Many amazing food dishes come from the South. We’ve got fried chicken, biscuits, green bean casserole, pecan pie, and many, many others. Generally speaking, I always trust meals that have their roots in the South. But when I heard that putting peanuts in Coke is a longstanding tradition there, I have to admit, I initially had my doubts.
According to the National Peanut Board, historian and author Rick McDaniel notes that the trend of putting peanuts in Coke likely originated in the 1920s when packaged, shelled peanuts started being sold at country stores alongside the classic Coke bottle. He continues that many workers would not have had a place to wash their hands, or simply didn’t have the time, so they started dumping the peanuts in the Coke to avoid touching each one with dirty hands.
Another theory is that workers who were on the road a lot in that time period would have been driving stick shift, so putting peanuts in the Coke bottle gave them a free hand as opposed to holding a drink and trying to grab individual peanuts from a bag while driving.
If you try this trend, make sure you choose regular Coke, not diet, and salted peanuts. If you can find Coke in a glass bottle, even better – everyone knows Coke just tastes better in a glass bottle! Many people say that the combination of the sweet Coke and the salty, crunchy peanuts is incredible. While this food phenomenon may seem odd or new to us, it’s one that’s been going on for generations in the South – and I am definitely curious to try it for myself!