CAPRON—The winter holiday season is a busy time of the year for gourmet peanut companies like Belmont Peanuts in Southampton County.

President Patsy Marks said the company stays busy from peanut harvest through the year’s end with gift orders.

“We love this time of year. Our company takes great pride in preparing and delivering delicious gourmet treats,” Marks said.

The Virginia-type peanut has the largest kernels of any peanut, making them suitable for use in gourmet products. They are mostly grown in North Carolina and Virginia.

“Peanuts are a top field crop in Virginia,” said Spencer Neale, a commodity marketing specialist for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. Virginia is eighth out of 10 states that produce the crop, he said. In 2010, producers harvested 18,000 acres of peanuts, resulting in $7.3 million in cash receipts. “A lot of these peanuts were harvested for use in gourmet products, as well as peanut butter, peanut oil and other uses,” Neale pointed out.

Peanuts are planted in May and grow underground through September. The harvesting process begins around the first of October. Once they are dug, the peanuts are left on the ground to dry in the sun for three or four days. They’re then shelled and graded by size. The largest peanuts are cooked, spiced or candy-coated for gourmet products.

Belmont Peanuts is one of the few facilities that still hand-cooks peanuts, Marks said. “We believe the quality is monitored much better by using the hand-cooking process.”

Contact Marks at 800-648-4613 or Neale at 804-290-1153