ABSTRACT
Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L. Mill sp.) with a postfi x of nut in the name is not a nut in the true sense, but is a leguminous crop, and because of a nutty cover, the pod wall, is called peanut. On the other hand, because of its growth and ripening of seed inside the ground, it is also known as groundnut. It has many characteristics of nuts such as high amount of fat (46g/100g) and other important constituents such as vitamins, protein, minerals and phytochemicals. During expeditions on foot to the South and North Poles by Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions in the early 19th century, consuming peanuts was the deciding factor between life and death. Peanut butter was the ideal foodstuff, freeing explorers from the transport and kindling of cooking fuel (a near-impossibility in the frigid polar winds), and high enough in protein and calories to fuel the party and keep them from freezing to death in the harsh weather and freezing night-time temperatures.
