You know it, you… love it? Record breakers using peanut butter to stick a new record
Whether you like it crunchy or creamy, in a cup or directly in your mouth, odds are high that you either like peanut butter or hate it – but you can’t deny the fact that this popular spread has an interesting role in the record books.
Believe it or not, humans have been eating the nut-filled condiment for hundreds of years, and GWR food historian Darra Goldstein explained that scientists found evidence of pre-Columbian people from Latin and South America grinding roasted peanuts into a paste as far back as the 13th and 16th centuries.
Admittedly, it was a far cry from the creamy texture that we’re familiar with today – and it wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th century that businessmen began to patent the product we know as peanut butter.
Although none of the famous origin stories are completely verifiable, health food pioneer and cereal businessman John Harvey Kellogg (USA) widely promoted himself as the inventor of the first commercial peanut butter after filing two patents pertaining to the spread and its manufacture on 4 November 1895. Nonetheless, other entrepreneurs also claim the title for the “father of peanut butter”, such as St. Louis snack-food purveyor George Bayle, James Lambert at Kellogg, and chemist Joseph Rosefield at Skippy brand.
Nowadays, peanut butter can be found in practically any shape and form – used in sandwiches or chocolate, smoothies or stir-fry sauces, and even in protein powder.
But have you ever heard of someone using it to break a world record?
Most peanut butter cups eaten in one minute
Another inspiring speedeater who took on a peanut butter themed challenge was Kevin Thomas Strahle (USA), also known as the L.A. Beast.
The American competitive eater wanted to take on six food record attempts in Ridgewood, New Jersey in 2017, so a Guinness World Records Adjudicator joined him on his quest to take the crown for the most peanut butter cups eaten in one minute.
Like Andre, Kevin found it hard to choke down the peanut butter spread in the cups, smacking his lips as he tried to scarf down the snack.
Yet after one minute he had been able to demolish eight peanut butter cups to take the title – and it’s clearly more hard than it seems!
Most peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten in one minute
Perhaps the most difficult food to eat in a minute, however, is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Anyone that’s ever tasted the sticky spread smashed between a layer of jam and two slices of bread knows that it’s a hard texture to get off the roof of your mouth.
But Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti (USA) – a competitive eater from Chicago – knew just how to tackle the challenge when he attempted the record for the most peanut butter and jelly sandwiches eaten in one minute in 2012.
Stuffing the crusts in his mouth and chewing voraciously, the speedeater demolished six full-sized sandwiches in 60 seconds, claiming the crown while licking his lips.
Read more stories about epic chefs and speed-eating challenges in our Food and Drinks section!
Honourable mention: First dog to hold a speedrun record
And we’d be remiss if we left out this good boy – Peanut Butter – from our record-breaking roundup!
The achievement of the four-year-old Shiba Inu gave the gaming world paws for thought last January, after he took the title for the first dog to hold a speedrun record.
With some guidance from his owner, speedrunner JSR, Peanut Butter finished Nintendo’s 1985 puzzle platformer Gyromite in 23 minutes and 9 seconds by slapping his paws on giant customized buttons made by his dad.
And for a dog named Peanut Butter, you’d expect him to be motivated by that nutty spread… but JSR told GWR that his dog’s favourite snack is string cheese!