Part 4/8:
Moving beyond the bread, the history of peanut butter itself is rich and complex. Peanuts were originally cultivated in South America, gaining popularity and spreading through Africa and then arriving in North America in the 1700s, largely due to the transatlantic slave trade. While George Washington Carver is often mistakenly attributed with its invention, the actual first patent for peanut butter was given to Canadian Marcellus Edson in 1884. It was John Harvey Kellogg—perhaps better known for his breakfast cereals—who truly popularized the spread.