Adding peanuts to Coca-cola

What is the weirdest food trend or hack that you have heard?

Social media has allowed us to share different food hacks and trends. In just a day, a post or an idea could reach millions of people around the world. No wonder it has been fun to try out food experiments.

What is nice about sharing food trends is that people could also share food traditions, which will allow us to understand other people’s cultures and history

Have you heard about the trend involving salted peanuts and Coca-cola?
One of the viral food trends that we found got us thinking. How can this food combination work? Who started it, and is really as good as they say it is?

Let us first find out where this all started.

We found out that this is actually a famous delicacy from the south, and if you are curious if it’s worth trying, then the answer is yes!

In the heart of the Deep South, a curious tradition has persisted for decades: peanuts in Coca-Cola. The surprising combo is locally regarded as a sweet-salty snack and are we to question good ol’ Southern hospitality?

Historically rooted in the early 1900s, the practice is believed to be a pragmatic solution for workers in gritty industries like textiles, agriculture, mechanics, and farming. The tradition is supposedly borne of labourers looking for a quick and filling snack that could sustain them through long hours of physical work without having to break to wash their hands. Peanuts, abundant in the South and packed with protein and healthy fats, became a natural choice.

At the same time, Coca-Cola, which originated in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886, was rapidly gaining popularity as the drink of choice for Americans all over the country.

The combination itself is simple: a small packet of salted peanuts is emptied into a bottle of Coca-Cola. The salty crunch of the peanuts complements the sweet, fizzy cola, the peanuts also soften slightly in the drink as they sit, giving a snack that evolves over the day.

The drink, also known as a “farmer’s coke” became an internet trend back in 2018, and probably now in our backyards.

Coca Cola on a beach Source: Coca Cola Australia

Why do people put peanuts in their Coca-Cola?

From a taste perspective, the marriage of salty and sweet is the key. The initial sip of Coca-Cola gives way to the savoury crunch of peanuts, creating a gutsy flavour that is a trademark in Southern cooking. Collard greens with brown sugar and salty bacon, slow-cooked barbecue with sweet tangy sauce, you get the idea.