They're slimy and they're goopy, they're salty and they're soupy,
they're all together ooky, and now boiled peanuts are the official state
snack ? love 'em or hate 'em.
Wednesday afternoon Steve Stoyanou stuck one in his mouth at Rivers
Avenue Produce, chewed and looked confused. No, no, he was told. You take
off the shell first.
"This is first time," said the Bulgarian native who lives in West
Ashley. "I'm trying for the first time. Hmmm. It's good. Interesting."
Not everyone agrees. The law designating the official snack calls it a
true Southern delicacy. But at its signing this week, Gov. Mark Sanford
joked to the Winthrop University student who proposed the idea, "If I'm
gonna eat some, you're gonna too."
The reaction on the street was decidedly mixed. Molly Chappell of North
Charleston wheeled up on her pink motor scooter and popped up the kick
stand at the Rivers Avenue produce stand, where a big pot steamed away on
the roadside. But she wasn't there to get boiled peanuts.
"Nope. Melons," the California native said. "I tried the peanuts once.
I think they were soggy."
"Peanuts? The official state snack? I can go with that," said Jerrod
Gilliard of West Ashley.
"They slide on down," said Chris Villalobos of Hanahan as he bought a
pound at Timbo's in West Ashley.
In the Carolinas and Georgia, the peanut has been boiled and sold at
roadside stands since the first legumer with a pot discovered fire. The
basic ingredients are simple: peanuts, boiling water and salt. But recipes
for how much of each and how long to boil are closely kept secrets.
The true boiled peanut stays firm and keeps its nutty flavor, almost
like roasted. But roasted just doesn't cut it.
"Taste of the South," crooned Timothy "Timbo" Grainger, who has sold
boiled peanuts from his iconic wagon for 17 years. "Carolina Caviar.
Breakfast of Rednecks. Part of the Lowcountry since cobblestone
streets."
HR 4585
An act to amend the Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding
section 1-1-682 so as to designate boiled peanuts as the official state
snack food and to provide that schools are not required or encouraged to
serve peanuts, especially to students with food allergies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Bo
Petersen at bpetersen@postandcourier.com
or 745-5852.