One would certainly think that one out of the five subjects that have staked national honors in November would be turkey, but not so. It is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month. This may be because peanut butter and jelly are probably the number one choice for a sandwich with American children as well as adults.

Contrary to popular belief, George Washington Carver did not invent peanut butter although he discovered 300 other uses for this legume. There is evidence that ancient Incas and Aztecs ground peanuts into a paste.  Today’s modern peanut butter can be traced to several inventors.

In 1884 Marcellus Gilmore Edson of Canada patented peanut paste, a product made from milling roasted peanuts between two heated surfaces. In 1890 a St. Louis physician developed the idea of packaging peanut paste for people with bad teeth. It sold for six cents a pound.  In 1895 the Kellogg brothers patented the process of preparing peanut butter with steamed nuts as a nutritious...