If you have been following my website you will have noticed that a lot of Zimbabwean food has peanut butter in it. I personally love peanut butter that when I was pregnant I ate peanut butter at least twice a day! It is used mostly as an alternative to cooking oil. With older generations, every woman was expected to know how to make peanut butter. My late grandmother taught me how to make peanut butter along with other things.
In the absense of technology making peanut is a chore that will break your back. I salute all the women who still have to do it all by hand. IF doing everything by hand here is the process:
- Shell the peanuts by hand- I must confess though that I actually enjoy shelling peanuts, somehow its calming for me. I know, I am weird.
- Roast the peanuts
- Remove the outer skin
- Using duri and mutswi, grind the peanuts into a thick paste
- Using guyo and huyo, which are basically two flat stones, guyo being bigger than huyo, make the thick paste creamier.
This process can easily take up-to a week, considering that you still have to do other things around the house. These days you can do the first three steps and then take the peanuts to someone who has a peanut butter making machine. My mother usually has a 5l tub made at a time. I will show you how I made peanut butter at home, I actually do not do it often because its not easy to find raw peanuts here. I could use the roasted peanuts in the snacks section but I prefer to roast my own peanuts.
Here is how to make peanut butter at home:
Roast peanuts in a dry pan on the stove top. I like to do it this way in batches, but you can roast them in the oven.
In a tray, remove the outer skin by crushing the peanuts with a tumbler or cup. If I was in Zimbabwe I would have used rusero( a winowing basket) and huyo (made from a dried squash)
Winnow the outer skin
Add salt as desired to the peanuts
Put the peanuts in a blender or food processor.
You can make the peanut butter any consistency you like.
I like mine to be smooth to I process the peanuts until smooth and spreadable.
