There are certain things indigenous to an area that non-natives are bewildered by but which the locals view as an every day occurrence. Kinda like if you were to visit Australia and saw a Kangaroo running across the road… you would probably be rather enthralled while an Antipodean would treat it as you might treat a deer.
The candy equivalent of this for me is a confection known as the peanut pattie. I never knew such things existed before my move to Texas. Since moving to the Lone Star state, I see them everywhere. Gas stations. Drug Stores. Vending Machines. It’s so prevalent that it’s not even limited to one distributor, as several varieties have caught my eye.
Unsure of which brand to purchase, I went with Goodart’s Peanut Pattie. My logic was the following: there’s a female peanut mascot on the wrapper lifting weights. What does that have to do with good candy? Probably nothing, but I couldn’t resist hilarious thoughts of Mr. Peanut trying to ask this character out if he saw her at the gym, and I bought the candy purely because of successful advertising.
Peanut patties are pretty similar in nature regardless of the manufacturer. They are discs about an inch-and-a-half in diameter and comprised of peanuts set in a pinkish/red casting.
The taste of this candy reminded me of Boston Baked Beans, being rather benign in flavor with both the sugar setting and the peanuts. While I do enjoy BBB, I didn’t really find myself excited with this product.
In the instance of BBB, the sugar coat is proportional to the peanut and isn’t overwhelming; in the peanut pattie, the sugar is too thick and the ratio with peanuts out of sync, which caused my throat to burn from the intensity. The unbalanced ratio also creates a chalky consistency.
The peanuts themselves are rather bland. Yes, I could taste a general, non-roasted peanut flavor, but I believe a salted variety would offer a nice flavor contrast to the sweetness of the sugar.
I am not too keen on trying any of the other varieties of peanut patties, as I don’t think the inherent flaws of the candy are remedied in any of the other versions. If any readers have any suggestions for a good peanut pattie brand, please let me know.
Oh goodness…you have to have homemade peanut patties. Find someone with a mom or grandma who makes them around the holidays, and only then try them again. They are not supposed to be overly sweet (nothing like a praline, which they somewhat resemble). When done right, they are much better than the BBB!
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:52 amThis candy reminds me a lot of a certain Filipino confectionery. Heck, it even looks a lot like it.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:25 amAmy, do you have a mom or grandma to share? =-)
January 27th, 2009 at 10:37 pmGoodart peanut patties are a favorite of my wife, who is a native Texan. While Robby (see above review) did not particularly care for them, I can say that they are an acquired taste. Every time I visit Texas I try to bring some patties back with me
December 30th, 2011 at 1:14 amThey are much as you’ve indicated a local Texas staple that stem from the 1940’s. Much of the local following seems to derive from it using Spanish peanuts which makes up the bulk supply of peanuts that are grown here in Texas. Some claim the peanut patties derive much influence from old fashioned Mexican confectionery, but I’ve never seen it documented. Much like with old divinity candy, it can be rather harsh to the average and conventional tastebuds. The market for them is likely never to thrive into the mainstream beyond the local following.
October 19th, 2012 at 10:16 pm