Coke and Peanuts
December 11, 2014 8:34 AM Subscribe
This treasured custom is, to us Southerners born before LBJ took office, what the tea ceremony is to the Japanese. Carol Penn-Romine pens an ode to a very Southern culinary peculiarity.
No Southerner drinks Pepsi if there's Coke around.
(Also, I remember my aunts and uncles doing this when I was a kid, but I never have myself.)
posted by Kitteh at 8:46 AM on December 11, 2014 [11 favorites]
(Also, I remember my aunts and uncles doing this when I was a kid, but I never have myself.)
posted by Kitteh at 8:46 AM on December 11, 2014 [11 favorites]
I ran into a reference to this in the fantastic novella Wakulla Springs last year. It sounded kind of weird and gross and I chalked it up to a southern thing that I didn't get. Now it makes a little more sense.
Does this only work with glass bottles? I suspect that with the transition to plastic bottles, this would not work as well. Coke has brought back glass bottles in some areas, although I've been spoiled by Mexican Coke.
posted by Hactar at 8:48 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Does this only work with glass bottles? I suspect that with the transition to plastic bottles, this would not work as well. Coke has brought back glass bottles in some areas, although I've been spoiled by Mexican Coke.
posted by Hactar at 8:48 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hmm. Where I was it was RC Cola and peanuts, and this was absolutely the only way one would encounter RC Cola.
posted by selfnoise at 8:51 AM on December 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by selfnoise at 8:51 AM on December 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
Obviously there are regional variations (DP, RC Cola, Cheerwine, etc). I have also never had a Moon Pie...well, I have had the cookie part of it because I hated marshmallows as a child.
posted by Kitteh at 8:54 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Kitteh at 8:54 AM on December 11, 2014
The g/f is only 35 but she's all about this. When she moved out here from North Carolina and was introduced to Mexican cokes in the bottle sold at the mercado, she said she was drinking two of these a day. And she definitely agrees with selfnoise, RC Cola is the ultimate delivery system.
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:55 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 8:55 AM on December 11, 2014
I grew up in North Carolina and have never ever ever heard of this.
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:16 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Metroid Baby at 9:16 AM on December 11, 2014
Actually this is nothing like the tea ceremony other than there is a liquid. However, if you go to Japanese cabarets they serve peanuts with awful whiskey-and-waters, so in terms of a taste experience (drinking malted battery acid is so unusual) they do have the same thing.
posted by Nevin at 9:19 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Nevin at 9:19 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was gonna say RC Cola is more typical rural southern. It's good with moon pies, too.
posted by Nelson at 9:19 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 9:19 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Goobers. When you place them in a carbonated beverage (always RC in my recollection) they are magically changed from "peanuts" to "goobers."
posted by 1f2frfbf at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by 1f2frfbf at 9:20 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
No Southerner drinks Pepsi if there's Coke around.
North Carolina is a Southern State. STOP FORGETTING ABOUT US. In fact, all your quality soft drinks are Southern. Name a Yankee soda? Moxie? That shit is actual poison; it will cause you to die.
I agree that Coke is best for putting peanuts in, though. It's not something I do often, and I was born well after LBJ took office, but it's a nice afternoon pick-me-up. Some caffeine, some sugar, a little protein, some salt. Perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
North Carolina is a Southern State. STOP FORGETTING ABOUT US. In fact, all your quality soft drinks are Southern. Name a Yankee soda? Moxie? That shit is actual poison; it will cause you to die.
I agree that Coke is best for putting peanuts in, though. It's not something I do often, and I was born well after LBJ took office, but it's a nice afternoon pick-me-up. Some caffeine, some sugar, a little protein, some salt. Perfect.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
I grew up in South Carolina, but I don't recall hearing about this tradition. And I'm pretty sure the proper way to eat peanuts is boiled, ideally delivered in a brown paper bag purchased by the side of the road.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 9:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by Monsieur Caution at 9:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [9 favorites]
Mmm, now I really want a Moxie.
if GENTIAN ROOT EXTRACTIVES are wrong, I don't want to be right.
posted by Earthtopus at 9:31 AM on December 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
if GENTIAN ROOT EXTRACTIVES are wrong, I don't want to be right.
posted by Earthtopus at 9:31 AM on December 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
//And I'm pretty sure the proper way to eat peanuts is boiled, ideally delivered in a brown paper bag purchased by the side of the road.//
We usually paired it with bourbon, while watching an UGA game with the volume on and Larry Munson's call on the radio.
And I'm not even from GA - just lived there for 9 years with many locals for friends.
posted by COD at 9:36 AM on December 11, 2014
We usually paired it with bourbon, while watching an UGA game with the volume on and Larry Munson's call on the radio.
And I'm not even from GA - just lived there for 9 years with many locals for friends.
posted by COD at 9:36 AM on December 11, 2014
Pepsi? Coke? Pshaw. If you're down South, you have Cheerwine.
posted by delfin at 9:36 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by delfin at 9:36 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
I need to ask my parents about this, but I wasn't raised to adore peanuts in a form that involved submersion into coke. We always had coke in my house growing up, but since my mom was concerned about the healthiness of having coke in the house, it was always, always, diet, caffeine-free, coke.
...
Which really isn't that Coke-like. I do want to say my parents grew up mainly on RC Cola cause it was a bit cheaper and Coke was for fancier occasions.
RC Cola was paired with moonpies, which I was raised to appreciate it in their completely unhealthy form...God Bless Sam's club when they started carrying cartons of them and my dad couldn't resist buying 'em.
posted by Atreides at 9:39 AM on December 11, 2014
...
Which really isn't that Coke-like. I do want to say my parents grew up mainly on RC Cola cause it was a bit cheaper and Coke was for fancier occasions.
RC Cola was paired with moonpies, which I was raised to appreciate it in their completely unhealthy form...God Bless Sam's club when they started carrying cartons of them and my dad couldn't resist buying 'em.
posted by Atreides at 9:39 AM on December 11, 2014
If you're down South, you have Cheerwine.
I have spent my entire life, up until 30 seconds ago when it finally occurred to me to google it, assuming that Cheerwine was something like Red Ripple. Suddenly the south no longer seems so confusingly decadent.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:44 AM on December 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
I have spent my entire life, up until 30 seconds ago when it finally occurred to me to google it, assuming that Cheerwine was something like Red Ripple. Suddenly the south no longer seems so confusingly decadent.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:44 AM on December 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
rc cola is for both peanuts and moon pies. i'm only 33, but it's a tradition i got from my dad. i assume he picked up the habit in arkansas, but he's from a military family, so maybe elsewhere?
posted by nadawi at 9:44 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by nadawi at 9:44 AM on December 11, 2014
The bit about medicinal coke reminded me of my grandmother, who recommended flat coca-cola and saltine crackers for all stomach upsets. Coca-cola syrup was even better, but you could no longer get it at the pharmacists by the time I was a child.
posted by tavella at 9:47 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by tavella at 9:47 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Having grown up in central Texas, I feel obligated to mention that peanuts also go good in Big Red.
posted by bradf at 9:50 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bradf at 9:50 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
No Southerner drinks Pepsi if there's Coke around.
Even if they do, they'll call it "Coke." It's a proprietary eponym in the south.
My grandmother lived to a ripe old age on 6oz glass bottles of super-concentrated Coca-Cola (always said as one word), BC Headache Powder, and Winston cigarettes. Should I ever move back to North Carolina, I'm going to try the same experience with Cheerwine, Moon Pies, and a vaporizer.
posted by bibliowench at 9:50 AM on December 11, 2014 [7 favorites]
Even if they do, they'll call it "Coke." It's a proprietary eponym in the south.
My grandmother lived to a ripe old age on 6oz glass bottles of super-concentrated Coca-Cola (always said as one word), BC Headache Powder, and Winston cigarettes. Should I ever move back to North Carolina, I'm going to try the same experience with Cheerwine, Moon Pies, and a vaporizer.
posted by bibliowench at 9:50 AM on December 11, 2014 [7 favorites]
. Suddenly the south no longer seems so confusingly decadent.
there are 4 different places in my little town where i can walk in and buy a cake that is 3 layers red velvet with 2 layers of cheesecake in between, all covered with thick frosting. it's amazing, but the sugar and fat content does leave you feeling a little confused.
posted by nadawi at 9:51 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
there are 4 different places in my little town where i can walk in and buy a cake that is 3 layers red velvet with 2 layers of cheesecake in between, all covered with thick frosting. it's amazing, but the sugar and fat content does leave you feeling a little confused.
posted by nadawi at 9:51 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I am the child of a southern ma and a northern pa. I happily drink both Cheerwine and Moxie. I'm proud to know and enjoy both. Polarity is what you make of it.
posted by Spatch at 9:57 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Spatch at 9:57 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
There's a line about this in the 1980s Barbara Mandrell song "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool". Always confused the hell out of me.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:02 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:02 AM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is weird. I was born in Nashville TN, and all of my grandparents grew up on farms in TN and AL. Never heard of this.
posted by Fleebnork at 10:06 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Fleebnork at 10:06 AM on December 11, 2014
Pepsi? Coke? Pshaw. If you're down South, you have Cheerwine.
If you're in NC and SC (I grew up during the high school years in Greenville), sure. But in the decade I lived as an adult in Atlanta (and before that New Orleans), Cheerwine was uncommon.
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on December 11, 2014
If you're in NC and SC (I grew up during the high school years in Greenville), sure. But in the decade I lived as an adult in Atlanta (and before that New Orleans), Cheerwine was uncommon.
posted by Kitteh at 10:12 AM on December 11, 2014
Bulgaroktonos: "Name a Yankee soda"
Vernor's. Detroit, since 1866.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [13 favorites]
Vernor's. Detroit, since 1866.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [13 favorites]
I'm more of a Blenheim ginger ale fan, but Hires, Jones, and Moxie are all non-Southern, though not necessarily Yankee.
in before some juggalos start talking about Faygo
posted by a halcyon day at 10:58 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
in before some juggalos start talking about Faygo
posted by a halcyon day at 10:58 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I was mostly kidding, but it remains a fact that the most popular nationwide sodas (Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper) are all Southern.
It's also a fact that Moxie is terrible, and you people should all be ashamed of yourselves.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:10 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
It's also a fact that Moxie is terrible, and you people should all be ashamed of yourselves.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:10 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
No Southerner drinks Pepsi if there's Coke around.
Even if they do, they'll call it "Coke." It's a proprietary eponym in the south.
Except where it isn't.
The South is not monolithic.
posted by Foosnark at 11:13 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
Even if they do, they'll call it "Coke." It's a proprietary eponym in the south.
Except where it isn't.
The South is not monolithic.
posted by Foosnark at 11:13 AM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
*wrings hands* oh won't somebody please think of the carbonation
posted by Earthtopus at 11:20 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Earthtopus at 11:20 AM on December 11, 2014
Just because you're putting something in your mouth doesn't mean it's anything at all like a Japanese tea ceremony.
posted by lumnar at 11:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by lumnar at 11:27 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Except where it isn't.
The South is not monolithic.
Of course not, but it's a pretty strong preference in large swaths.
posted by madajb at 11:52 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
The South is not monolithic.
Of course not, but it's a pretty strong preference in large swaths.
posted by madajb at 11:52 AM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
As a European, and moreover as a Brit can I please say WHAT?!
posted by Braeburn at 11:55 AM on December 11, 2014
posted by Braeburn at 11:55 AM on December 11, 2014
Imagine you are swimming at Moxley's pool in Arkansas, in 1956. There is algae growing in the bottom of the deep end. You carefully open your package of peanuts with wet hands, just a tiny corner, so they pour right down into your giant swirl bottle of Pepsi. You can swim a coupla more hours on this. It is sanitary too!
Imagine Bill Clinton's accent for the words above, then you have it.
posted by Oyéah at 11:57 AM on December 11, 2014
Imagine Bill Clinton's accent for the words above, then you have it.
posted by Oyéah at 11:57 AM on December 11, 2014
Honestly, I'd heard about this for years, but it never really occurred to me to actually try it.
So, you just... drop peanuts in the bottle?
And drink it?
Does it matter, salted or unsalted?
Sure, why not?
Next time I come across a Mexican coke, I'm looking for some peanuts.
posted by madajb at 12:01 PM on December 11, 2014
So, you just... drop peanuts in the bottle?
And drink it?
Does it matter, salted or unsalted?
Sure, why not?
Next time I come across a Mexican coke, I'm looking for some peanuts.
posted by madajb at 12:01 PM on December 11, 2014
madajb, salted Spanish peanuts (with the brown hulls still on them, but shelled).
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:09 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:09 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
A package of Planter's salted peanuts dumped carefully into the glass bottle. You get salt, hydration, sugar, caffeine and goodness.
posted by Oyéah at 12:13 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 12:13 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
if you go to Japanese cabarets they serve peanuts with awful whiskey-and-waters, so in terms of a taste experience (drinking malted battery acid is so unusual)
Must be an old memory, because not so much anymore, eh?
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:20 PM on December 11, 2014
Must be an old memory, because not so much anymore, eh?
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 12:20 PM on December 11, 2014
Do the peanuts float? I guess they do? Please advise.
posted by joelhunt at 12:29 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by joelhunt at 12:29 PM on December 11, 2014
Must be an old memory, because not so much anymore, eh?
When I was talking about "malted battery acid" I was referred to sodas. As for whiskey, the stuff they serve in cabarets is so watered down one wonders why anyone drinks it. Most supermarkets and home improvement stores and so on sell jugs of the stuff for restaurants.
That said, my FIL drank Suntory Old, which is not bad at all, and Japan's whiskeys are definitely world-class.
posted by Nevin at 1:35 PM on December 11, 2014
When I was talking about "malted battery acid" I was referred to sodas. As for whiskey, the stuff they serve in cabarets is so watered down one wonders why anyone drinks it. Most supermarkets and home improvement stores and so on sell jugs of the stuff for restaurants.
That said, my FIL drank Suntory Old, which is not bad at all, and Japan's whiskeys are definitely world-class.
posted by Nevin at 1:35 PM on December 11, 2014
South Carolina. Charleston.
Went all my life without ever hearing the "Want a Coke?" "Yeah." "What kind?" "Mountain Dew."
And it's Coke in the glass bottle with either Lance's or Tom's salted peanuts, not spanish peanuts.
RC goes with moonpies, but not peanuts.
Which really shows nothing except that variations...vary?
(and I'm a Coke man, but all hail North Carolina which brought us both teh Pepsi and teh Cheerwine, the latter of which makes a Mean Cake Frosting and/or BBQ sauce.)
posted by it must be bunnies at 1:37 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Went all my life without ever hearing the "Want a Coke?" "Yeah." "What kind?" "Mountain Dew."
And it's Coke in the glass bottle with either Lance's or Tom's salted peanuts, not spanish peanuts.
RC goes with moonpies, but not peanuts.
Which really shows nothing except that variations...vary?
(and I'm a Coke man, but all hail North Carolina which brought us both teh Pepsi and teh Cheerwine, the latter of which makes a Mean Cake Frosting and/or BBQ sauce.)
posted by it must be bunnies at 1:37 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
And I am Just Old Enough to remember my grandmother buying a glass bottle of Coke syrup from the pharmacy, along with Paregoric.
Childhood stomach ailments? Paregoric in some Coke syrup. Worked wonders. Paregoric is a type of synthetic opiate, which is why it's highly regulated these days.
There are times with stomach maladies where I would kill for some of that. Not only settled your stomach, but made you sleep.
posted by it must be bunnies at 1:41 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Childhood stomach ailments? Paregoric in some Coke syrup. Worked wonders. Paregoric is a type of synthetic opiate, which is why it's highly regulated these days.
There are times with stomach maladies where I would kill for some of that. Not only settled your stomach, but made you sleep.
posted by it must be bunnies at 1:41 PM on December 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
My family can trace its roots back to the Terminus days of Atlanta, Southerners from way back... And my mom used to talk about putting peanuts in coke like it was just the most divine thing. One of her favorite childhood experiences apparently. When I was about nine, we were driving around in the mountains and came upon a general store that had the chilled-glass bottles of coke, the perfect peanuts and she was so excited to share the experience with me. I was not impressed. I almost choked and got carbonation in my nose and proceeded to whine (as I tended to do) for the rest of the day. She didn't speak to me for several hours. I think I ruined a treasured memory for her. Sorry Mom!
And I was in college before I ever heard of cheer wine. Wasn't an Atlanta thing I guess.
posted by pearlybob at 1:45 PM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
And I was in college before I ever heard of cheer wine. Wasn't an Atlanta thing I guess.
posted by pearlybob at 1:45 PM on December 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
Cheerwine is definitely a North Carolina thing (maybe South Carolina, too?) although their reach is expanding. I can now get it at two different DC food trucks and the Wegman's here has it, a fact I learned when a friend told me and I placed an order for the next time she went, all while I was much too drunk to remember. I discovered all of this a couple weeks later when she called to announce that she had my Cheerwine. I was a little confused, but mostly delighted.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:55 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:55 PM on December 11, 2014
I grew up in Virginia, and despite the wiki saying cheerwine being well known there, I have never heard of it. I'll be back home soon, so I may have to keep an eye open for it now.
posted by Atreides at 2:34 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by Atreides at 2:34 PM on December 11, 2014
35 here. Proud son of a Kentucky father. He grew up in the 30s-40s, and loved Coke (in glass bottles) with peanuts. A meal could be--and often was--made of peanuts in a Coke and a pack of Nabs crackers. Moon pie for desert optional.
posted by still bill at 2:35 PM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by still bill at 2:35 PM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Bulgaroktonos: "Name a Yankee soda"
Vernor's. Detroit, since 1866.
We have our own traditions, too:
1. Vernors (NO APOSTROPHE) & milk
2. Vernors-glazed ham
3. Hot Vernors with lemon (like Coke, it's quasi-medicinal)
4. Boston Cooler (named after a street or neighborhood in Detroit)
posted by pullayup at 2:51 PM on December 11, 2014
Vernor's. Detroit, since 1866.
We have our own traditions, too:
1. Vernors (NO APOSTROPHE) & milk
2. Vernors-glazed ham
3. Hot Vernors with lemon (like Coke, it's quasi-medicinal)
4. Boston Cooler (named after a street or neighborhood in Detroit)
posted by pullayup at 2:51 PM on December 11, 2014
I've heard of this shit. And I'm a damyankee but I love Cheerwine. At my bar we mixed it with gin and lime juice and it was tasty as hell.
posted by jonmc at 5:12 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by jonmc at 5:12 PM on December 11, 2014
I grew up in the South, and have only vague memories of old-timers doing something like this. More like I heard about it, even as a kid, rather than actually saw it. There weren't a lot of peanut farms in my part of the country, so there's that.
posted by zardoz at 5:59 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by zardoz at 5:59 PM on December 11, 2014
> Name a Yankee soda?
Root beer. Originally, and most famously, Hires root beer.
posted by desuetude at 7:12 PM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Root beer. Originally, and most famously, Hires root beer.
posted by desuetude at 7:12 PM on December 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm a born and bred Pacific Northwesterner. I have never heard of this, but all the talk of RC warms my heart. It is the best of all possible colas.
posted by lhauser at 8:27 PM on December 11, 2014
posted by lhauser at 8:27 PM on December 11, 2014
We have an ice cream bar in San Francisco that makes their own cola, which they describe as:
A true cola made from our proprietary blend of 15 botanicals, including kola nut and “spent” coca leaf extractposted by mike3k at 10:35 PM on December 14, 2014
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posted by Oyéah at 8:37 AM on December 11, 2014