Don’t break my Heart! Peanut Hearts are becoming a rare commodity. Why is this?
Raw Peanut Hearts are created from the blanching process. They fall into the “oilstock” tote boxes and then require screening, testing, re-bagging and storing, in order to move into the bird food market. This is a costly process when you also add in the cost of labor. With peanut oil crush bids in the $0.23 - $0.28/lb range this crop year, it is not cost-effective to separate the hearts.
So what to do? Chop Raw Peanuts. Very costly with the shrink, but at least for most packagers it’s a good substitute.
I’ve been in this business long enough to see that nothing stays the same. This decline in availability, may cycle around and when oilstock is back in the “tank”, blanching plants may reconsider the separation of Hearts for those of us in the bird food trade. It often comes down to money. How much value does a Peanut Heart have to the consumer?
Until then, a chocolate heart for our loved ones, may have to do.