April 2019: Mamba Magic (making Haitian peanut butter)

Unless you have the kind of allergies that cause anaphylaxis (which Im really sorry about), the majority of us have eaten peanuts/peanut butter. One of the great things about Haiti is that farmers are able to grow peanuts locally, which contributes to both the internal economy and serves as a food source for families/communities. In one of my upcoming posts, I'll be highlighting Wilner Osse (Klinik St. Josephs Director of malnutrition), and in that I will be sharing more about the incredible ways peanut butter (mamba in Kreyol) has been used to create a type of “miracle peanut butter” to combat malnutrition across the central plateau. Right now, I’m going to focus on the process of creating peanut butter and ima hand it over to my zanmi (friend), Kiki who graciously walked me through the simple yet delicious art of making Haitian peanut butter.

In case you caught absolutely none of what he said, let me briefly summarize it-Kiki essentially introduced himself, said hello to all of you, gave me a nice little shout out, and then went on to talk us through the initial stages of making peanut butter. Before we get into the step by step process, I forgot to mention one thing. Early last week Kiki went to the market to buy some peanuts, which have gone up in price lately due to insufficient rain. 3lbs of unshelled peanuts cost 150 htg ( ~ 1.75USD).

Alright, getting back to mamba making, the key to making excellent peanut butter lies in the selection process. Before placing any peanuts into the kettle, we need to get rid of spoiled or ugly looking peanuts, they'll ruin the vibe. Toss those babies out and put your beautifully selected array of peanuts into the pot. Now, your set-up may not be as sophisticated or old school/retro as ours, but fear not, just use what you have. Quick side note- to my ecofriendly partners out there, I hear you about the damaging effects of our cooking methods, but at the moment, it's the best we can do. Trust me, Im all about finding more efficient and affordable ways to burn, not only because of the implications it has on the sustainability of our environment but also the added health benefits. But if we can hit a quick time out on that convo and table it for another post, I'd appreciate it.

Are your peanuts are now in action? Let them cooking for 15 min and folks, make sure that you occasionally stir the pot so that the peanuts do not burn. Keep an eye on them and give them a little TLC. Once they're finished, pour them onto your pan and let them cool(~5-10 min). Rookies mistake, which I made, was trying to peel them while they were still hot. It's not that my hands burned (though you should watch out for that, I didn’t have that problem because my hands are durable and made for making tortillas), the issue is that the peanuts will completely break apart and we want the whole peanut to stay in tact. Let the nuts cool and start peeling( "Kale" as Kiki stated in the video).

Finished peeling? Great. Key ingredient aside from peanuts is SUGA! You’ll need to grab a bag of sugar from your local vendor, ours is the Jean Robert(our security guard who is also a business man, electrician, water-pump extraordinaire, the list goes on), or for you, that may be the grocery store. Next, depending on the type of peanut butter you're going for, sweet and creamy or with a little kick, you’ll also add piment (Haitian pepper) to the mix.

In the past, when I made PB with the boys, we went a few blocks down the street where they have this really cool manual grinder. You stick the peanuts, hella sugar, and a little bit of salt to it, and start going at it until peanut butter starts coming out. This time we went to another home, further down from the clinic, which uses an automatic peanut butter maker (check out this machine, apparently Honda is in the peanut butter making industry, learn something new everyday).

As seen in the video, or not, you put all the magic ingredients in (peanuts, sugar, salt), and out comes that rich, beautiful, creamy peanut butter. Its perfection. The last thing you have left to do is scooping the mamba out and into the container just like Tchitchi.

So, there you have it, Haitian peanut butter class # 1/1. If you ever find yourself wandering the streets of Thomassique, Haiti and develop an insatiable craving for peanut butter, holla at me, I’ll link you up with the connoisseur of mamba.

XOXO,

AR