How an M&M Sparked the Search for the Next Perfect Peanut
With funding from the candy giant Mars, scientists at the University of Georgia are genetically designing a peanut that can thrive in a changing climate.
At the Wild Peanut Lab at the University of Georgia, the search is on for the perfect peanut. Credit... Rinne Allen for The New York Times
The Peanut M&M was in trouble. It was the early 2000s, and complaints about rancid nuts were piling up at Mars headquarters in McLean, Va., so fast they had outpaced the combined consumer complaints about Snickers, Twix and even the company’s extensive dog food line.
Plant breeders had discovered a genetic mutation that produced peanuts with plenty of monounsaturated fat, like the kind found in olive oil. That meant they were healthier and less likely to turn rancid. It was a start, but Mars — a company that refers to the peanut as its “hero ingredient” — needed more.
They wanted a peanut that was perfectly symmetrical with sweet, roasted notes. It had to stay crunchy inside a ball of chocolate, and have a skin that kept it from splitting and was a touch bitter to balance the sweetness. It had to grow so well in the Southern peanut belt that farmers would be willing to switch out their tried and true seeds for something new.
