When boiling peanuts should I add more water and salt as the water evaporates?

by Ed
(Minnesota)

When boiling raw peanuts the brine has a tendency to evaporate off.


My question is when you add more water to the pot do you need to add more salt or do you just keep adding water so the brine becomes diluted to the point of turning into fresh water boiling?

I have been boiling my raw peanuts for 24 hours and they are still firm but getting soft finally and taste pretty good. I so far have been putting in a half gallon of water and 2oz of salt every time that amount of water evaporates off. I started my brine with 10oz of salt per gallon of water.

Not bad so far!

Comments for When boiling peanuts should I add more water and salt as the water evaporates?

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Sep 27, 2011
 Add Water Only
by: Bret

Ed,
Water evaporates, salt does not. All the salt you started with is still in the pot, plus what you have added.

Sea salt is created by taking salt water and letting the water evaporate. The water disappears and the salt remains.

Salt actually slows down the softening of boiling dried peanuts just like it does dried beans. By adding more salt each time you added water you have slowed down the softening process of the boiled peanuts. Else they should be soft by 24 hours.

I suggest about 8 to 10 Tablespoons of salt per gallon of water. Some people use more, some use less.

When boiling dried peanuts it's best to add the salt late in the boiling process, when the peanuts have softened almost to your liking. That will speed up the boiling process, because peanuts soften faster when boiled in fresh water.

After adding the salt let the peanuts continue boiling until they are as soft as you like. Let the peanuts soak in the cooling liquid for several hours to better absorb the salty flavor.

You can briefly reheat the peanuts and soak them again in the same salt water for several times until they reach the saturated wetness and flavor that you like. The additional brief reheating will not soften the peanuts much more, but the additional soaking makes a big difference in the salt water getting inside the peanut shell.

Keep adding water throughout the boiling process, but only add salt when the peanuts are soft and wet inside the shell, yet not salty enough for your taste.

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