, but when I looked closely I could see little spots of lighter colors. I had the desire to eat it, and as I placed it into my mouth it broke apart into two parts with a clean break down the center as if it was cut with a sharp knife. As I chewed, it seemed to turn into a paste-like texture and then disappeared as I swallowed. It tasted buttery and salty but left me craving water. I examined the second nut and saw features that I did not see in the first nut. I saw that the tooth-like point was actually the only thing binding the two halves together. I could clearly see a line down the center that separated the two halves and when I opened them up there was a small hallow space in the center. I began to think about the memories I have of eating peanuts. I thought about the times when I was a little girl and was forced to go to baseball games with my father and brother. I hated going to baseball games because I found them to be boring and it was there that I grew my dislike for peanuts. The hassle of breaking them open, making a mess, to only get a small reward on the inside. In my option, chocolate is the only thing that can turn the disappointing peanut into a pleasant treat. Peanuts and I have a long love hate relationship where I have enjoyed them at times and been allergic to them at other times. The only thing that is certain is that a peanut is not a nut but rather a bean.