If a peanut is not a pea or a nut, what is it?

For years, people have been asking the question: if a peanut is not a pea or a nut, what is it? The answer, it turns out, is quite simple. A peanut is actually a legume.

Legumes are plants in the Fabaceae family that produce seed pods that split open when they mature. This includes other common plants such as beans, lentils, and alfalfa. Peanuts are unique in that they are the only legume that is typically consumed in its raw, unripe form. In addition, peanuts are often classified as nuts because of their high fat content. However, technically speaking, they are not true nuts because they do not contain a hard shell.

So there you have it: a peanut is not a pea or a nut, but rather a legume. And now you know!