raw peanuts
Peanuts that haven't been roasted, used specifically when a dish does its own cooking of the peanuts -- boiled peanuts being the clearest example -- rather than starting from an already-roasted peanut, which won't soften or absorb liquid the same way. Their raw state gives them a starchy, almost bean-like texture rather than the crisp, toasted one roasted peanuts have.
Buying guidance
Raw peanuts are sold either green, meaning fresh with higher moisture and usually seasonal or frozen, or dried; green peanuts cook faster and taste noticeably different from dried raw peanuts, so check which kind a dish assumes. Because they're raw and higher in oil than many legumes, buy from a store with good turnover and check that they smell nutty rather than musty or like paint, which signals rancidity.
Substitutions
- Frozen green raw peanuts -- close in behavior to fresh green peanuts if those aren't available.
- Dried raw peanuts, soaked several hours before cooking -- a workable substitute for fresh green peanuts, though texture differs slightly.
- Roasted peanuts -- not a true substitute where the process depends on cooking them from raw; they won't reach the same soft, boiled texture.
Tips & common mistakes
Raw peanuts need much longer cooking than roasted ones to soften and lose their raw, slightly bitter, grassy taste -- a dish built around raw peanuts, like boiling them, is written around hours of simmering, not the few minutes that would be enough with an already-roasted peanut.
Storage
Fresh 'green' raw peanuts have much higher moisture than dried raw or roasted peanuts and are highly perishable, prone to mold within days at room temperature -- that's why they're usually sold refrigerated or frozen rather than in a shelf-stable bag, and should go in the freezer if not used within a couple of days.