MARKETING PEANUTS 57 
are delivered into the cooker in a small continuous stream which does 
not cool the oil appreciably, and the kernels are cooked in a very 
few minutes. 
When the nuts reach the proper color they are promptly lifted out 
of the cooker, and the oil is drained off before salting. Usually the 
salt is shaken over the nuts with a sieve or is sprinkled on by hand, 
and then the peanuts are stirred or raked so that the salt is evenly 
distributed. Some manufacturers prefer to apply the salt before 
cooking the peanuts; others reverse the process. The proportion 
used by some salters is about 3 pounds of salt to 100 pounds of pea- 
nuts. Peanuts which are cooled immedieately are often sprayed 
lightly with oil before salting, or occasionally with glucose or gum 
arabic and water, so the salt will stick better. Shriveled peanuts, if 
not too badly shriveled, are not considered unfit for salting as they 
tend to plump out after being subjected to the oil. Even if they 
do not completely fill out, a small percentage of shriveled kernels 
is not particularly objectionable. 
In some large salting plants the cooked peanuts are emptied from 
the vats into large flat tanks or bins (fig. 27), where the oil is drained 
off by a suction pipe running under the tanks. These tanks are so 
large that after salt is scattered over the peanuts they are turned 
over with a shovel to mix in the salt thoroughly. 
Salted Spanish peanuts are sold in various ways. Many reach the 
consumer in small envelope sacks retailing for 5 or 10 cents. Pas- 
senger trains, railroad stations, drug stores, and delicatessen. stores 
furnish a considerable outlet for these goods. In some instances the 
firms putting out the envelope sacks are not large enough to do 
their own salting, and they purchase the finished product from 
salters, often in boxes having a parafnned-paper lining. Many large 
salters employ machinery for filling the sacks with peanuts ; smaller 
firms fill the envelopes by hand, using a measuring cup to determine 
the quantity going into each sack. 
Enormous quantities of bulk salted Spanish are shipped in barrels 
to 5 and 10 cent stores and others which use them as " leaders." A 
certain number of ounces may be sold for 10 cents, or the peanuts 
may be sold at so much per pound. In the Pacific coast group of 
one chain of 5 and 10 cent stores, it is said that 90 stores sold over 
950,000 pounds of salted peanuts, both Spanish and Virginia types, in 
six months. 
A few southern concerns are now putting out blanched salted 
Spanish (peanuts with the skins removed, salted) in 10-pound tins 
and smaller containers, prepared in much the same way as are 
salted Virginias, described on page 59 and 60. These blanched 
salted Spanish have met with favor. 
VENDING MACHINES 
In some cities enormous quantities of salted Spanish peanuts are 
disposed of through penny-in-the-slot vending machines. These 
machines are often loaned to merchants, drug stores, city transpor- 
tation systems, etc., on a plan which allows the owner a certain 
percentage of the sales, usually 25 per cent, as a commission in lieu 
of rent. Vending machines are now widely distributed throughout 
the United States. They operate solely with Spanish peanuts, as 
