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
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花生M&M巧克力豆陷入了困境。 21世紀初，維吉尼亞州麥克萊恩的瑪氏公司總部接到的關於花生腐臭的投訴數量之多，甚至超過了消費者對士力架、特趣以及該公司旗下眾多狗糧系列的投訴總和。
因此，這家全球最大的糖果公司開始尋找一種新的花生來解決這個問題。
植物育種專家發現了一種基因突變，可以培育出富含單元不飽和脂肪的花生，就像橄欖油中的單元不飽和脂肪一樣。這意味著它們更健康，也更不容易腐臭。這雖然是一個開始，但瑪氏——一家將花生稱為「明星原料」的公司——還需要更多。
他們想要一種完美對稱、帶有甜味和烘焙風味的花生。它必須在巧克力球裡保持酥脆，外皮要防止花生開裂，還要略帶苦味來平衡甜味。這種種子在南部花生帶生長得很好，農民才願意用新的種子來取代他們已經嘗試過的種子。
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.
So the world’s largest confectionary company went hunting for a new peanut to solve the problem.
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.
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