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Chocolate peanuts
In many countries, a peanut in a shell of milk chocolate is linked with the cinema counter. Here is what goes into them, where they came from, and the allergy and choking warnings that anyone buying them for others should know.
In this article
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Chocolate peanuts are peanuts coated in a shell of milk chocolate. They are made much as chocolate raisins are, by tumbling the centres in a rotating pan while chocolate is added a little at a time: see how are chocolate raisins made?
The first brand was Goobers, introduced in the United States in 1925 by the Blumenthal Chocolate Company, which went on to launch Raisinets two years later. Nestlé bought Goobers in 1984, and Ferrero took them over in 2018.
Two recipes
Chocolate Peanuts, as listed by Sweets and Candy. Peanuts (42 per cent), sugar, cocoa butter, dried skimmed milk, cocoa mass, dried whey, lactose, butter oil, rapeseed oil, gum arabic and shellac as glazing agents, tapioca starch, soya lecithin and vanilla flavouring. The milk chocolate contains at least 25 per cent cocoa solids and 14 per cent milk solids. The retailer lists them as suitable for vegetarians.
Dairyfine Milk Chocolate Peanuts, as recorded by Open Food Facts. Peanuts (41 per cent), sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whole and skimmed milk powders, sweet whey powder, milk fat, glucose syrup, soya lecithins and flavouring. The milk chocolate contains at least 30 per cent cocoa solids and 18 per cent milk solids, and the cocoa is Rainforest Alliance certified.
Read the ingredients, not the blurb
The Sweets and Candy listing describes a chocolate flavour coating, but its own ingredients and cocoa statement show real milk chocolate. It is a small example of why the ingredients list, not the description, is the part to trust.
Allergy and safety points
- Peanuts. Peanuts are the main ingredient, so these are unsafe for anyone with a peanut allergy: see which sweets contain nuts?
- Tree nuts, barley and wheat. Sweets and Candy says its chocolate peanuts may contain tree nuts, and the Dairyfine label says they may also contain nuts, barley and wheat: see what does may contain mean on sweets?
- Milk and soya. Both recipes contain milk and soya lecithin: see milk in sweets
- Shellac. The Sweets and Candy recipe is glazed with shellac, so it is not vegan: see what is shellac on sweets?
- Young children. Sweets and Candy says its chocolate peanuts are not suitable for children under 3, and the Dairyfine label warns that small children can choke on nuts.
In our pick and mix
We do not sell chocolate peanuts. Our pick and mix does include 
Milk Chocolate Raisins; the card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergy advice for the ones we stock.
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Questions and answers
What are chocolate peanuts made of?
Sweets and Candy's: peanuts (42 per cent), sugar, cocoa butter, dried skimmed milk, cocoa mass, dried whey, lactose, butter oil, rapeseed oil, gum arabic and shellac as glazes, tapioca starch, soya lecithin and vanilla flavouring.
Are chocolate peanuts real chocolate?
The two recipes here are. Both state a milk chocolate with at least 25 or 30 per cent cocoa solids, even though one retailer's description calls the coating chocolate flavour.
Are chocolate peanuts suitable for young children?
Take care. One retailer says its chocolate peanuts are not suitable for children under 3, and another label warns that small children can choke on nuts.
Are chocolate peanuts vegan?
Not the recipes here. They contain milk, and one is glazed with shellac, which is made by insects. Vegan versions made without dairy do exist.
Sources
- Chocolate peanuts 100g, product listing, Sweets and Candy
- Dairyfine milk chocolate peanuts, product record, Open Food Facts
- Chocolate coated peanut, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Sweet by sweetChocolate raisinsChocolate raisins are raisins coated in real milk chocolate. Two UK recipes compared, from soya to shellac, and why they must be kept from dogs.
- Questions people askWhich sweets contain nuts?Nougat, marzipan, brittle, chocolate peanuts and some Turkish delight contain nuts. Peanuts and tree nuts are separate allergens, and labels must show them.
- How it is madeHow are chocolate raisins made?Raisins tumble in a rotating drum while warm chocolate is added a little at a time and set with cool air, then the coated raisins are polished and glazed.
- Questions people askWhat is shellac on sweets?Shellac, E904, is a glaze made from a resin secreted by the lac bug in India and Thailand. It gives sweets a hard shine, and vegans avoid it. Here is why.
- Diet, allergens and labelsMilk in sweetsMilk is one of the 14 allergens. It turns up in chocolate, fudge, toffee, caramel and butterscotch, sometimes as milk powder or whey. How to spot it on a label.
- Questions people askWhat does may contain mean on sweets?A may contain warning means traces of an allergen could have got in by accident. It is voluntary, and not the same as the allergens in the ingredients.