In the United Kingdom, peanut butter is a delicacy, not a staple. Scotch Corner Peanut Butter’s John Sayer, native of Middlesbrough, England, remembers his first taste at age six or seven. “My uncle lived out in the country in a big house. They were kind of posh and when they served us peanut butter I remember wondering, ‘What is this delicious thing?’ It was the opposite of British food which can be so plain and bland.”
Sayer’s wife Janna grew up as the daughter of a fifth generation Alabama peanut farmer. Fresh peanuts were on the table in the fall when her dad made what she considers the best boiled peanuts in the world. The rest of the peanuts were sold as seed peanuts, or went into food system to be roasted by someone else and turned into products like peanut butter. “For a while my dad sold our peanuts to Peter Pan, so we would buy Peter Pan peanut butter and hoped maybe some of our peanuts were in those jars,” she says.
One of her mother’s signature treats was grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches served for breakfast or as a snack. These days the Sayers carry on the tradition of those sandwiches, but now they make them with their own small batch Salt of the Earth peanut butter and other locally produced products like sourdough bread from Decatur’s La Calavera bakery and Strawberry Chardonnay Jelly from One Screw Loose.
“When I first tried a grilled peanut butter sandwich I thought it was a strange mixture. But now I really appreciate how using high quality ingredients can take something relatively mundane and elevate it to something very special,” said John.
Scotch Corner Peanut Butter is in its fourth month of production. It was just over a year ago that the Sayers started building on their idea of making small batch peanut butter. Experimenting with the process, buying equipment, getting into a commercial kitchen all took time. Now they’re producing 50 to 110 pounds of peanut butter per batch and selling it at the Thursday evening East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, the Saturday morning Green Market at Piedmont Park and the Grant Park Farmers Market on alternate Sundays.
They have three varieties available each week: Pure Peanut Butter with just roasted peanuts, Salt of the Earth made with peanuts and salt and Peanut-Pecan Butter with both nuts as well as honey and sea salt. On occasion they offer a dark chocolate peanut butter and they have just created a cinnamon-ginger variety.
The Sayers offer samples at their farmers market booth and the open jars come home to the family’s pantry. “There are 20 jars in our pantry right now and we eat peanut butter many times a day. Grilled peanut butter sandwiches are a favorite, but lunch might be peanut butter on a banana or the Salt of the Earth peanut butter with a peach,” said Janna.
Their business is named for a real place, Scotch Corner on the Great North Road in northern England, where John’s family farmed for generations. By lucky coincidence, Janna’s ancestors came from 150 miles further up the Great North Road, in the Scottish lowlands.
John works full time on the business while Janna continues her day job. They’ve laughingly given themselves the titles of “master grinder” and “peanut farmer’s daughter” respectively.
As the peanut farmer’s daughter, Janna particularly understands the hurdles of sourcing local peanuts. “So many peanuts are grown in Georgia, but farmers sell their products to processors who dry, shell, blanch and roast the peanuts. Way down the line there’s a supplier who sells the processed peanuts and the smallest order they’ll sell is a quarter of a ton,” she said.
For their small batch peanut butter, the Sayers buy runner peanuts, which produce smaller, more uniform nuts ideal for roasting. They are able to verify that the nuts they’re using are grown in Georgia or Tennessee.
John says, “We knew the business would be a labor of love, and that something worth doing could be difficult. I get great satisfaction when I’m at the market and someone comes up and tastes what I’ve worked really hard to do and they close their eyes and go ‘Ummmm.’”
Topper: A grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a great thing, but peanut butter dresses up, too. Try it as an ingredient in a main course or dessert.
West African Peanut Soup
In this recipe, you want to use a natural peanut butter with salt added. The Sayers use their Scotch Corner Salt of the Earth Peanut Butter.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 teaspoons fresh lemon Juice
4 cups 1-inch cubes fresh pumpkin, butternut or other winter squash (about 1 pound)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1-inch knob fresh ginger, grated, or to taste
1 habanero or ghost pepper, or to taste, finely minced
3 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups natural salted peanut butter
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup slivered fresh basil, divided
Crushed peanuts, for garnish
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion and saute until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice. Stir in cubed squash, garlic, ginger and hot pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add stock, water, peanut butter, tomato paste and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Taste for seasoning. Stir in half the basil. May be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days. When ready to serve, warm soup and garnish with remaining basil and crushed peanuts. Makes: 9 cups
— Adapted from a recipe provided by Mary Yetter of the Green Market at Piedmont Park.
Per 1-cup serving: 356 calories (percent of calories from fat, 58), 15 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams fiber, 24 grams fat (5 grams saturated), 1 milligram cholesterol, 827 milligrams sodium.
Peanut-Glazed Chicken over Fried Rice
This is an adaptation of Janna Sayer’s prize-winning peanut recipe. A sophomore in high school, she won first place in the Alabama Future Homemakers of America peanut recipe competition with this recipe originally called Goober Glazed Chicken with Fried Rice. “I created and tested the recipe with my mother at home and won a couple competitions with it prior to winning the State prize. It’s published in my family’s church cookbook.”
We’ve adapted the recipe for peanut butter.
1/3 cup natural unsalted peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
2 tablespoons peanut oil
Fried Rice (see recipe)
1/2 cup finely chopped honey-roasted peanuts
Chopped red bell pepper, sliced green onions, chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
In a small bowl, stir together peanut butter, honey and mustard. Consistency should be sauce-like. If too thick, add water by tablespoons until a smooth, sauce-like consistency is reached. Set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together salt, garlic powder and pepper. Sprinkle over all sides of chicken strips. Set aside.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown strips on all sides, cooking until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Do not crowd pan. Cook chicken in batches if needed and keep cooked strips warm in a medium bowl.
When all chicken is cooked, toss strips with reserved peanut butter mixture. Arrange strips on top of Fried Rice. Pour any remaining sauce over the chicken strips and sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Garnish with red bell pepper, green onions and parsley. Serve immediately. Serves: 6.
— Adapted from a recipe provided by Janna Sayer.
Per serving (without Fried Rice): 426 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 34 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 23 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 66 milligrams cholesterol, 415 milligrams sodium.
Fried Rice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
2/3 cup 1/4-inch diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup 1/4-inch diced green bell pepper
5 cups cooked, chilled rice
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
Whole roasted peanuts, for garnish
In a large saucepan or wok, melt butter over medium heat. Add eggs and cook until almost set, about 3 minutes. Stir in green onions, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in rice and toss to coat evenly. Add soy sauce and toss to coat evenly. Cook 2 minutes, taste for seasoning, garnish with peanuts if desired and serve immediately. Serves 6.
— Adapted from a recipe provided by Janna Sayer.
Per serving: 342 calories (percent of calories from fat, 31), 10 grams protein, 48 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 162 milligrams cholesterol, 853 milligrams sodium.
Peanut Butter Pavlovas
The Sayers use their Salt of the Earth Peanut Butter for this recipe. You could replace the pears with apples, or even bananas. Or go a little crazy and garnish your pavlova with crumbled brown-sugar glazed bacon.
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups lightly packed light brown sugar, divided
1 cinnamon stick
2 pears, peeled, cut in half and cored, cut into 1-inch chunks (about 3/4 pound)
1/4 cup rum
4 large egg whites (about 1/2 cup), at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup natural salted peanut butter
1 cup heavy cream
In a medium saucepan, combine water, 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and carefully add pears. Cook pears until just tender, about 5 minutes. Remove pears from poaching liquid and bring liquid to a boil. Boil until liquid reduces to 3 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add rum and return pears to syrup. Allow mixture to cool. May be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat on medium-high speed until egg whites form a soft peak, about 2 minutes. Gradually add remaining 1 cup brown sugar and continue to beat until all sugar is incorporated and the mixture forms stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
Remove bowl from mixer. Fold in peanut butter.
Divide the mixture into eight rounds on prepared baking sheets. Bake 1 hour or until golden brown and with a solid crust. Turn off oven leaving meringues inside. Open oven door and allow meringues to cool completely. May be made ahead up to this point. Wrap airtight and leave at room temperature for up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, strain pears from poaching liquid, reserving both pears and liquid. In a medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. Slowly add pear poaching liquid. Continue to beat until whipped cream forms stiff peaks, about 1 minute.
Arrange meringues on individual dessert dishes. Top each with whipped cream and reserved poached pears. Serve immediately. Serves: 8
Per serving: 332 calories (percent of calories from fat, 53), 6 grams protein, 32 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 19 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 120 milligrams sodium.
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