No Bake Liberian Kanya Peanut Butter Candy Recipe
Liberian Kanya is a sweet snack made with rice, peanuts, and sugar. It has a smooth and creamy texture and does not require any baking.
Liberian Kanya is a delicious treat that combines rice, peanuts, and sugar into a smooth and creamy candy. You don't need to bake anything to make these easy African peanut butter candies. They are a fun and simple way to introduce your kids to international cuisine.
Creating international recipes is a good school project when studying Africa in elementary school. It helps students learn about the diversity and richness of African cultures and cuisines. It also encourages them to explore new flavors and ingredients and to appreciate different ways of cooking and eating.
Liberian Kanya Peanut Butter Candy Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup white sugar
Directions
In a large bowl add all ingredients and mix well. Using your hands, roll into balls or press into an 8x8 pan and then cut it into squares with a lightly greased knife. Wrap pieces in parchment paper or store in airtight containers.
Note that the spices are not part of the traditional Kanya recipe but add wonderful flavor.
About Peanuts and Peanut Butter Uses and Storage
Peanuts belong to the pea-and-bean family, the legumes; they are not nuts at all. Nevertheless, like nuts, they are always popular in salads and sandwiches, cookies, and desserts as well as just plain salted. And like peas and beans, peanuts are good in main dishes, in soups, and in combination with other vegetables.
Peanuts and peanut butter are well worth a place in everyday menus because of their high food value. The idea of using them often in family meals is nutritionally sound since peanuts are exceptionally high in niacin, are important also for other B vitamins. Among the vegetable foods, peanuts rate high in quantity of protein.
Peanuts take up moisture readily. Peanut butter is made in different grinds. The types usually found on the market are regular grind, fine to medium, and coarse or chunky. Some peanut butters are just ground roasted peanuts plus salt; to others stabilizers have been added in order to impede oil separation.
Because peanut butter is so high in fat, it can be used as part of the shortening in loaves of bread, cakes, and pastries, and will add to the richness of main dishes. Peanut butter keeps best in the refrigerator. Because peanut butter stiffens in a cold place, remove it from the refrigerator a short time before using to allow it to soften.
How to Roast and Salt Peanuts
If you buy peanuts raw or grow your own here is an easy way to roast and salt them:
First, spread the shelled peanuts in one layer in a shallow pan and heat at 300° F. (slow oven) 30 to 45 minutes, depending on size of nuts and how brown you want them. Stir nuts often as they heat, Check on brownness from time to time by removing the skins from a few nuts.
For redskins, add butter or margarine immediately after removing from oven, 1 teaspoon to each cup of peanuts. Stir until nuts are evenly coated, spread on absorbent paper, and sprinkle with salt.
For plain salted peanuts, cool, and slip the skins off by pressing between thumb and forefinger. Add butter or margarine ( 1 teaspoon to each cup of nuts) and place over low heat, shaking or stirring nuts constantly until well-coated and warm. Spread on absorbent paper and sprinkle with salt while warm.
Peanuts bought roasted in the shell maybe shelled, warmed in a little butter or margarine over low heat, and salted as above.
Liberia Name and Land Facts
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822. Liberia’s name derives from the Latin word liber meaning free. The African country was so named because the nation was created as a homeland for liberated African-American slaves. Liberia is located in Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone with a terrain of mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.
About the population and people of Liberia
In Liberia, more 33 percent of the population lives within a 50 mile or 80 km radius of the capital Monrovia. Around 51 percent of Liberians are Urbanites while 49 percent are rural dwellers. Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced by 10 of Liberia’s 16 tribes and affects more than two-thirds of women and girls. FGC is an initiation ritual performed in rural bush schools, which teach traditional beliefs on marriage and motherhood.
A brief look at Liberia’s economy
Liberia is abundant with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture. Its principal exports are iron ore, rubber, diamonds, and gold. Palm oil and cocoa are emerging as new export products. During the 2014-2015 Ebola crisis, the economy declined and many foreign-owned businesses departed. Liberia’s main agricultural products are rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava, manioc, tapioca, palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats, and timber.
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